Jennie Jacques

Jennie Jacques is an English actress who developed myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome after contacting Epstein-Barr virus in 2019. Jacques is best known for playing the role of Judith in the TV series Vikings.

ME/CFS

In 2019, Jennie Jacques was an fitness enthusiastic and competed in many grueling charity races and fitness events, in additional to her career as an accomplished actress, when she caught Epstein-Barr virus, which lead to her developing ME/CFS. Jacques was hospitalized twice with severe Epstein-Barr virus and associated viral hepatitis, which led to her developing M.E. Jacques became housebound with severely ill with M.E. at one point, but has since improved. In 2020, she wrote about using activity pacing with a heart rate monitor to help manage her symptoms.

The first and the second year, for me, were the worst and I'm lucky to have seen some improvement in my third year. But my life is still limited and I am a shadow of my former self physically. There have been times when I couldn't even get outside in a wheelchair or to my front doorstep. Any exertion or 'efforts' to get well only pulled me backwards. Whether it's mild, moderate or severe, ME has the ability to turn a person's life upside down. — Jennie Jacques, The Times, 2021

I miss exercise so much. And I really miss the swimming pool. But at the moment my 'energy envelope' simply does not allow for it without serious repercussions." — Jennie Jacques, The Times, 2021

Jacques experiences "post-exertional malaise" — a flare-up of pain, flu-like symptoms and exhaustion — after even minimal activity. It's a telltale symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), the debilitating condition that leaves patients profoundly fatigued and experiencing pain, dizziness, stomach problems and brain fog.

Charity work

Jacques, who has a younger sister who lives with seizures, has a long history of fundraising and advocacy for epilepsy charities. In 2020, she became an ambassador for the ME/CFS charities Open Medicine Foundation and Action for ME.

Talks and interviews

• 2014, Coventry actress Jennie Jacques returns to TV screens as 1950s cop - Coventry Telegraph
• 2014, Jennie Jacques exclusive interview - WPC 56 - Female First
• 2017, Jennie Jacques & Georgina Higgins talk openly - The London Economic
• 2021, Interview with OMF Ambassador and person with ME/CFS, Jennie Jacques - Open Medicine Foundation
• 2021, Jennie Jacques on living with ME: 'I am a shadow of my former self physically' - The Times

Articles and blog posts

• 2020, Purely Pacing - Jennie Jacques

Online presence

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Website
• BakeforMECFS / Blog
• YouTube

See also

• Open Medicine Foundation
• List of famous people with ME, CFS, and/or FMS

Learn more

• Jennie Jacques - Open Medicine Foundation
• imdb

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

Energy Envelope Theory A self-management tool developed and tested by Dr. Leonard Jason to reduce symptom severity and the frequency of post-exertional malaise or relapses for people with ME/CFS. According to this theory, ME/CFS patients should not expend more energy than they perceive they have, as this results in post-exertional malaise and higher disability. Instead patients are advised to stay within their energy envelope, meaning the physical limits the disease has imposed upon them. As the energy envelope theory also cautions about the dangers of under-exertion, its principles are almost identical to ‘pacing’, an activity management strategy for ME patients devised by Ellen Goudsmit in the UK.

flare-up A symptoms flare in ME/CFS is a temporary increase in symptoms, alternatively known as experiencing post-exertional malaise. May be referred to as a "crash" or "collapse".