I am 39, and a single mum. In the summer of 1995, half a year after my daughter was born, I had to stay in bed for three weeks, totally exhausted. I was so tired, I could hardly lift my arms. Since that summer I have always felt chronicly tired, with periods of complete exhaustion. Being a young mother responsible for a baby, this was very frustrating. In the mornings I would often make a "to do" list for the day, but then found I had the energy to complete only one item of the list.
Every day was a struggle. I had to make do with the energy I had, and was often uncertain how I would manage to get to the end of the day. I used to be energetic and fit, spending my holidays in the mountains and walking with 15 kg on my back. But because of my constant fatigue I thought that this was over for good. I was young, but felt old.
I also suffered from hayfever and excema, but always feeling weak and tired was the worst aspect of my illness. My muscles always felt tired, and when I did something really physical, I always had to pay for it later. For example, once I helped my father for half an hour in the garden. After that I was completly exhausted and it took me days to recover.
This is all behind me now. I have much more energy, and my chronic fatigue is gone. In March 2001, I went to a information evening on the Buteyko method. I started to observe my breathing and noticed that I was often breathing through my mouth, quicky out of breath, and sighed a lot. I was just breathing much to much. So I decided to try the method, and attended the first Buteyko course Dick Kuiper ran in Holland.
I have followed the instructions conscientiously since the first day of the course. When I entered the course my Controle Pause was 6 seconds. By the end of the first week I had build it up to 20 seconds. Now it is in the mid thirties. Soon I noticed I was getting less tired. Shortly after the course week, I went away for a weekend to visit a friend. During that weekend I really realised how well I actually was doing. It was a long trip to the town where my friend lives, we went out for most of the afternoon and evening, we talked all night, had something to drink, and went to bed late. And amazingly, I felt fine the next day!".
I have noticed other benefits as well. I do not get sick as often, I feel calm and relaxed, and I am not as sensitive to sugar as I used to be. I can now eat a piece of cake again when there is a birthday party, and I really shouldn't have tried that when I was still chronicly fatiqued. I also noticed that I don't become weak and dizzy when I get hungry. I don't have to eat straight away, like I had to. And my hayfever and excema symptoms have reduced.
But the big difference is without a doubt that I have regained my energy. Of course I am, just like everybody else, sometimes tired at the end of the day. But I don't struggle through the day anymore. I have much more energy, I bike with my daughter, I bought a dog who needs a lot of attention, and I noticed that I am not out of breath as fast.