Dr. Veronique Mead, M.D.'s Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Recovery Story

[@RaelanAgle]

TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Veronique’s ME/CFS onset & progression 00:08:13 How being a medical doctor impacted Veronique’s experience 00:14:18 Raelan shares about her illness onset 00:17:50 The main things that helped Veronique to recover 00:29:39 Are medical doctors with ME/CFS taken more seriously by other doctors? 00:36:07 Veronique’s current trauma studies work 00:42:56 How to deal with trauma to improve health 00:55:12 Veronique’s message to others facing chronic illness 00:56:54 How to reach Veronique and learn more about her work

[@veroniquemead3453]

Thanks so much for inviting me to be a part of your amazing set of resources Raelen. Meeting you and getting to connect with you and talk about this life-altering journey - and the kinds of things we never expected to learn that have also been helpful along the way - has been a gift and I was touched by your level of curiosity. You've clearly been on a deep path and it's an honor to be a part of this journey with you.

[@RaelanAgle]

Veronique, I couldn't be more thrilled to have connected with you. I have been raving about you to anyone who will listen ever since this chat of ours! I have so much respect for you as a person, and also for the work that you do. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me here ❤️

[@veroniquemead3453]

@@RaelanAgle Thank so so much Raelan!! I guess we are now a mutual fan club :-)

[@becca4974]

Veronique, I feel our stories are so close in nature. I am also in the health care field, a nurse practitioner, who is currently suffering from CFS as a result of multiple traumas, to include what I am seeing in the medical field as well as what I am experiencing trying to get help. I crashed in Dec, 2020 (for the second time but was able to improve to a functioning level) and had to stop working in February. I so appreciate you and your willingness to step out from the “norm” cause you TRULY care. I hope to follow in your shoes one day and help others like you are, away from the current medical system. Thank you, Realan, for bringing her on your channel. I would have never known about her if you having. You both are such inspirations Just FYI, I’ve been treated so poorly by most doctors since this started. One of which looked at my labs Tyra I brought to the initial visit, saw they were basically normal, and walked into the room and said that she can’t help me. Didn’t even do an exam I also received letters from another doctor who said she didn’t know how to help me. She didn’t even try.

[@veroniquemead3453]

@@becca4974 I am so sorry to hear your story - your CFS, your second crash, and how poorly you've been treated. It's unfortunately still such a terribly common experience, even for those of us in the medical field who you'd think might get a certain quality of professional courtesy / curiosity / respect. I imagine many medical professionals are simply overwhelmed in not having the tools or information to know how to even begin. If you haven't read "The Ladies Handbook of Her Mysterious Illness" you might find it compelling and supportive in the way she shares her own deep dive. Her stories of being dismissed are painful - yet her experience familiar, validating and inspiring. Thank you so much for writing and I wish you all the best with wherever this unexpected detour will lead. xoxo

[@ginlynch9009]

This was Amazing and so inspiring! Thank you Veronique for sharing your expertise on trauma, ACE's, and being invalidated by the health care system. It's so nice to feel hopeful after being unwell for over 10 yrs. I look forward to reading your blog! Thank you Raelan for bringing this perspective. ❤️

[@HealwithLiz]

So happy for Dr. Veronique! Such a powerful interview and very useful, too. She is doing such great work on trauma research and ME/CFS. What she says about talk therapy (and what methods are actually more effective) resonates with me. Great interview!

[@veroniquemead3453]

Thanks so much Liz - I'm so glad that the other forms of therapy and how to think about them resonated! I think it's a big shift to learn about somatically based trauma therapies, which haven't yet been as well studied as the talk therapies and that do have a whole other way of supporting healing by helping us pay attention to our bodies, sensations, images and more .... they help us reconnect in ways we aren't taught or recognized very well yet in our society and medical culture.

[@confidentlilbean]

Thank you once again for providing us with all these amazing and uplifting videos, Raelan. I know I already mentioned it on IG, but videos like these are really helping me get through this extremely rough time. As someone who is currently 95% bed bound (and not really able to do much in bed either) and suffering pretty severe symptoms most days, I just hope to be able to be in one of your videos one day and to be able to say that I’m anywhere between 80-100% recovered 🤞🏼💛

[@veroniquemead3453]

Hi Pia - Hang in there!! Here's to the day when you'll be sharing your story too!! xoxo

[@RaelanAgle]

Hey Pia, I'm so glad this was helpful in some way. Sending love to you ❤️

[@confidentlilbean]

