Former UW basketball star Donald Watts' life with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - New Day Northwest

Donald Watts, former UW star and co-founder of Watts Basketball (with his dad, Sonics legend Slick Watts), shared how he remains strong and healthy, despite living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

[@Why19501]

The doctors still don’t believe you when you tell them you have overwhelming fatigue and no control over it

[@norlightpress5137]

Almost nobody wants to hear you when you tell them it's EMF-related. Ignorance is bliss - until it isn't. DIGITAL radiation. DIGITAL wireless....not a natural wave form. Hard to criticize tech in the Seattle-area.

[@AlyciaC]

I love his positive attitude but as someone with "chronic fatigue syndrome" I need to say something. First, the best way to find info on chronic fatigue syndrome is to use the terms me/cfs or cfs/me. Another name for this illness is myalgic encephalomyelitis but it's used more in the UK. There's a very important story for why there are so many different terms for one illness but that is something that can be researched as it is a bit complicated. Second, the predominant symptom that should be looked for in cfs/me isn't fatigue, it's something called post exertional malaise or PEM. This is something ONLY seen in people with cfs/me & it's so important. What happens with PEM is that your body does not respond to physical, cognitive, or psychological exertion in a "normal" way. For one, it takes on average 3 days to feel the results of the exertion & two, the body's response is wildly out of proportion to the actual exertion. An we example....One hour of riding a bike could have you feeling like you rode for 5 hours. For people on the severe end of the illness, a walk to the bathroom or even a 10 minute phone call could leave them unable to move or talk, they could develop seizures, or experience a 10/10 pain level. I've experienced it many times & it's obvious when it's happening. Oh and this illness isn't labeled as a immunological illness, under the world health organization it's labeled as neurological but it does affect the immune system and is sometimes called neuro-immune. There is damage & inflammation in the brain. Ok the most important part currently cfs/me has a 4% cure rate. This illness has a relapse/remit cycle it follows. Having it.... then it being gone forever is almost miraculous. As for playing basketball while you have the cfs/me diagnosis....NO!!!! Exercise, especially in the beginning of the illness, is the worst thing you could ever do. When you ask people who have severe cfs/me were they told to exercise when first diagnosed...The answer is almost always yes. Exercise used to be recommended for this illness, that has now changed. You are told to stay away from exercise, especially aerobic, & you should rest often. The reason why is that exertion (especially "over" exertion which can mean different things at different levels of this illness) causes disease progression.....& can cause death. Yes, this illness can be fatal. As of this moment there's a 10% fatality rate but they have just started researching death from cfs/me so the rate may increase. There are significant cardiac impairments seen in cfs/me patients. This illness is extremely complex, serious & often referred to as "the most debilitating illness there is". So, while I'm not doubting the fact he was diagnosed with cfs/me....it's possible he was misdiagnosed or, what caused me to comment here...In a few years he will be diagnosed with severe cfs/me because he pushed too hard. The latter is what happened to me and many others. At least 25% of the people living with cfs/me are wheelchair bound, housebound, &/or bedbound. A portion of that 25% can't take care of their basic daily needs, some are tube fed, unable to tolerate lights & sound, are unable to speak & are in constant pain. And again, some die. This illness is horrific & the amount of people living with it continue to grow due to inaccurate information given...Often by doctors (this is changing finally but it took 30 years of bad advice & the loss of way too many lives along the way) This is a very good, current article about cfs/me is.gd/CHacW5

[@littlemschat1052]

Hi, does your ME comes on and worsens over time or it just suddenly strikes?

[@KidCity1985]

You are spot on and that's an awesome amount of information.

[@__-gn3tp]

Maybe he doesn’t have CFS, I’ve experienced burnout syndrome twice in my life and had the same symptoms for over 3 months and initially I thought I had CFS. He might have burnout syndrome (HPA axis dysregulation)

[@libertygal]

Very informative post!!

[@jnisrud254]

I think you're being extremely negative. I agree about the neuro-immune part but we're not helpless patients. Major improvements (especially over the course of 10, 20 years!) are absolutely possible. You must not underestimate the impact of mindset too... staying realistic put positive is a must.

[@garyallen4486]

For me it was the darkest years of my life. 20 years CFS is a long period of time that at first felt like a slow dying experience. No one could help and no one could understand how this illness impacted with the family and at work.

[@theantiqueactionfigure]

A low carb, high fat diet helped me more than any other treatment. It takes me from bed bound up to housebound, but that's about it!

[@sekischro5093]

what about avoiding gluten?

[@jeremybearman2722]

well done for speaking out about cfs. terrible illness

[@muratkeyder]

Good for him but I wish he had talked a bit more about the actual symptoms and the disease. He must have had a very mild version of chronic fatigue syndrome that allowed him to play semi-professional basketball and have two kids in his twenties. From my experience, even mild CFS makes maintaining any regular exercise regimen very difficult, and beyond mild it's completely impossible...

[@antiarugula]

Agreed

[@lifetobelived9102]

The interviewer did such a good job. She really seems connected in the conversation.

