From my experience telling the people in charge really helps. Yes some of them are going to be snidey and prejudice about it but it's an employee's responsibility to look after their workers and those who are compassionate won't be able to help you unless they know what's wrong. My biggest regret was telling my Uni tutor about my CFS too late, because he started being very supportive and was even willing to shift his timetable to help me catch up but at that point I was just too burnt out.

Nina1959 said she has these words on the wall by her computer.

"Stop worrying about getting back to who you were before it all went wrong;
To heal is to understand that the person you've since become is the one who's most capable of doing whatever it is you were put here to do."

They remind me that we all have a lot of inner strength. It is there, believe it.

Thanks to both for the advice. I like that quote. It's something I need to set Focus on.
I plan to have the talk next week. Nervous.Thnx

This article's remedies may help get you thru.
https://drjockers.com/6-great-foods-increase-dopamine-levels/

Have you tried dark leafy green smoothies or juicing in the morning before work? Also acerola berry for vitamin c may help you (some people it will overstimulate depending on how fatigued you are). Have you eliminated all sugar, dairy, corn, gluten, and grains from your diet? Kratom leaf white ma daung may help you in small amounts - it does lower blood pressure and blood sugar so you have to watch out for that - it is a mild stimulant and mental enhancer. I personally think we need to keep the CFS to ourselves at work because it will affect how people see us and future referrals. I mean really, who would you hire? A normal person or someone with a known history of CFS? The world is really not interested in changing for us. I too am going back to work in a few weeks because I have recovered 90-95 percent. I am starting part time. My husband and I are living frugally, we spend most of our money on whole food supplements for our health, we own one used car, and very little else, our clothing is old, we are not stylish. This will continue because the supplements we both need are expensive, but without health and energy, what good is the stuff? We will live in a trailer if we have to so I can continue to work part time, not full time. These are things we all have to decide for ourselves, what is our health worth?

If anyone is interested watch Dr. Randal Tents videos on youtube, they changed my life.

Hi SEvans. Will check out the doc. What exactly do you have in your smoothies ? Hi SadieBee. Sorry you are struggling with work. I am so familiar with that lead feeling. Washing my hair was difficult this morning because my arms were like lead. CFS is like a vampire. Hang in there. Hugs.

I am so sorry. and i do understand what you are going thru.
i was diaged / CFS in 2009 . i have struggled w/ cfs for most of my adult life .... off and on.
the thing that has helped me the most is dietary supplements and eating well. very well.
i stay away from sugar / refined processed foods / caffeine (too much) / white flour / breads /
I try to eat a lot of fresh veggies / fish, chicken and red meat only sometimes. If you're B levels are low, then red meat is good for you.
I was bed and recliner bound for one whole year. Now I can work about ten hours a week and I have somewhat of a social life. It's much better now but it takes time.
best of luck to you
ginger girl

Hi SadieBee. This is gonna be a long one, but with detailed options and info that might help u. Me:Similar situation and helpful tips as ginger girl above. Sick since 04, diagnosed in 06, diet and supplements seemed to be a big part of that. TRIED to hold off on initial crash to finish a university degree, but fair warning... sometimes the body just doesn't cooperate. 14 months can be along time when you're out of energy. I feel for you.

Have crashed again lately, and body felt like wet sandbags for about 2 weeks, so I had to make some work decisions too. Check into FMLA (12-week federal, as well as an initial 2 weeks unpaid, but with job protection on the 2-week option). Also ask about short term and long term disability options, and eligibility requirements. These all overlap, but are all a bit different.

Personally, I hadn't worked enough hours the past 12 months to qualify for FMLA once you added in time off for sick/vacation days I was about 50 hours short. But my company granted me the two week unpaid leave anyway, and have been super helpful so far. I will admit however that three of my last 4 employers over the past 15 years were not as supportive, and I ended up just leaving, and taking time to recover before finding more work. One would have approved my leave, but I knew I didn't want to go back, and I'm not sure I had been there long enough yet anyway. So it's a toss up on if they will be supportive or helpful. When starting a new job I simply say I'm a great "closer"/second shifter, and am unavailable before 11am. They assume I have kids or something, but I'm honest while not giving away my health weakness, and they usually don't ask why.

Ultimately, it may matter less what people think as long as you do what's best for you, but I know the responses of others can be very invalidating at times and hard to be around.

My suggestion: You could always do what I did and start by inquiring about medical leave options saying you have a situation that MAY require time off and that you are just wanting to check your FMLA and Short and long term disability options in advance just in case. Get your information, on paper, and then go from there based on the info you get, and how they respond. I Am now working on applying for short term disability (covers 66% of my income for days not worked for the next 36 weeks after the initial 2 weeks off) and that would be approved by the disability insurance, not my employer... But they legally don't have to keep my job for me if I go that route like they did with the two weeks off. I feel valued there and know they need me, so I remain optimistic on that. And am proposing a partial work schedule to them this Friday after submitting my disability request forms.

We HAVE to take care of ourselves, or will just make it worse, so that's often our best option, regardless of what we lose. For me, what's best feels like to start back working alternating a day or two a week, then working my way up to my usual 3-4 by February. Am taking it SLOW this time around, remembering that Wisconsin winters are always hard for me so I don't want to go back to my full schedule u til after that. I have learned that jumping right back in full boat after months off between jobs was always hard. Will see how it goes.
You gotta do what's best for you, figure out what your body is asking you for, listen to it, honor it, and have faith...even if you can't imagine life being ok if things don't work out with you continuing to work like you have been for another 14 months. Sometimes the Universe/God has other plans for us. Good luck.

Thank you everyone for the support and advice. I haven't been on in a while. Time and Energy. Ha.
I did end up telling my two supervisors at work. I told them I had a medical issue and had new limitations, that I felt I could still do my job, but that I was going to go at a slower pace and I hoped those limitations could be respected. They seemed somewhat supportive, but I feel vulnerable and judged now, regardless if they truly are.
And my work load is still high even cutting back on some things. I think what you all have said has happened to me. I waited too long and now I'm just burnt out and my body hates me. My heart still wants to do everything and have a personal life after work and on the weekends but my brain isn't stronger I guess. I keep getting told I let this affect me too much. It's an excuse. I'm crazy. I'm negative. I just need to pretend nothing isn't wrong with me. When in fact, I don't feel I am very negative at all. I'm more positive than most energetic ppl. I just have some hard things I want to talk about with those close to me sometimes because some days it's just so hard to cope with watching your life pass you by when you are so young. Years I can never get back. I got this way because I pretended there was nothing wrong with me for a lot of years. I tucked what my body was trying to tell me in the back of my head and kept pushing, pushing until my body gave up. If it was as easy as pretending I'd not be lying in bed dreading a BBQ in an hr because I don't have the energy or pain tolerance to want to attend. These ppl "close" to me anger me. I feel this odd anger rise instantly.
I hope your individual battles are going alright. Rise Above my friends.