@@veroniquemead3453 Thank you so much for believing I can get there too 🙏🏼

[@veroniquemead3453]

@@confidentlilbean Yes I believe!! :-)

[@JaLoRi114]

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!!!!!! You two bring so much hope to the cfs Community

[@veroniquemead3453]

Here's to the hope Jana! It's what I find so empowering and refreshing in all that I learned after I left medicine :-) and it's my deep goal for others on the ME/CFS and other chronic illness journeys because there's so much more we can do than we realize

[@JacquiQ]

Thank you ladies. She was bed bound for one year She was a Dr and she did what we all have to do ...try and find a cause/reason ourselves. She had no clue what to do. She did not want to symptom chase and take pharma meds for each symptom and yet that is what they are taught to do and what she possibly did for her patients. We are told constantly "If symptoms persist, go see your Dr". My hubs kept saying; unless a Dr gets sick themselves they have no interest, or ability to help, to research and really care abt trying to help us. I was nurse so i was trained this way too. No idea abt chronic symptoms. Unless you live it , u can never understand.

[@theantiqueactionfigure]

Dr Mead reminds me so much af a dear friend. A women who earned a PHd in psychology while living with full blown dyslexia. Her struggle made her a very effective therapist though. She's gone now but she definitely left the world a better place than she found it.❤❤❤

[@chantellegus2069]

Such a great interview! I’ve come to a lot of these realisations through my own recovery!

[@veroniquemead3453]

Thanks Chantelle! Sometimes those realizations really help!!

[@lin395]

Hello Raelan and Veronique. I have been enjoying all of your interviews and this one was extra special. I am a counselor and have had chronic muscular pain for 40 plus years along with Celiac disease and environmental allergies and had cancer removed 5 years ago. I am laughing right now because I am actually fairly healthy looking and active and totally burned out. Just realized that is has been a long and lonely and expensive road searching for options and self care. I kept going like the Energizer Bunny through health issues and gobs of family and relationship pain. Thank you for acknowledging the medium traumas that pile up and drain our spirit. Your work (both of you) is beautiful.

[@ajwu7704]

Raelan you’ve been on a roll with these uploads!! I appreciate your content so much. How do you balance KZbin with work? Hope you’re taking care of yourself too! Sending love 💕

[@veroniquemead3453]

I'd love to learn that too Raelan!! :-)

[@RaelanAgle]

Joyce, you are so sweet and kind to even ask. Honestly, I haven't been balancing things all that well. Despite everything I've learned over the years, lately, I've fallen back into some old workaholic patterns and have been feeling the effects. But! I'm turning things around. I'm scaling back a bit and I'm hiring some people to take over some of the tasks so that I will have more time for self-care. And happiness! I also am in the process of hiring a life coach. It's all about support, right?! I'm so glad you're finding these videos helpful in c=some way, and thanks so much Joyce for always taking the time to comment and share a bit of your thoughts and experience. I appreciate it! And I'm sure others do too ❤️

[@KWilliams22]

Such a fantastic interview....sooooo many takeaways from this...thank you!! It was funny when you spoke about having to take your husbands to your appointments to get more validation etc...I had the same experience with male doctors being dismissive and condescending until I took my boyfriend along...I walked out the door with a diagnosis...he didn't even talk...it was just his presence!!! Crazy! Xx

[@veroniquemead3453]

That's so (almost) funny that your boyfriend didn't even need to talk. Here's to a new tribe Keren - those of us with chronic conditions and our male allies :-)

[@RaelanAgle]

Isn't that so crazy, Keren?! My pride takes a huge hit when I have to do it, but sometimes the end goal is more important than my pride 😐

[@katalinmcewan]

I went to see a female doctor a couple of times regarding my crippling fatigue and was offered nothing but antidepressants. 8 years later, thanks to my own research and efforts I’m feeling a lot better, but nowhere near recovered. I don’t actually know what I have as apparently my lab tests are absolutely fine. I went to see a private doctor recently and was told to do nothing, stop taking my expensive supplements I was taking for CFS and have 20 minutes afternoon naps every day.

[@veroniquemead3453]

@@katalinmcewan It makes me so sad to hear stories like yours. Thank you for sharing.

[@KWilliams22]

Yes it was crazy...we are talking about old skool make doctors here so I didn't expect any less...I also thought the end goal was worth it but I gave it a good fight before on my own so maybe that helped a little. I was dismissed for so many years by doctors...I now believe I had mild cfs for over a decade before the tipping point made me severe 3 and a half years ago...I wish I had fought harder back then....but I didn't know anything or even what cfs was....we have learnt so much on this journey and I'm now 50% recovered so we have so much hope 💖

[@bobbiev7062]

This is brilliant. Goosebumps all over my body while listening to this podcast. ❤

[@veroniquemead3453]

Hurray for goosebumps - so glad you had them and thanks so much Bobbie!

