Before I Became Ill
In September 2024, I was in the final year of my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.
At that time, I was extremely active and focused on improving myself. I ate mostly homemade food, exercised regularly, took cold showers, and used several supplements as part of my daily routine.
Before this period, I had already experienced several significant health events.
I had contracted COVID-19 multiple times, as far as I can remember. In 2023, I also suffered a near-fatal heart attack.
In 2021, I went through an episode of depression. I was prescribed sertraline at the time, and after approximately three months, I recovered completely and returned to my normal life.
That experience is important to mention because what happened to me later felt completely different from depression.
December 2024 — The Beginning
In December 2024, I was still very active at university when I developed a viral illness, which I suspect may have been COVID-19 again.
I rested for approximately two weeks and initially believed that I had recovered.
Around that period, I remember experiencing a strange episode while talking for a long time: suddenly, my brain seemed to "go blank" for a short period.
Not long afterward, I went to the gym.
Immediately after that workout, something dramatically changed.
I experienced an extremely sudden and severe neurological-like crash.
My brain felt cold, empty, and disconnected. I could barely speak, think, or process information. It felt as though the cognitive part of my brain had simply shut down.
I thought that sleeping would fix it.
However, when I woke up the following morning, I was still in exactly the same state.
That was the beginning of my illness.
Initial Medical Investigations
I underwent several basic medical tests, including investigations for:
- Anemia
- Thyroid dysfunction
- General blood abnormalities
The results were normal.
At that time, I was taking vitamin D and taurine.
My doctor told me that I had probably "burned out" and that I simply needed to rest. I was reassured that, with time, I would eventually recover.
Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Over the following weeks and months, my brain began to feel almost "inflamed."
I became extremely sensitive to environmental stimulation and struggled to process information. Things that previously required no effort suddenly became exhausting.
Being Referred to Psychiatry
Because doctors could not find an obvious explanation, I was referred to a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist prescribed sertraline again without, in my opinion, thoroughly investigating what was happening physically.
This time, my experience with sertraline was completely different from when I had taken it in 2021.
My fatigue became significantly worse.
I also developed severe drowsiness and strange sensations during sleep. I would sometimes wake up feeling as though bugs were crawling through my body.
Eventually, I stopped taking the medication.
The Development of Pain and Muscle Symptoms
Less than three months after the initial onset of my illness, I began developing physical pain.
It initially started in my left leg.
Over time, I also noticed increasing muscle stiffness and pain throughout my body.
My sister has fibromyalgia, so I began wondering whether I might have developed something similar.
However, pain has never been my main disabling symptom.
My most severe and persistent symptom has always been fatigue.
Trying to Continue My Studies
Despite moderate fatigue, I was still able to attend some classes during my Master's degree.
Eventually, however, I became frustrated with seeking medical help.
Several doctors attributed my symptoms to:
- Stress
- Psychological issues
- Academic pressure
- Trauma
- Depression
Some doctors described my condition as "weird" and simply advised me to return to the gym.
That advice did not match what I was experiencing.
Exercise seemed capable of making me significantly worse.
I increasingly felt that what was happening to me was biological rather than purely psychological.
Financial limitations also became an important factor.
Medical consultations in Morocco can be expensive, and most of the financial support I receive from my parents already goes toward essential living expenses.
Eventually, I stopped seeing doctors regularly.
October 2025 – June 2026
During this period, I started experimenting with supplements and trying to understand my symptoms myself.
B Vitamins
At one point, I tried a B-vitamin supplement.
It caused intense jitteriness and overstimulation.
The effects took approximately 15 days to completely disappear.
This experience later became important because I would accidentally repeat the same mistake.
Experimenting With Nicotine
At one point, I experimented briefly with cigarettes because I wanted to see whether nicotine would affect my symptoms.
Interestingly, I remember experiencing:
- Less muscle stiffness
- Less pain
- Less brain fog
However, I stopped smoking shortly afterward.
Whenever I smoked, I developed stabbing chest pain resembling costochondritis, so continuing was clearly not something I considered safe or worthwhile.
Supplements I Tried
During this period, I experimented with several supplements, including:
- Coenzyme Q10
- L-carnitine
- Magnesium glycinate
- Melatonin
Of everything I tried, the combination that helped me the most was:
Magnesium glycinate + melatonin
This combination seemed to improve my sleep considerably.
When my sleep improved, I also noticed reductions in:
- Fatigue
- Muscle stiffness
- General discomfort
It remains one of the few interventions that produced a clearly noticeable improvement for me.
Summer 2026 — Internship, Gastrointestinal Problems, and H. pylori
During the summer of 2026, I moved to another city for an internship.
Around that time, I began developing severe bloating.
Sometimes my abdomen would become so distended that it looked like a balloon.
The bloating would appear and disappear.
