Trading Lifespan For Health

[DigitalDrifter]

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A genie grants you the wish of trading some of your life span for perfect health, what's the lowest deal you'd be willing to accept?

I'm 37 and I would trade all but 6 months of my life for perfect health. I'll add that my ME is very severe.

 

[alex3619]

I have been saying since about 1990 or so, as a mild patient not my current severity, that I would take a drug that would give me my life back for five years and then I would die. I have not given a thought as to my current severity.

 

[TigerLilea]

I wouldn't. As bad as my health is I still want to live to see 100 candles on my birthday cake.

 

[alex3619]

To me this thread is about what we would be willing to sacrifice to be well. Its not about accepting death. Its about wanting to live life to the full, however briefly.

 

[Leila]

In my current state, 5yrs.

My more severe state, 2 yrs.

 

[hibiscuswahine]

Nothing. (I was going to get genetic testing to see what my “biological cell age” is but I have lived a full life, and expect to see it about 10 years less than now). Living each day as it comes….

 

[oldtimer]

I have been saying since about 1990 or so, as a mild patient not my current severity, that I would take a drug that would give me my life back for five years and then I would die. I have not given a thought as to my current severity.

If I could take my 7 year old cats out of the equation, I too would be happy with five years of normal life then die. What an amazing gift it would be.

 

[NelliePledge]

Difficult at my age/severity(milder end of moderate)/family history to come to a judgment.

On the positive side I might have 20 more years in me. I have some hope because of my house situation calming down with no further work that I can cut down significantly on having to over exert. And may see some benefit from that in more good days.

However on the other hand one parent died only 4 years older than I am now the other lived to mid 70s but had severe dementia and a negative quality of life for the last 15 years. And nobody has a crystal ball to know what the course of my ME is going to be.

Perhaps greedy but I think perhaps 10 years normal is where I’m at.

ETA should have repeated I didn’t get ill till over 40

 

[ukxmrv]

I used to have this trade all worked out when I was younger. Now after 38 odd years of this disease I am finding it harder to face the question.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

Update - Now I would trade all but 6 months of my life for 2012 level of health (99% housebound). I turn 39 in exactly 6 months.

 

[RedFox]

The government needs to consider this when ME drug research gets serious. If someone invents a drug that's effective but very dangerous, perhaps it makes you very vulnerable to cancer, or damages your liver over several years, it should still be approved and pwME should have the choice to take it.

 

[Peter T]

The government needs to consider this when ME drug research gets serious. If someone invents a drug that's effective but very dangerous, perhaps it makes you very vulnerable to cancer, or damages your liver over several years, it should still be approved and pwME should have the choice to take it.

Informed consent is the key.

How many people offered GET or curative CBT were informed of the risks involved? I imagine virtually none as the advocates for them still claim it can cure or improve some people but have never attempted to put meaningful long term probabilities on this.