[@Liz-rj9ui]

This is one of the best interviews!! Thank you both!!

[@nikowearden252]

I am going to see a somatic experiencing and trauma-specialised psychological therapist and I am so excited she mentioned these kinds of therapies as a helpful tool - It really makes sense that it might help. I also love that she talks about how complex this is and how there is no one answer, but giving your body the best possible chance of recovery by supporting your body as much as you can.

[@veroniquemead3453]

Wishing you all the best with your trauma folks Niko and so glad it's helpful to be so honest about the complexity and lack of a clear answer :-)

[@RaelanAgle]

Agreed! Glad you enjoyed this, Niko ❤️

[@pbmc_]

Enjoyed the video. I believe trauma is very much a factor.

[@RaelanAgle]

Glad you enjoyed it ❤️

[@peachesmcgee4795]

This makes perfect sense to me.My "last straw" was a couple of Hepatitis B vaccines years ago,but my system was definitely already primed for illness.

[@helenlaurenson8974]

What a moving and thought-provoking conversation. Thank you both.

[@serenebeth]

Thank you both for your work. The interview was great.

[@stacylamotte5517]

Wow!!! HOPE!!! I found something else that might hold the promise of improvement!!! THANK YOU RAELAN!!! THANK YOU DR. VERONIQUE!!!

[@RaelanAgle]

Yay! I'm so glad you found this helpful (and hopeful!) Stacy ❤️

[@AnrupB]

Love love love. Great new bits of info and so much was covered in my trauma informed studies. Very grateful for this interview. She has a beautiful presence and energy! 🙂

[@RaelanAgle]

💗💗💗

[@justbecauseican1410]

This is so informational!

[@veroniquemead3453]

Glad it felt like there was a lot of info here - thanks JustbecauseIcan!

[@stephy31uk]

I just gained a better understanding of what is happening and going on with me. I am new to your channel Raelan, I watched the youtube DrBean and yourself chatting about Chronic Fatigue, I have it, and now listening to your videos is giving me cause to hope this isn't always a forever problem. I am getting to know more about myself, and ways I can try to help myself. I too am Canadian but living in the UK. I don't like doctors as I haven't found one that's good enough, now on hearing this video, I think maybe I need to do something about that. Expecting miracles is crazy hoping, and I don't have that mindset, I am is it going to be fixed if I don't have the answer to it. I don't want to dwell, or delve to deep into it cause it might make it worse, so I blocked it from thought and that is why I didn't stop till I dropped. I now get blackouts frequently, and can't move, roll or sit up a lot more of the time, I can sleep days away, and wake and feel like I hadn't been asleep, have zero energy. Now I am keen to solve this, I'm a grandmum, missing out on the cutest years of her life. and I want to live a better existence. Your conversations are making me understand what has been going on with me, so I am going to put the word HOPE back into my language. I can hope to see an end point to this crazy thing called Chronic Fatigue, as you two are getting there. My brain is saying to me now, okay you snuck that energy to type this, you'll have a horrid week ahead for it as my brain will be zapped.

[@skinscapetattoo]

This was most timely, listening to this today coming out of my first big crash in 5 months, after a cycle accident that had me flat on my back for two weeks, incapacitated, feeling vulnerable and alone and fearful for my old age. I’m sure it was a phone call with my mother, that went horribly wrong, with her shouting a diatribe over me that tipped me into a full blown crash. Embarrassing saying this at 55 years of age🥴

[@wilson8979]

I have a lot of childhood trauma. A lot. Then it carried into my adult life with an abusive husband. Then, I believe I got this type of condition based off all of trauma. I was neglected as a child, divorced parents, molested at age 3 or 4. Adolescent addiction with drugs. Went into the military. I deployed twice and I was with chaplains in a hospital at one deployment in Afghanistan. My now ex husband was extremely verbally and emotionally abusive. My time in the military was a pice of cake compared to the rest of my life. And I saw death on a daily basis there.

[@a..r.9341]

This really is a great interview, very good insight and information form both of you. ❤. Thank you.

[@RaelanAgle]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@brandigayle8775]

Great interview!! Very informative and relatable.