[@jasonmitchell6534]

Go gym

[@frankclark8009]

Terrific interview. Great insights from Donald Watts on health and success. Love it!

[@jnisrud254]

This is the best video I've seen in my life, for real. What a motivational speech, he's my role model from now on!! 😀

[@earthangel1978]

I can completely relate to his story. I was finally diagnosed too after years of weird unexplainable symptoms. I was also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia which produces similar symptoms.

[@nivekoch]

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[@womaninamerica4572]

Glad to hear you recovered, but this doesn’t sound like the cfs debilitating disease I’ve lived with for decades. All the food changes are mandatory change to see improvements agreed! Glad your doing better!

[@davidouv]

Great interviewer!

[@lifetobelived9102]

That is what is hard. I end up going to different doctors and no one will talk about how anything out of their specialty like each organ, etc. isn't in the same body and could be interrelated to the bigger problem.

[@trinaa1722]

It wasn't until I started looking up my symptoms that I figured out what was wrong with me..I habe not yet been officially diagnosed because the doctors WON'T diagnose this because its now considered a disability illness. Still suffering greatly.

[@MrsMelissaRich]

Wow. Doctors are owned by corporations owned by the government 🙃

[@stevenfetzer4911]

@@MrsMelissaRich agree.we are cash crops and nothing more.

[@derekwfrazier]

Got to get nasty and show: literature, buddy statements, symptom log .. and your all set for disability.. it may take losing 2 jobs rapidly

[@tekohaatawhai3697]

@@MrsMelissaRich More like the government is owned by the corporations.

[@ellesam3348]

This gives me hope 👍

[@bizonc]

What I need help with is non restorative unrefreshed sleep (night sleep like a coma) waking up 80% charged and TERRIBLE brain fog. The brain fog stole my life and identity. Word does not describe the disability and agony. I just need relief from that. I can take sleep sessions but I need my mind!

[@KidCity1985]

This man experiences exactly what I do.

[@zullyamaya1]

Do the best you can with what you have ❤ And make sure you have something left for tomorrow ☀️

[@larssonmaria8090]

Herbal medicine is the best to treat our body system naturally Hi I’ve been living with chronic fatigue 😰…for more than 5years now but I got rid of it naturally after using dr Omo herbal medicine his KZbin channel dromocure

[@CS-pi5oc]

I tell ppl that if everyone had CF/FM the world as we know it wouldn’t exist. I’ve had the slow onset CF but currently have greatly worsened. Many of us were go getters & couldn’t function any other way. We know we r sick. My dr can rattle off my symptoms but has nothing to offer as care.

[@danandam7100]

Relatable.

[@CT-od5dl]

Not sure why everyone is so hung-up on "evidence" and "doctors' - almost everyone who has gotten a proper diagnosis says doctors misdiagnosed them and wouldn't take their symptoms seriously.

[@ivyblackburn5366]

Nice job Donald. Hi to pops for me. Go Sonics........

[@jamesbenhart4248]

Thanks don......i went on hcq to fight the retrovirus that gave me cfs.......i can get out of bed now........

[@robertlifea6405]

How is it going? still taking it?

[@teamusa4472]

That applause noise is obnoxious but funny.

[@JohnBedson]

He was just aging. To call that Chronic Fatigue is ridiculous. CF is miles worse than anything he experienced.

[@leftthatbehind6090]

He is describing chronic fatigue. Chronic fatigue SYNDROME is indeed something completely different

[@bizzyfit2128]

It's not right to dismiss him just because he doesn't experience cfs in the same way that you do. We hate it when doctors dismiss us, but you're doing just that to this man. He drastically changed his diet to try and get as close to normal as possible. A lot of people aren't willing to do that.

[@BrianKiddDevDesign]

aging? he was in his early 20s when he got it. For a vertical to decrease 10 inches from age 17 to 20 or so is probably not just aging.

[@gusbees2052]

He talks like Obama

[@jenniporras0312]

He doesn't have M.E. Most of us with M.E. can't work or be active.

[@dirkkatz172]

now the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is found: radiation of microwaveoven.(magnetron) To stop you have to eliminate the oven out of the house. The plug out of electricity net because the oven has also radiation when it is not in use.And out of the house because the oven has a high voltage capacitor. The distance between an oven and a person is very important.After a 2 weeks without microwaves health becomes better.

[@visionvixxen]

What about cell phoneS?

[@davidallison5529]

Wrong. I developed ME/CFS while having no microwave for the first 21 years of it, while also living in the country miles from any cell tower. There is zero chance that it is caused by microwaves.

[@norlightpress5137]

@@davidallison5529 but maybe you have personal devices.... router, SMARTxxxx, cordless phone, wireless headphones, ...etc..etc...then there's electric fields and magnetic fields...but let's keep things simple.

[@norlightpress5137]

@@davidallison5529then there's electric and magnetic fields....the latter can make you VERY tired with high exposure...point exposure.

[@norlightpress5137]

@@davidallison5529maybe device in your home...your sickphone, router, etc...radiation from handheld devices / home networking - higher then a cell tower.