This may sound simple, but it can be difficult getting used to a restricted diet, particularly when you have very little energy to start with! 

There are a number of non-dairy types of milk, cheese and butter; they are available from health food shops and many supermarkets.

If a gluten-free diet is necessary, it is advisable to contact the Coeliac Society.  They will require a signed doctors note confirming you have M.E. before allowing you to buy their publications. "The Food List" is updated each year and gives detailed advice on which foods can be eaten.  They also supply other information about living  on a gluten-free diet.  Gluten-free bread/cakes can be bought from health food shops, and are also available either online or by mail-order.

Learning to cope with a diet that is different to what you are used to does take a bit of time, but is not too much of a problem when at home.  The main difficulties can be when eating out - but there is normally something suitable available.  Most people with M.E. would probably argue that it is worth sticking with a restrictive diet, as long as it is healthy and well-balanced, in order to relieve any of the symptoms of this frustrating illness!

If food and/or chemical sensitivities become a major problem (and some people with M.E. do seem to become intolerant of numerous foods and chemicals, which makes life extremely difficult), it would be advisable to get advice from a practitioner skilled in  treating such conditions.

There are other "treatments" available for M.E., but these are probably the 5 main ones.  Other treatments include using anti-depressants  to help restore normal sleep-patterns.  However, they don't work for everyone with M.E., and some feel worse.  The herbal remedy St John's Wort has been found to be as good as anti-depressants in treating both depression and sleep problems - and it doesn't result in all of the side-effects that can occur with orthodox medication.

There are also two main forms of complementary medicine  - herbal medicine and homoeopathy:

a) Herbal Medicine - Herbalism was the original form of medicine from which today's orthodox medicine developed.  Therefore many modern drugs are derived from plants, and on the whole herbal medicines tend to be safer than synthetic drugs if used as prescribed.  Many remedies are available at health food shops, but for a chronic condition such as M.E. it is a good idea to see a qualified medical herbalist.  They will take a detailed history, and prescribe a herb or combination of herbs.

However some people have tried treating themselves with various herbal remedies.  Some herbs that have been found to be useful in M.E. are as follows:

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