Approximately three weeks later, I began experiencing chest pain that felt frighteningly similar to a heart problem.
I consulted a cardiologist.
I was found to have sinus tachycardia, and the cardiologist prescribed propranolol.
She also suspected that I might have an H. pylori infection and recommended that I see a gastroenterologist.
A gastroenterologist subsequently tested me using H. pylori serology, which came back positive.
My sister had also previously had H. pylori.
I underwent triple therapy with antibiotics.
After H. pylori Treatment
Following the antibiotic treatment, my gastrointestinal symptoms changed.
I began experiencing:
- Constipation
- Recurring hemorrhoids
- Digestive problems
I had experienced hemorrhoids before, but previously they disappeared relatively quickly.
This time, they began returning intermittently.
Around the same period, I also started developing symptoms resembling POTS/dysautonomia.
Initially, these symptoms would come and go.
Later, they became much more persistent.
September 6, 2026 — A Major Crash
On September 6, after finishing my internship, I had to prepare my luggage and do several chores before traveling back to my parents' home.
Compared with my normal daily activity level, this required a significant amount of effort.
During the activity, I remember experiencing a strong adrenaline-like rush.
For a while, I felt surprisingly good.
I felt as though I suddenly had energy again and could accomplish much more than usual.
The following day, however, I crashed.
I experienced:
- Profound fatigue
- Severe brain fog
- Neurological exhaustion
- Worsening physical symptoms
This episode strongly resembled what is described as post-exertional malaise (PEM).
It also felt as though my overall baseline had permanently dropped afterward.
Around the same time, the POTS-like episodes that had previously appeared intermittently became much more persistent.
Another Reaction to B Vitamins
At this point, I became increasingly anxious about my health.
I also knew that I would soon have to return to university for another year to complete my Master's degree.
I wanted to improve my condition as much as possible before going back.
Because of this, I began experimenting with supplements again.
Unfortunately, I repeated one of my previous mistakes.
I assumed that non-methylated B vitamins would not cause the overstimulation I had experienced before.
I was also convinced that genetic variants involving MTHFR or slow COMT might explain my sensitivity.
However, I experienced the same reaction again.
My nervous system felt extremely overstimulated and agitated.
Eventually, I took a prazepam tablet to calm myself down.
My Current State
I am still recovering from this period, although I feel that I may be improving slightly.
My brain seems somewhat better than it was during the worst phase.
However, I am currently experiencing more:
- Muscle pain
- Muscle cramps
- Physical discomfort
My current supplement and medication stack includes:
- Liposomal vitamin C
- NAC
- Magnesium glycinate
- Omega-3
- Coenzyme Q10
- Propranolol for POTS-like symptoms
I am trying to avoid constantly adding new supplements and instead understand what is actually happening in my body.
My Persistent Symptoms
These are the symptoms I experience most consistently.
Severe fatigue
This is by far the most disabling symptom.
It is not simply normal tiredness.
It feels like a profound lack of physical and neurological energy.
Muscle pain and cramps
I frequently experience muscle pain, stiffness, and cramping.
Brain fog
This can affect:
- Concentration
- Memory
- Speech
- Reading
- Information processing
During severe episodes, even forming sentences can become difficult.
Increased pain sensitivity
Things that would normally cause little or no pain can feel significantly more painful to me.
Teeth clenching
I frequently clench my teeth.
This existed even before my illness.
As a child, I also used to sleepwalk.
Symptoms That Come and Go
Left testicular and leg pain
I sometimes develop a strange pain in my left testicle that can radiate toward my left leg.
I suspect that pelvic-floor tension or another musculoskeletal issue may be involved because it tends to improve when I rest and avoid sitting for long periods.
Hemorrhoids
These appear periodically and then improve again.
Blurred vision
My vision occasionally becomes blurry.
Difficulty speaking or reading
During periods of severe brain fog, I sometimes experience symptoms resembling dyslexia or difficulty expressing myself verbally.
Words become harder to retrieve or process.
Altered sensation in one finger
One of my fingers feels as though it has previously been burned.
Touch sensation in that finger feels different from normal.
I have wondered whether this could potentially represent some form of peripheral or small-fiber nerve involvement, although this has not been medically confirmed.
Sensitivity to light and sound
My tolerance varies considerably.
Sometimes I can tolerate normal levels of light and sound.
At other times, they become extremely uncomfortable.
More recently, I have noticed that flashing lights are particularly difficult for me to tolerate.
Symptoms That Previously Occurred but Later Improved
During the first months of my illness, I frequently woke up during the night feeling extremely dizzy and uncomfortable.
This significantly disrupted my sleep.
Eventually, the symptom disappeared.
I do not know why.
Possibilities include improvements in my sleep, magnesium supplementation, natural changes in the illness, or the possibility that the symptom was partially related to sertraline.
