Hi, I’m Emma. I’m housebound and mostly bedridden with ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, and POTS, amongst other things. I’ve recently had to walk away from my GP after they consistently ignored my Telehealth appointments. They also didn’t believe in ME/CFS and appeared to be very annoyed that I wasn’t getting better.

As a result of this, I’m currently without any medical care. I’m out of half of my prescription medications with no repeat scripts. This includes pain medication. I’m currently trying to survive full body pain with only paracetamol. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t help.

I’ve been thrown to the wolves by the public healthcare system here in Australia. I’ve been dismissed by every public specialist I’ve seen, and as such, haven’t had appropriate treatment. As I’m housebound, I can’t just pop out to the doctors. My last doctors appointment in person was last November, and I still haven’t recovered. I haven’t left the house at all this year, and spend about 95% of my time lying down, exhausted and in agony.

All this is pretty disastrous to be honest. Despite searching I can’t find any GP that will come to my house, so I can’t access any medications, especially pain relief. Telehealth locums can only prescribe small amounts of some medications, not the types I need.

My rescue plan requires some funding.

I need a private pain specialist. There is a rheumatologist in Adelaide who works with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia patients in pain. They are very expensive though as they are a private clinic.

To even get a referral, I need to find a GP willing to refer me, probably meaning I need to travel. I’m wheelchair bound outside the house, so any appointments will require access cab transport. That’s expensive too.

While I’m looking for a GP willing to help, I’m hoping I can access at least some of my prescriptions via a private Telehealth clinic, which also incurs a cost.

I cannot live in this much pain. I just can’t. I’m exhausted. Some nights I only sleep for an hour or two. The pain makes the exhaustion worse and the exhaustion makes the pain worse and I’m stuck in a vicious cycle where I just continually decline.

Finding appropriate medical help will be a long, expensive, and exhausting journey. I appreciate any help I can get. I can’t live with pain like this forever, but I don’t want to die. Any funding raised will go towards getting help, access cabs, Telehealth consultations. Alternative pain relief meds requiring private scripts. I do not have a hard total for funds I need. I can’t even start making appointments without any funds. I will update the total, up or down when I have further details.

Im a single mum with a disabled adult son, who lives with me. We share the house with a dog a cat and a bird. I’ve been very ill for the last 12 years. Any help is greatly appreciated xx