Driving ME mad - M.E. and Driving

For those people who do not have M.E. or have never come into contact with someone who suffers from M.E., the notion of ‘driving’ being one of the most complicated and energy-sapping tasks is completely absurd.

For those who do have M.E. it is completely normal to feel that driving 1 mile down the road will finish you off (energy-wise) for the rest of the day.

I learnt to drive whilst my M.E. was particularly bad, as I felt I needed to derive some achievement and pleasure from what was a nasty and isolating time. That I could only manage 45 minutes every week before returning to bed, exhausted and quite literally unable to formulate a sentence, was a sacrifice I had to make.

Even now, in a much improved state of health I find that 30 minutes driving at any one time is about as much as I am prepared to risk. For me the biggest worry is getting ‘jellyfish legs’ (my way of describing the shaky, wobbly feeling you get when you overuse the muscles in your legs or have a very tiring day) or becoming too tired to concentrate.

It is always possible to consider other methods of transportation:

- Public transport (but then you have to get to the bus/train/tram station and unless you live on the doorstep this is going to involve driving anyway).

- Personal taxi (gullible member or the family or ‘loving’ partner).

- Feet – walking is much easier than driving but you must allow enough energy to get back from where you have walked to!

- Skateboard - if you live on a hill this could be the answer to getting down, (might prove more tricky getting back up though).

I think it comes down to knowing what you are capable of. In essence, this is the secret to coping with M.E. and reaching a state of ‘wellness’. If you feel you cannot manage to drive at all/very far/long distances do not attempt it until you know the situation has changed.

It may not be safe for you to be on the road. You may need to notify the DVLA if you have M.E. symptoms such as fainting, problems with memory and concentration, visual problems and difficulties in using your arms and legs. You must remember it is not just your safety you must consider but that of other road users and pedestrians as well.

And if that sounds too much like the doom and gloom I promised this blog would not be…then here are a few quotations about driving that might just put a few more laughing miles on your clock:

“Until you've learned to drive, you've never really learned how to swear.” Robert Paul

“No one can drive us crazy unless we give them the keys.” Doug Horton

“Driving is a spectacular form of amnesia. Everything is to be discovered, everything to be obliterated.” Jean Baudrillard

“What I like, or one of the things I like, about motoring is the sense it gives one of lighting accidentally, like a voyager who touches another planet with the tip of his toe, upon scenes which would have gone on, have always gone on, will go on, unrecorded, save for this chance glimpse. Then it seems to me I am allowed to see the heart of the world uncovered for a moment.” Virginia Woolf

“I don't like driving very much. That makes me very unhappy, because I scream a lot in the car, but other than that, life is actually pretty good.” Whoopi Goldberg

If you want to read more about M.E and driving, the M.E. Support website has two fantasic articles:

Driving with ME and alternative transportation

Learning to Drive with ME

Happy motoring