I cannot determine which explanation is correct.
The Difficulty of Getting Diagnosed in Morocco
One of the most difficult parts of this journey has been trying to obtain appropriate medical evaluation.
In my experience, many physicians I have consulted quickly attributed my symptoms to:
- Stress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Academic pressure
- Psychological trauma
Some recommended that I simply return to exercising normally.
However, significant physical exertion has sometimes caused major deterioration rather than improvement.
This has made me increasingly concerned about conditions such as:
- ME/CFS
- Post-COVID syndrome / Long COVID
- Dysautonomia
- POTS
- Fibromyalgia
- Small-fiber neuropathy
I am not claiming that I definitely have all, or even any, of these conditions.
What I want is a proper medical evaluation capable of investigating these possibilities while also ruling out other diseases that could produce similar symptoms.
Why I Am Writing This
I am writing this for several reasons.
First, I want to document my illness accurately.
When someone has been ill for months or years, it becomes surprisingly difficult to remember exactly when each symptom appeared, what changed, and what interventions helped or worsened the condition.
Creating a timeline allows me to see patterns more clearly.
Second, I want doctors who eventually evaluate me to have access to a structured history instead of trying to explain two years of symptoms during a short medical appointment.
Third, I want other people experiencing similar illnesses to know that they are not alone.
And finally, as someone with a background in computer science, AI, and data analysis, I want to approach my own illness systematically.
Not because I believe I can replace doctors or medical researchers, but because I can document data, analyze patterns, follow scientific research, and potentially contribute something useful.
What Comes Next?
There are three main things I want to accomplish.
1. Obtain a Serious Medical Evaluation
My first priority is finding a physician in Morocco who is willing to understand my complete history and systematically rule out other possible causes of my symptoms.
If I genuinely meet the diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS, POTS, fibromyalgia, Long COVID, or another condition, I would like that diagnosis to be formally documented.
Having medical documentation would also help me communicate my limitations to:
- My university
- My family
- Future employers
- Government institutions
Most importantly, I want to know as accurately as possible what is happening to me.
2. Advocate for ME/CFS and Long COVID Patients in Morocco
If my health allows it, I would eventually like to write an open letter to the Moroccan government regarding ME/CFS, Long COVID, dysautonomia, and similar chronic illnesses.
I would like to collect testimonies and signatures from Moroccan patients living with these conditions.
The goal would be to advocate for:
- Greater medical awareness
- Better physician education
- Recognition of ME/CFS and Long COVID
- Access to appropriate diagnostic pathways
- Disability and social support when necessary
- More research
- Better protection for patients whose conditions prevent them from studying or working normally
There are likely many people living with these illnesses who remain undiagnosed or are repeatedly told that their symptoms are psychological.
Their experiences deserve to be documented.
3. Document and Analyze My Journey
I also want to use the skills I have developed through computer science, AI, and data analysis to study my own health journey.
I want to document:
- Symptoms
- Activity levels
- Sleep
- Heart rate
- POTS symptoms
- Post-exertional crashes
- Medications
- Supplements
- Diet
- Laboratory results
- Environmental triggers
- Cognitive performance
- Research papers related to my symptoms
Over time, I hope to build a structured dataset describing the evolution of my condition.
I also want to read and summarize scientific research related to:
- ME/CFS
- Long COVID
- Dysautonomia
- POTS
- Fibromyalgia
- Neuroinflammation
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- Immune dysfunction
- Small-fiber neuropathy
- Metabolic abnormalities
- Post-exertional malaise
I do not know whether this will lead to anything significant.
But at minimum, I want my experience to be properly documented.
And if the information I collect eventually helps another patient, a doctor, or a researcher understand something that was previously overlooked, then the effort will have been worthwhile.
Final Thoughts
Before this illness, I was extremely active.
I studied, trained, worked on projects, exercised, constantly tried to improve myself, and rarely imagined that my ability to simply think, walk, study, exercise, or tolerate stimulation could suddenly become limited.
Chronic illness changed my relationship with almost everything.
One of the hardest parts has not only been the symptoms themselves, but also the uncertainty surrounding them.
Not knowing exactly what is happening inside your body is frightening.
Being told repeatedly that the problem is psychological when your lived experience suggests something much more complicated can make that uncertainty even harder.
I still do not know exactly what diagnosis explains my condition.
ME/CFS is one possibility.
Long COVID is another.
Dysautonomia and POTS may be part of the picture.
There may also be other explanations that still need to be investigated.
I want to remain careful about that distinction.
My goal is not to diagnose myself.
My goal is to understand what happened to me, obtain appropriate medical evaluation, document the evidence, and continue moving forward within the limits of what my body currently allows.
This page will serve as the beginning of that documentation.