HAVE you ever been so exhausted the simple task of interpreting the spoken word is impossible?

Barbara Shuttleworth from Bricket Wood suffered from such severe and debilitating fatigue it left her bedridden for more than nine years.

She spoke to reporter Alexandra Barham about her illness.

For those who are unfamiliar with the condition, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), or chronic fatigue syndrome as it is known to many, is an illness affecting thousands of people in the UK.

Following hours of partying, a strenuous workout, or a stressful day at work, it is normal to experience tiredness which can normally be overcome by resting. But for those with the condition, tiredness can be persistent to the point where the sufferer cannot even get out of bed.

Barbara, of Reynards Way, knows only too well the devastating effects of ME.

She was struck down with the disabling illness in 1987 after contracting a cold.

"I started the cold on the Monday," she said. "On the Sunday it was like a black cloud had come down and enclosed me. I remember saying to my husband 'I don't know what the matter is with me but I'm dreadfully ill'."

It quickly became apparent to 61-year-old Barbara that rest was doing little to relieve her overwhelming fatigue.

"The worst part of it for me was the devastating exhaustion," she said. "It wasn't that I just felt really tired, it's almost as though you've had all your sinews pulled out and your body can't support itself any more.

"You can't keep going, you just have to go to bed.

"I likened it to running into a brick wall at 90mph - everything shatters.

"I get dreadful pains all over the body. Sometimes it's a constant pain, sometimes it's a stabbing, sharp pain and it can be in different parts of the body.

"When I first became ill I was sleeping 20 to 22 hours a day and still waking up exhausted.

"I just had to opt out of life as I knew it," she said.

"I couldn't even sit up for long periods of time, I couldn't have visitors because I couldn't sustain a conversation and after a while I couldn't interpret what they were saying."

In many cases, the onset of the illness is linked to a viral infection but Barbara says she also blames a hectic lifestyle and a sparse diet for its conception.

"I had been leading an exceptionally busy lifestyle," she said. "I was up with the lark and it was dark before I went to bed.

"The sort of people who get ME are often the people that are really busy - we're not very good at saying no."

She admits for years she had been burning the candle at both ends, attempting to cram into a week piano lessons with 21 pupils, her duties as a parish councillor, voluntary commitments at the local church and a women's organisation.

After its emergence in the 1980s, the illness was dismissed as "yuppie flu" with medics associating symptoms of ME with "work hard, play hard" high flyers who refused to let their bodies rest.

For years, doctors were sceptical of the condition and unsympathetic to its sufferers, assuming over-exertion was to blame.

However, the profound reality of the illness emerged in 2002 following a two-year study by medical experts.

The study revealed the disease affected people of all ages and from all social spectrums, proving the yuppie flu label to be untrue.

It was a major breakthrough for ME sufferers including Barbara, who for years felt her illness was plagued by sceptism and doubt.

She said: "It's a devastating illness that many people don't understand.

"The term 'yuppie flu' trivialises it, but it really is a devastating illness - it affects young and old alike.

"It breaks down your ability to function normally; your muscle, brain and nervous system are compromised.

"When I was most ill I couldn't read, I couldn't understand my husband or English.

"I was having hallucinations - ghastly monsters were coming to get me.

"I suppose I could have been terrified but I was so ill I didn't have the energy to be terrified."

Barbara insists the illness not only disrupted her life but drastically changed the lives of her husband, Ken, and daughter, Louise, now 33.

"My daughter had to grow up in many ways very quickly and help her father in ways that I don't think children should have to do," she said. "She was worried about me, she couldn't understand why I was always ill."

Many ME sufferers recover fully, others may return to normal health over time but experience relapses, and those very unfortunate few remain affected indefinitely.

Thankfully Barbara managed to overcome the disabling illness in 1997 by learning how to manage and conserve her energy through homeopathy treatment.

"It teaches you to understand and listen to your body," she explained.

"I have learnt not to say yes to everybody. I now choose what to do and I'll only do something if it's something I'm going to enjoy doing."

"What I have to do is measure my energy. If I'm unwell I do decide not to do things and just rest or if I decide I'm going out this afternoon, I will stay in bed or sit down on the sofa all morning.

"When I have been out in the afternoon I would probably have to go to bed early in the evening and maybe be quiet for the next few days - it can be really restrictive.

"I never stand up if I can sit down and I never sit if I can lie down - I let my body rest as often as it needs to.

"If your body tells you it's tired then you should listen to it and take appropriate action."

Since regaining her health, Barbara has pursued her life-long dream of becoming a health therapist and now runs a thriving business from her home. Apart from suffering a fleeting relapse at the end of last year, she now boasts a clean bill of health.