DETROIT – A Metro Detroit woman said she knew something was wrong, but for years, nobody knew how to fix what was going on. She shared her battle with chronic fatigue syndrome, saying the effects can be crushing.
Part of life is getting tired. You sit down and rest, take a nap or get a good night’s sleep. But there’s a major difference between being tired and crushing, debilitating fatigue.
Melanie Lusnak shared her story with Local 4, saying she wanted to do things, but it was like there was a 100-pound weight on her chest.
“I couldn’t move,” she said.
For years, that was daily life for Lusnak. She struggled for an answer.
“Am I lazy?” she said. “Why can’t I do this?”
She saw plenty of doctors who had no answers, and she got advice from well-meaning friends.
“(They told me to) go to bed, take a walk,” Lusnak said. “They mean well, but it makes it worse.”
“They’re frustrated, alienated,” said Dr. Joel Young, with the Rochester Center For Behavioral Medicine. “There are no clear answers.”
Young identified Lusnak’s challenge as chronic fatigue syndrome.
“Persistent fatigue, more than six months, unexplained by other conditions,” Young said.
There’s no clear cause or cure for chronic fatigue syndrome. It’s among medicine’s most elusive conditions.
Young conducted a study a few years ago and has since published a book about his surprising findings. He came upon something that offers significant help to those suffering with chronic fatigue.
Lusnak said for her, Young’s prescription has been a miracle.
“He literally saved my life,” she said.
Lusnak said the only reason she found Young was because she became an advocate for herself and was determined to get answers.
Click here to visit the website for the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine.