Synopsis

Dè a dhèanadh tu ma bha tinneas ort nach ainmeachadh duine? Dè ma bha thu cho sgìth 's nach cuireadh tu cas air beulaibh cois, no nach b' urrainn dhut fiù 's glainne uisge òl? Agus dè a dhèanadh tu mur an robh an dotair agad a' creidsinn gun robh an leithid ann? Fàilte gu saoghal ME.

Thathar a' dèanamh tuairmse gu bheil còrr is 250,000 neach anns an Rìoghachd Aonaichte a' fulang leis an tinneas air a bheil ME. Ann an saoghal an saidheans tha diofar bheachdan mu na tha ga adhbhrachadh, na comharran, an leigheas ceart, agus - 's dòcha an rud as draghaile buileach dhaibhsan a tha a' fulang leis - fiù 's ceist ann a bheil e na 'fhìor' chor chorporra, no 'tinneas fuadain' a tha san inntinn. Tha aon rud cinnteach ge-tà, tha beatha dhaoine ga sgrios leis, agus às aonais rannsachadh deimhinnte tha an luchd-fulaing air fhàgail ann an saoghal iomagaineach, mì-chinnteach.

What would you do if you had an illness which no-one could name? What if it made you so tired you couldn't put one foot in front of the other, or even drink a glass of water? And what would you do if your doctor didn't believe it existed? Welcome to the world of ME.

Over 250,000 people in the UK are estimated to suffer from ME. Scientific opinion is sharply divided over the cause of the disease, the symptoms by which it should be diagnosed, the treatment methods which should be used and even - most disturbingly for sufferers - whether it is a 'real' physical affliction or a psychological 'false illness belief'. One thing is certain: it wrecks lives and in the absence of definitive research sufferers must live their lives in a frustrating limbo.

In the first of a two-part Trusadh special on the illness, we hear the stories of five ME sufferers, their descent into illness and their quest for treatment.