Toby Morrison - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Guide to Recovery

A guide to recovery

TOBY MORRISON

Published by CFS Health Centre
cfshealthcentre.com.au

First published 2013

2013 Toby Morrison

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright restricted above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

A Cataloguing-in-Publication record is available from the National Library of Australia.

ISBN: 978 1 922 21971 8 (pbk)
978 1 922 21972 5 (ebk-ePub)

Designed, typeset and printed by Palmer Higgs Pty Ltd
palmerhiggs.com.au

Distributed by Port Campbell Press
portcampbellpress.com.au

To my mum and dad.
You were the wind beneath my wings that got
me through the hardest four years of my life.
Thanks for being there when I wasnt.

This book is dedicated to every sufferer out there.
You can have a life after CFS.

Toby Morrison is an enthusiastic, fit and healthy young man. But he wasnt always like this. When he was sixteen he developed severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). His symptoms, although quite typical, were so severe that I investigated him for many other conditions that I felt could be causing such severe debility. He had CFS and was very sick with it. He did not have anything else.

The impact of this condition on his education, family and social life was profound but he slowly improved after an intensive four-week inpatient rehabilitation program at the Austin Hospital, Melbourne.

His condition slowly improved using a carefully controlled, graded exercise program and with careful management he was able to complete his schooling and go onto tertiary studies. As the CFS slowly resolved, he decided to dedicate himself professionally to helping others with CFS. With his understanding of the condition and his infectious optimism he has brought hope to many people with this condition. His approach is sensible, safe and often successful. This book is a synthesis of his journey and his understanding of CFS and I commend it to people with this condition.

All the best

Dr. Lionel Lubitz

Consultant Paediatrician,
Dept of General Medicine, Royal Childrens Hospital
Associate Professor (Clinical),
Dept of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne,
Royal Childrens Hospital

CFS can also stand for Choice, Future, and Success.

This book is designed to educate you on the importance of the key health aspects in relation to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and what it can do for you in a logical and simple way. After suffering CFS myself, I understand the anxiety and stress related to CFS when it comes to starting life all over again. The first step towards better health is the most important and the scariest too. I aim to inspire you to better health with my own story of overcoming CFS and to show you that it is possible to feel good again. You will be able to see the steps I took to recover my own health and also the work I do with my clients. You will be educated on how to exercise safely and correctly without making your condition worse, the importance of nutrition, and how to work on your mindset for the better.

I was struck down with CFS when I was sixteen years old. For three years I was severely debilitated. Fast forward to the present and I am now fully recovered. Ive gained an education in health and fitness that has enabled me to fulfill my dream of helping many others with CFS regain control of their lives and get their health back.

Since I established the CFS Health Centre in Melbourne (2009), I have helped a wide variety of people who have suffered from CFS. From ten-year-old school kids, to state netball and basketball champions. From highly successful business owners to teenagers who couldnt get out of bed and even grandparents who lived with CFS for more than fifteen years. All are now fitter, healthier and more knowledgeable than ever before. With amazing results in the three years since the health centre opened, Ive decided to write this book to further educate and inspire other CFS sufferers out there who desperately need help and guidance.

I am truly passionate about helping people regain control of their life and get their life back, perhaps a better one than they had before. I am walking proof that you can recover from CFS and I am definitely not the only one, with every single patient benefiting greatly from my wellness program. Although CFS is terrible, it can be a blessing in disguise. It makes you more health conscious, more aware of your body, more grounded and makes you appreciate the small things in life. It puts things into perspective.

Yes CFS sucks, yes its hard and life can be unfair, but one thing you can do is to choose how you deal with your illness. This is where you can take charge. You can take control of your attitude. You can choose to make things as GOOD as possible towards YOUR recovery. At the end of the day you are in charge of you.

With the right attitude and good support, you can make a difference to your health.

I love doing what I do because I love to see people return to good health. There is nothing better than when someone comes to see me absolutely shattered with life to then turn around twelve weeks later and say, I am feeling ten times better. I know how hard it is for them, I have been there too.

To see them start achieving things in their life that they thought were never going to be possible is so rewarding. It gives me such fulfilment to see my clients strive for the best and do so well in life after overcoming chronic fatigue syndrome.

CFS can also stand for CHOICE, FUTURE, and SUCCESS.

Chronic fatigue is an unusual disease and one that doctors do not yet fully understand .

Chronic fatigue syndrome is very different from every day fatigue. When a person is experiencing normal fatigue they will feel worn out, drained and tired. But this eventually goes away with rest.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is stronger and lasts for much longer and cannot be cured by simply getting more sleep and resting up. It leaves sufferers exhausted after even the smallest activities. Even walking around the block may be enough to leave a chronic fatigue patient bedridden. Often people with chronic fatigue were once fit and active, so finding even small tasks draining becomes frustrating and aggravating and often makes the person feel helpless and depressed.

It differs from normal fatigue in two fundamental areas: severity and time.

It is more severe in that it actually disables the sufferer and it is more prolonged because it can last for more than 6 months, or even years on end if they dont get on top of their health.

Chronic fatigue is an unusual disease and one that doctors do not yet fully understand. Symptoms, causes and recovery processes often differ from person to person, however there are some stable facts and consistent experiences for most, if not all, suffers.

In 1994, a panel created by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came up with a definition for chronic fatigue syndrome, which has since become widely accepted as the basic model for diagnosing the disorder.