Sasha Nimmo used to live an active lifestyle.
In addition to full time work, Mrs Nimmo would regularly walk her dog, take yoga and ballet lessons and was in the middle of planning an overseas holiday.
![Sasha Nimmo suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, which has caused her to become housebound.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170523021057im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/9/2/9/7/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw8uam.png/1495410506859.jpg)
That all changed in 2012, when the Oxley resident was struck down with what she thought was just a virus.
After she failed to get better after months of being unwell, she was eventually diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
![Sasha Nimmo was diagnosed in 2012.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170523021057im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/9/9/o/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw8uam.png/1495410506859.jpg)
"The doctor told me that I would be better within a year to 18 months. Obviously, that didn't happen," she said.
The condition often leaves Mrs Nimmo physically incapable of carrying out some of some of the most basic of tasks.
"I can just cross the hallway to brush my teeth and my body doesn't recover," she said.
"I'm now unable to look after myself. I can't work and I'm reliant on other people to shop and cook and clean and sometimes dress me.
"It's hard to decide if the worst part is being in constant, often severe, pain or having my world shrunk down to the inside of my house."
It's estimated ME affects more than 200,000 people in Australia.
Despite the number of people diagnosed, Mrs Nimmo said there was little support for sufferers, with little known about the condition.
"People often have a misguided notion as to what it is, so a stigma exists," she said.
"Because there's often a large rate of misdiagnosis, there are some people that don't believe it exists, and we get offered so many ridiculous 'cures' that don't work."
Since 2000, only $1.6 million has been spent on research into ME.
President of the ACT ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society Rebecca Davey said funding was minimal compared to other immune conditions.
"It's a vicious cycle. People don't know enough about it and there's not enough funding to find, so the boxes can't be ticked in order to gain it," she said.
"I also run the Arthritis Foundation as a paid job, and we whinge about how little we get there for research. But when you step down to chronic fatigue, you literally step down to next to nothing."
Ms Davey, who runs support groups for people with the condition living in Canberra, said many doctors also don't have enough information when it comes to ME.
"Even when a patient presents itself with a suite of symptoms probably pointing towards chronic fatigue, GPs in particular often take the path of least resistance or say that it's just a virus," she said.
With only 5 per cent of people diagnosed making a full recovery, Mrs Nimmo said she hopes the condition receives greater funding so ME can be fully understood.
"I would also like to see a national advocacy group so that people can get a proper diagnosis and aren't given harmful recommendations," she said.