‘I changed career in my fifties – and got ME’
Jude Adams is refusing to let a persistent and debilitating illness get in the way of a lifelong ambition, says Victoria Lambert
When Jude Adams was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), her illness could not have come at a more frustrating time. After years nursing a secret passion for singing, Adams, a former fitness industry professional, had begun to take lessons, performing in public for the first time at her 50th birthday celebration. But within 12 months she found herself with the typical symptoms that accompany ME (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome): persistent tiredness, muscle aches/flu-like symptoms, insomnia and stomach problems.
Yet six years on from the start of illness, Adams has not only recovered much of her strength and vitality, but also recorded her first album.
“I am 57,” she says, “and I’ve done this almost because of my health issues. I might not have made my album if I hadn’t had ME.”
ME, which is more common in women, usually develops when people are in their early twenties to mid-forties, and while researchers believe there may be a genetic component, its cause is not clear. The NHS says that viral or bacterial infections, immune system deficiencies, hormone imbalances and psychological problems, such as stress and emotional trauma, are potential triggers. The condition affects about 250,000 people in the UK, according to the NHS.
For Adams, who lives near Canterbury with her partner, Marg Mayne, 54, chief executive of a leisure company, the illness came on in stages. The couple had moved to the Kent countryside in 2004 to buy their dream home. Adams had retrained as an interior designer and renovated their new property, where they decided to offer boutique b&b as well.
This was also when she decided to take up singing lessons, having lacked the confidence to do so before. After finding a local music teacher, Adams was confident enough to sing for family and friends. She attended two jazz workshops and formed a small band that performed locally. But the
‘It was a relief to get the diagnosis. But it was also mind-blowing’
next year, Adams found herself ill with a “nasty and persistent virus” that affected her on and off for 12 months.
“I had these conking-out episodes. I felt so tired, but this wasn’t ordinary fatigue and nothing relieved it. I felt as though my batteries had just gone. I was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. It was very confusing, frustrating and upsetting.
“I also found my attention span and concentration were affected, I had trouble with my digestion and I had mood swings.”
In November 2011, a GP diagnosed ME. “On the one hand, it was a relief to get a diagnosis, and on the other it was mind-blowing. I had known a couple of people with ME and knew it was a tough illness. Moreover, the diagnosis came without real support. I was effectively told to go away and look at some websites.
“ME is a postcode-lottery condition,” she says. “There are issues around funding and I was not offered any therapies on the NHS.”
But Adams and Mayne – who was then chief executive of the Voluntary Service Overseas scheme – were determined to find a solution. “Her emotional support has been, and is, extraordinary,” says Adams. “Plus, we’ve worked hard and been lucky that we can afford to pay for treatments which have helped me.”
ME is not considered by the NHS to be a psychological condition, but some experts believe it is a physical illness with a mental and emotional dimension. “I totally buy into the fact that it is a combination of all parts of you – that they all impact on each other,” says Adams. “I had been putting myself under a lot of stress. Then I got a virus and a vicious circle began.”
While there is no medication to treat chronic fatigue syndrome specifically, drugs, including painkillers and antidepressants, may be used for symptomatic relief.
The NHS recommends a variety of therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which can help sufferers to accept their diagnosis and increase their sense of control over symptoms. Graded exercise therapy may also be recommended, as is activity management and pacing your lifestyle. Adams had CBT before moving on to acupuncture, yoga and lymphatic drainage massage.
She also tried a mind-training system called the Gupta Programme, which works on the amygdala – the part of the
‘There were periods when I couldn’t do anything. Making a bed was too hard’
brain linked to stress – which she found helpful, plus cranial osteopathy and working with a nutritionist to improve her diet and for advice on supplements for specific symptoms.
All these approaches offered incremental improvements over time, and Adams rates herself as 95 per cent recovered. “But it’s a management game,” she says. “You have to keep yourself in balance, work out how much you can take on and not overdo it. I have such a natural enthusiasm for life, and want to achieve and follow my dreams and ambitions, but I have to rein myself in quite a bit still.
“I think that is quite common in people with ME; you drive yourself too hard and then everything comes collapsing down in a heap.”
Looking back, her lowest points came in the first couple of years following diagnosis. “There were periods of fatigue and illness when I couldn’t do anything – a trivial task like making a bed, or dealing with emails, was too hard. Suddenly, I wasn’t able to perform, when I’d only just got into my stride. It was life-changing for me, and for us as a couple.
But, as Adams says: “My diagnosis was mild. ME can be moderate or severe, leaving people bed-bound. I can’t imagine what that is like. I know I have been relatively fortunate.”