Former British Olympian Beth Dobbin has heartbreakingly opened up on living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).Dobbin, 32, ran for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 at the age of 27, but she is now bedbound for more than 22 hours a day after being diagnosed with the incurable disease, only getting up to eat and use the bathroom. Doing small everyday activities such as chatting or visiting the doctors can cause what is known as a ‘crash’ that can last for months, and in 2026 she has left the house on just five occasions. ME is defined by the NHS as a ‘chronic’ disease that can cause symptoms such as extreme tiredness, insomnia, problems with thinking and memory, nausea, headaches and pain and severe fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest. It has no cure or specific treatment. In an emotional interview with BBC Sport, Dobbin, who announced her retirement from athletics earlier this year due to a ‘serious and life-changing health issue’, revealed what she has been going through. ‘It’s life-decimating like I can’t even put into words,’ she said. ‘I feel like I’ve lost everything. I have still got my family, but I’ve lost my independence, my health, the ability to work, the ability to exercise.’ British Olympian Beth Dobbin has opened up on living with Myalgic EncephalomyelitisDobbin’s ordeal began when she tested positive twice for Covid and suffered with glandular fever during the winter of 2021-22, although the 32-year-old didn’t realise she was ill until she took tests. She began to notice symptoms including soreness and the fact she was sleeping more, while her form had slightly dipped yet further tests gave no definitive answers. But it was at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, European Championships and World Championships when her health began to suffer further, a period she later described as a ‘year of hell’.Soreness, dizziness, a lack of sleep and a painful throat were among some of the issues she faced as she competed. Unsurprisingly, Dobbin’s form suffered and she false-started at the European Championships when she lost all feeling in her legs on the starting blocks. ‘When the Europeans had finished, I had this huge rest and the symptoms were just piling on,’ she added. ‘Things were getting worse and worse. I was struggling to stand up, I was sleeping loads, in bed all the time.’After six weeks, I went back to training. I managed three weeks. [Doctors] were just really shocked that I still wasn’t doing well and I’d had these viruses months ago.’Dobbin said the condition feels like her entire body ‘is shutting down; it feels like you are a few days from death’. Dobbin represented Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics but is now bedbound for 22 hours a day What is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E)? M.E is described by the NHS as ‘a long-term condition that can affect different parts of the body. The most common symptom is extreme tiredness. The cause of ME is unknown.’Other major symptoms include problems with thinking, brain fog, insomnia, issues with thinking and memory, nausea, headaches and pain and severe fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest. It has no cure or specific treatment. <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/sport/othersports/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->
‘Even things like sitting up for a prolonged period of time can take it out of me so I prefer to be just propped up in bed, and that doesn’t mean I feel fine,’ she explained. ‘It doesn’t get rid of my symptoms, but it makes them less hellish.’ME is also called ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’, a label Dobbin rejects, insisting fatigue is only just in her ‘top 20 symptoms’. When questioned on what her future could look like, Dobbin heartbreakingly replied: ‘It’s very bleak, unfortunately. The only positive thing really to say is that Covid happened six years ago now and it’s like the whole medical community has woken up.’There will be something, I hope, in the future. I said I wanted to speak about it. It’s not necessarily that I want to discuss it [but] it’s raising that awareness. And unfortunately, athletes are believed a lot more than the average person.’