If you've read my previous post about my diagnosis, you'll know that it was a pretty long and bumpy road. For this reason, by the time the medical professionals had recognised I really was truly ill with M.E, I was already pretty familiar with the multitude of symptoms it entails. I'd had the fatigue, the pain and the susceptibility to infection, but what I wasn't prepared for was the increased sensitivity I would experience as my condition worsened.
I don't mean sensitivity of the emotional kind- I didn't suddenly start blubbering at soppy films or weeping at tales of reunited families (I'm not much of crier you see); I mean sensitivity to all manner of external stimuli. I'm not gonna lie to you, it kinda sucks. It really is one of the symptoms I hate the most, because it stops me from doing many of the things I love to do.
This sensitivity comes in a variety of guises, and while its most likely to hit when I'm feeling my worst, it also likes to make a surprise appearance every now and then, much to my dismay. To give you a better idea of what I'm talking about, here's a few examples of the ways this most unexpected of symptoms affects me in my everyday life:
