A TEENAGER from Thornbury has spoken out about an illness that she says makes her life a misery.

Helen Wood, 19, still lives at home with her family in Thornbury, however, unlike other teenagers Helen’s dream of having her own place and living her own life might never come true.

In 2005, at the age of 14, Helen was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis or M.E. as it is more commonly known.

Helen said: "Lots of people don’t know what a debilitating illness M.E. can be. It doesn’t just go away you can’t wave a magic wand and it’s gone.

"M.E. is a horrible illness as it stops me doing what I want to do. M.E. stops me having fun in my life.

"People think I do just what I want and they think I should be doing more than I am doing but they don’t understand I can’t do what everyone else does."

M.E., for which there is no cure, can last for years and symptoms can vary from person to person.

Symptoms include persistent and extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headaches, flu-like symptoms, sore throat, swollen glands, concentration and short-term memory problems, sleep difficulties, dizziness and increased sensitivity to light and sound.

M.E. affects around 250,000 people in the UK and unfortunately the illness is difficult to diagnose.

Liz Wood, Helen’s mum, said: "The doctor who diagnosed Helen thinks she may have had M.E. since the age of eight or nine.

"It started with Helen missing school a lot with swollen glands and sore throats. Initially one of the doctors at the health centre thought she was skiving but I knew as her mother that something wasn’t right.

"Helen could be off school for up to two weeks at a time and the doctors kept saying it was a virus."

Due to the illnesses debilitating nature Helen has not been to school in five years which has not only kept her from achieving any GCSEs or A-Levels but has prevented her from forming any social network.

"It is difficult to live with and we all struggle. Sometimes Helen may look well but what she feels inside is very different.

"It is the day to day things that you take for granted that Helen finds very difficult and as a consequence she feels very isolated," said Mrs Wood.

To help try and combat the illness Helen has regular check-ups with her doctor as well as seeing a dietician and a psychologist but next month she is being referred to a M.E. specialist at Southmead hospital.

"We are hoping he can get to the bottom of Helen’s problems and find a way to help her and then hopefully in time she can improve," said Mrs Wood.

Helen has said she also hopes next month will be the beginning of better understanding about M.E. as her appointment coincides with M.E. Awareness week, which runs from May 9 and May 16.

M.E. Awareness week is being organised by charity Action for M.E., which hopes to raise awareness and understanding of the illness.

For more information visit, www.afme.org.uk