Hey, I’ve never posted on reddit before but I’ve lurked on this sub since I was diagnosed.

I’m 17 turning 18 soon and I was diagnosed with CFS/ME my freshman year of high school. I was homeschooled during my sophomore year but then my parents forced me into online school for my junior year even when I told them I couldn’t handle it. Right after finals for my junior year, I crashed hard.

It’s been nine months and I’ve slowly continued crashing to the point that I should be housebound but Im hesitant to give up going out. I dropped out school again/went homeschooled. I always have to use a mobility aid (cane or wheelchair) when Im out and most days I struggle with basic self care.

Before this crash/flare, I would always bounce back to not 100% normal but relatively okay. The longest I would crash before this was 3 months. So basically, I’m wondering you all would still consider 9 months to be a crash/flare or if it’s my new baseline?

I know I need to pace harder but I’ve been trying to wait until my 18th birthday so I can go to a rheumatologist that my mother liked when she lived near me. (She’s disabled too)