M.E is a chronic illness which affects about 250,000 people in the UK.

This week is national M.E Awareness Week, which is organised by the charity Action for M.E.

A Sheerness mum, who has been living with the illness for more than 10 years, spoke to Emma Grove.

For Rowena Hoult, simple everyday tasks such as loading the dishwasher or walking her son to school leave her feeling exhausted.

This is because she has M.E – a chronic condition which causes sufferers to have, among other symptoms, excessive tiredness and serious joint and muscle pain.

Mum-of-one Rowena was diagnosed in January 2005, but her symptoms began more than five years before that.

In 1999, she was working in London and had a number of mouth ulcers appear, which she found out were caused by an infection.

Looking back, it is this she believes triggered her M.E – as it can be caused by viral infections.

Before her eventual diagnosis, Rowena also discovered she had an underactive thyroid and was told she had depression, although she later discovered this was because of the M.E.

During the time before her diagnosis, she suffered constantly with severe tiredness, which got so bad she would sleep in the toilets at work.

The 36-year-old, of Alma Street, Sheerness, said: “My concentration levels were really low and I found it difficult to cope with a lot of things – even talking on the phone.

“People said they didn’t notice any difference in my work standard but for me it was a major problem.”

Eventually, after seeing numerous doctors, consultants and even an occupational health doctor, she was told it was M.E – by a process of elimination from tests for other conditions.

Rowena, who has a four-year-old son called Aston, said there is a stigma surrounding M.E and people often say things like “you’re tired because you don’t go to bed early enough”.

She said: “I don’t think people know what M.E is and it’s hard to get people to understand it’s a problem.

“It doesn’t always get recognised as being a disability because it fluctuates, but we are not hypochondriacs or finding an excuse for being lazy.”

She explained that she does not believe M.E can be cured, but that sufferers learn to live with it.

Rowena is currently having a relapse after having six “good months”.

She said: “You can have long periods where you don’t suffer any symptoms and lead a normal life.”

Rowena suffers with stabbing pains in her bones, especially in her legs, and has constant numbness in her hip, but for her the biggest problem is the tiredness.

She cannot even walk her son to Richmond Primary, where he goes to school, even though it is only five minutes from where she lives.

She said: “I would like to go back to work. I get bored out of my mind sitting around all day, but I get exhausted pushing a vacuum cleaner around.

“It’s very difficult – I can’t really take my son out anywhere. I should be able to play with my son, or kick a football around, or spend time in the garden, but I can only do a little bit of that before I’m exhausted.”

Rowena is a member of Action for M.E, which is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to improving the lives of people with the condition.

The charity has been campaigning for more research, better treatments and better services since 1987.

It also provides information and support to people affected by M.E.

Rowena said there are probably a lot of people who have got M.E who do not know they have it, and there are also people who are not getting the support.

• To find out more about M.E or Action for M.E, see www.afme.org.uk
• M.E is also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and is sometimes diagnosed as Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome.
• Symptoms vary for different people but the most common include persistent, extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headaches, flu-like symptoms, sore throat, swollen glands, concentration and short-term memory problems, sleep difficulties, digestive disturbances, dizziness, poor temperature control and increased sensitivity to light and sound.
• The exact cause of the illness is unknown, although viral infections such as glandular fever and viral meningitis are known to trigger it.
• People with M.E often have abnormalities in their immune and nervous systems.
• It affects men, women and children of all ages, but the illness is more commonly developed between early 20s and mid 40s.
• There is no cure for M.E, but symptoms such as pain and sleep disturbance can be treated to improve quality of life.