RECOVERY AT A GLANCE
Tonje says her symptoms began gradually around age 17 and worsened over many years until she could no longer work and was spending hours each day on the couch to conserve energy for her sons.
After beginning ANS REWIRE in 2020, she describes a staged recovery: about 50% after three months, about 80% after one year, and roughly two more years before she felt able to call herself fully recovered with a “robust recovery”.
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 Tonje Sharing Her ANS REWIRE Experience
Video Transcript
Hi, I just wanted to share my amazing experience with ANS REWIRE and how it helped me recover after nearly 30 years of being ill.
My name is Tonje and I'm from Norway. I suffered for many years before I got a proper diagnosis. My symptoms developed gradually over time and I can remember that. I was around 17 years old when I started to notice that something was really off in my body.
Gradual Symptoms Beginning Around Age 17
The first symptoms I can remember, was less capacity to handle stress, both physically and mentally. I developed allergies and I found myself feeling more and more fatigued. Despite all of the things that was going on in my body, I completed my studies and started to work as a nurse. For many years, I got good at acting like I was healthy.
Pushing Through Until She Could No Longer Work
I just thought I had to pull myself together and, do my best to push through all the symptoms I was experiencing. As I got older, the number of symptoms increased, and I had trouble finding balance in my day to day life. That resulted in me being unable to work and in the end, I struggled to get out of bed and do daily tasks.
I had to lay on the couch for many hours a day, every day, just to, so I could save some energy for my two sons when they came home from school. I'm a very social and outgoing person and being housebound and couch ridden for long periods of time was really hard. After being sick for several years, I found myself living more and more inside a bubble where everything on the outside was going so much faster than I was able to adjust to.
And I can remember that that was a really scary feeling.
Searching for Answers and Receiving an ME/CFS Diagnosis
Before enrolling in the ANS REWIRE program, I try to get well by obviously seeing in the different kinds of doctors, specialists, tried therapy, medications, physiotherapy, chiropractors, But nothing seemed to be really working and in 2016, my, one of my doctors said that you probably have ME, but there's nothing to do about that.
I am a solution-oriented person, so I wanted to get answers. So, my doctor sent me to a specialist. And in 2017, I got diagnosed with ME/CFS. After that, I went to a rehabilitation center, that specializes in ME/CFS. And they helped me to see how much energy I used to, just to try to live a normal life.
And that I had to work on accepting that I was as ill as I was. And,I still didn't see the whole picture.
Finding ANS REWIRE in 2020
And by 2020, I started to get really desperate to find something or someone that could help me recover. And after weeks of laying on the couch and feeling worse than ever, I started to search online.
I found a website with stories from people here in Norway that has recovered from different illnesses, and I also found a recommendation for the ANS REWIRE program.
And I started and I decided I wanted to check it out. I saw the first four introduction videos and they really resonated with me and I decided to enrol in the program and I can honestly say that, that is the best decision I ever made.
A Gradual Recovery Over About Three Years
After three months into the program, I was 50 percent recovered and, after a year, I was about, we'll say, yeah, approximately 80%. I have been sick for so many years, so, I had to work and fight really hard to be fully recovered and trusting that, that I, I could do it. So I think, it took me about two years after that.
To be able to say that I am fully recovered and I've built a robust recovery.
Returning to Work, Exercise, Travel and Social Life
My family and friends are happy to see that I'm doing so great, and now I can exercise, travel, be social, and I also started working again. My life has gotten so much better. And I'm so grateful. I would highly recommend the ANS REWIRE program.
What Tonje Says Helped Her Recovery
Getting an explanation to what was going on in my body, building a personalized action plan, and getting coaching from Dan, helped me recover after so many years of being sick. I know that moving forward can be difficult when you're struggling, and you feel that you have tried everything. I know how exhausting that can be.
But, in the program, you get to be in charge of your own recovery. And that's very empowering. So I recommend that you look at the four introduction videos and see if it resonates with you. And, I wish you all the best. And thank you for listening to my story. Bye!
Want to Understand the ANS REWIRE Approach?
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