Dr. Martina Melzer, published: 12/21/24
At the end of 2018, Caroline received a triple vaccination for a planned trip to Africa. That was the beginning of her ME/CFS story. She wasn't feeling well on the
way to Africa, but a stay in Kenya followed. The vaccinations were not the only trigger: studying in the USA, 80-hour work and study weeks and a lot of stress were added to the mix. Despite
extreme exhaustion and constant crashes, further stays abroad followed.
In 2020, she was diagnosed with ME/CFS and POTS. She finally knew what she had. She quickly turned her attention to the topic of
“Recovery is possible”. In this interview, Caroline, who is not only extremely likeable and mercilessly honest, but also makes the podcast “Superhelden ohne Cape”, talks about her journey
(Interview in German, please activate subtitle and choose language to translate).
Important points on the road to recovery:
- Helpful books: Gabor Maté - When the Body Says No, Alan Gordon - The Way Out, Dan Neuffer - CFS Unravelled, Raelan Agle - Finding Freedom
- Raelan Agle's YouTube channel
- The Gupta program helped her
- She tried infusions, nutritional supplements, operations and very expensive therapies
- Things improved significantly until she started working part-time again, which was too much, so she had to resign
- She has been back with her parents since February 2024 and is fully focused on her recovery; things have been “noticeably uphill” since June 2024, she has managed to get out of the push-crash cycle and taken the pressure of having to get well quickly out of the equation
- She finds psychotherapy very helpful in coming to terms with the illness and understanding inner parts, and inner work and working with feelings are very important to her in general
- Frederik Gerber has helped her to build up some movement again
- She does her own brain retraining with thought techniques
- TRE / Neurogenic tremoring helps her
- She found vagus nerve stimulation supportive
- What the people from over 100 interviews in her podcast have in common: They had an incredible amount of stress before the disease, are often Type A people, don't give up, and made the decision: I believe in recovery
Unfortunately, Caroline is stopping the podcast. She now wants to focus on herself and her health, which I can understand very well
Her message: “Healing is not guaranteed, but definitely possible” and “Recovery is incredibly individual”
How to find Caroline:
Podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5bVEGhYjQW16CBx6NAhCmy
Instagram: @superheldenohnecape
Translated with DeepL
Important: the content on this page is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for talking to your doctor or other therapist. Please talk to your doctor or therapist before making any decisions about your physical or mental health. Every way into a mind-body syndrome is something individual, and every way out.
