I didn't know I had CFIDS and FMS until January of this year.  Before then I had always had these symptoms as long as I could remember but I just thought it was normal and that people pushed on.  I didn't realize that by pushing myself I was hurting myself.

Then a few years ago my sister was diagnosed with CFIDS and FMS.  We weren't sure at the time but we thought that this could be what was wrong with me also.  I went to my general doctor and all he did was test my Epstein Barr and pronounce me healthy. 

So we went to the doctor that had diagnosed my   sister.  He was also a general practitioner and didn't relish the idea of diagnosing another case of CFIDS.  He did listen to me though and realized that I had asthma.  So then, I was sent to a lung specialist to make sure that my asthma was not causing my symptoms.  It was determined that it was not my asthma and I was sent to a rheumatologist that     specialized in auto-immune diseases.  A lot of testing was done on me such as blood tests and bone tests.  There is no test for CFIDS or FMS so the doctor has to rule everything out first.  After all the testing was done the doctor diagnosed me with CFIDS and FMS.  It was not the happiest day of my life but I was glad to know what was wrong with me.

Now I do my learning at home.  I am doing          correspondence work to get my high school diploma.
I am basically trying to take it easy and have as much energy as I possibly can.