[@RaelanAgle]

Thank you so much, Brandi! ❤️

[@honorburza9110]

Very interesting interview. I had a grieving mum, dad died when I was little.

[@Notesie]

Really helpful

[@108linda]

I love Veronique! She has been such a big inspiration in my recovery from burnout and I use her website a lot in my own blogging and articles. Thanks for a great interview 🙏🏻☺️🙏🏻

[@RaelanAgle]

Amazing, Linda! That's so nice to hear ❤️

[@veroniquemead3453]

Hi Linda, wonderful to see you here and so glad for inspiration helping in your recovery from burnout and beyond!!!

[@cathyjennings5580]

Thanks SO MUCH for your knowledge and time for Us 👍

[@anna-marieeasmus7529]

I also did not believe that trauma caused my CFS. I actually still don't, but I came to realize that my insomnia leading to fatigue etc is trauma. So for me this illness, probably caused by a virus /-es, is causing my traumas. Realizing that has open up yet another way to try and recover or to keep in mind when I get out of this "abusive relationship" with the viruses. What is interesting is that nobody really talks about how a chronic viral infection can be the cause of trauma in your life.

[@veroniquemead3453]

Anne-Marie - Yes, not only can being terribly sick from a virus be traumatizing, but other symptoms (as you describe with your sleep) and experiencing a disabling, sometimes life-threatening, often incurable (or at least seemingly incurable) disease can all be profoundly traumatic as well. This is not talked about very much, nor is the fact that our doctors' responses can also be traumatizing (such as when we don't feel seen or heard, or when we are belittled, judged or shamed). I wrote an article on this for They Mighty if it's of interest and also have it on my blog chronicillnesstraumastudies.com/chronic-illness-can-be-traumatizing/

[@RaelanAgle]

Great point Anna- Marie, thanks for sharing ❤️

[@Bachconcertos]

I have had a lot of family trauma, I am an over achiever, highly active, was active - now for eight years I have CFS and I am 63 female and still alone no family no friends & I am terrified because the doctor sees no problem & has no time for me - I have been through a few doctors. I have no support system at all even though I keep reaching out for help - no one has time for me.

[@melindabrown9718]

I relate to this so much, I had a gradual onset and then stopped work eventually and I got worse and worse. So frustrating. I feel like the more I rest and slow down the less tolerance I have for things. I’d say I go between 70-90% recovered but I just want to be working again. If I wasn’t a mum I think I could manage. I have CPTSD I’ve tried CBT but it didn’t help. I refuse to believe I won’t get my life back.

[@veroniquemead3453]

Hi Melinda, It's an odd thing, isn't it, when slowing down and resting even more seems to come with even less tolerance for things. I have had the same experience at times, and somewhat this year during the pandemic as well. My response is to keep the context of all that preceded this to create survival patterns in my system that can get stimulated and triggered by ongoing stressors (the pandemic and the world in crisis are bigger than many realize) and to keep doing somatically based trauma therapies. Consider these as part of your journey if of interest ie: EMDR, somatic experiencing (SE), sensorimtor psychotherapy, EFT (emotional freedom technique) and others. Don't give up and keep believing and chipping away !! xoxo

[@arcadia9424]

I can highly recommend emdr too! I found cbt and talk therapies didn't help my cfs and cptsd, but emdr has been really beneficial.

[@veroniquemead3453]

@@arcadia9424 Yes! So glad to hear it! EMDR can be a super helpful tool (eye movement reprocessing and desensitization for anyone who is not familiar with this approach). Training includes awareness of trauma and the approach works to heal by using a process that works more directly with the body (where trauma responses reside) rather than with our thinking / cognitive self (which may know about past trauma but which is not typically a way to access the nervous system survival patterns so we can work with and heal them)

[@lynnlasak4089]

I had vertigo and then an ear infection.

[@suzannax]

I think if more doctors looked at trauma as a risk factor for physical illness instead is dismissing illness because of past trauma we'd be much further along.

[@allaboutstress361]

Did she notice an elevated stress response including a level of anxiety. How far back in her life could she recognise any of the common symptoms and signs

[@lynnlasak4089]

I thought mine was sudden onset, then I realized their name as warning signs

[@christinal.suarez1838]

❤

[@cathyjennings5580]

Every person is FLAWED. MISFITS.

[@slowlivingmom]

Raelan you said somthing one time that you had to quit all sugar. Even honey. Have you changed your mind a bit?

[@RaelanAgle]

I do eat some sugar now, yes! Though nothing like I used to thankfully.

[@christinal.suarez1838]

❤