RECOVERY AT A GLANCE
Manuela is a business analyst living in Bavaria, Germany. For around a decade before COVID, she experienced a fluctuating pattern of fatigue, body pain and other symptoms, although she was never formally diagnosed with ME/CFS or Fibromyalgia. After contracting COVID in November 2022, her health deteriorated dramatically and she was diagnosed with Long COVID.
At her worst, Manuela says she was spending up to 22 hours a day in bed and experienced severe fatigue and pain, cognitive problems, brain fog, and extreme sensitivity to light and noise. In this ANS REWIRE Experience, she describes why the program’s explanation made sense to her, the changes she began noticing during her first weeks, her gradual return to activity and work, and what being fully recovered means to her today.
Explore This ANS REWIRE Recovery Experience
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This page shares one participant’s personal experience with ANS REWIRE. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. ANS REWIRE is an educational and training program and is not medical treatment or a substitute for diagnosis, advice or care from a qualified healthcare professional.
Watch The Video of Mollie Sharing Her ANS REWIRE Experience
Video Transcript
Four and a Half Years of Severe ME/CFS and POTS Symptoms
Hi, my name is Mollie and, um, I live in Western Mass in the United States. I'm here to talk about the ANS REWIRE Program. I got sick with chronic fatigue about four and a half years ago and I was really sick. I spent most of my day lying on the couch and, every task was difficult for me. I really had to plan my whole life around the chronic fatigue, um, and there was lots I couldn't do.
I couldn't go on vacation with my family and, going to parents night at my son's school and things like that were really difficult. Going to the supermarket. I had terrible post exertional fatigue. Terrible fatigue, um, and lots of other really uncomfortable symptoms. I had hot flashes. I had sweats, I had migraines. And life was really difficult.
Treatments, Exercise Attempts and Stabilising at 10–15% Function
I tried lots of things to get better. I tried lots of medications and most of them made me feel worse. I tried to exercise and do yoga and stuff like that, but I couldn't keep it up because I'd get sicker again. And, and, sometimes it would make me sicker.
And I tried supplements, which helped a tiny bit and kind of got me stabilized at maybe 10 to 15 percent of functioning. And that's where I was for a long time. I didn't really think I was going to get better. I thought that if I did get better, it would be a spontaneous remission because I really didn't see what I could do that would help me.
Starting ANS REWIRE and Reaching About 95% in 5½ Months
And, um, I found out about the REWIRE program and I thought I'd give it a shot. And part of me was really hopeful that it would work, and part of me really did think that I was doomed to be sick forever. So I started the program five and a half months ago. And, um, since then, I've gotten my health back.
I'm probably, like, 95 percent well. I have a few little symptoms that I'm still dealing with, but, my life doesn't revolve around the illness anymore. Later today, I'm gonna take my son to the beach, which is easy for me now. I can do lots of errands in a row without even having to think about it. I'm starting to think about going back to work soon.
Um, and my family's really excited to have me back. I don't have brain fog anymore, so I can think clearly all day. It's very exciting. So, I found the program really great because it led me step by step through the process. It wasn't overwhelming. Um, it was sort of, one thing to do at a time, one thing to focus on at a time.
And that worked really well for me. So I'd recommend the program to anyone who's sick and suffering, and it's definitely something you should try. I've been trying to get the word out to friends and acquaintances I know who have people in their lives who have chronic fatigue. It's definitely something you should try.
I can't believe that in five and a half months I'm hiking up mountains and doing all this stuff that seemed impossible this spring. So, thank you.
What Happened Next: Mollie’s Full ME/CFS Recovery Confirmed Later
Mollie’s original ANS REWIRE testimonial was recorded while she still described herself as about 95% well. A later CFS Unravelled recovery interview provides the important longer-term follow-up: the page explicitly presents Mollie as recovered and says the interview took place one year after her recovery, with Mollie continuing to enjoy excellent health.
In that longer interview, Mollie describes a return to normal unrestricted life: hiking, intense yoga and running; managing household tasks she had previously been unable to do; caring for her son and helping other family members; rebuilding a social life; and taking multiple family trips. This follow-up is the appropriate evidence for saying that she went on from near-recovery to full recovery.
Watch/read Mollie’s full recovery interview on CFS Unravelled
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