conditions means she struggles to go outside and quit her job

A former Stars in Their Eyes winner who used to run eight miles a day has been left a 'prisoner in her own body' by a crippling illness.

Just 18 months ago, Faye Dempsey had a career and loved nothing more than a night out with friends.

Now, the 33-year-old says she is wracked with pain and there are days when she is virtually bedridden.

In 1997, the then 15-year-old won the television programme Stars in Their Eyes as Olivia Newton-John.

Now she has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia - coupled with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) - which means simple things like going out can take days to recover from.

Faye Dempsey, 33, struggles to go out after being diagnosed with debhilitating diseases fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome

In 1997, the then 15-year-old won the television programme Stars in Their Eyes as Olivia Newton-John but now struggles to go out after developing crippling illnesses

Fibromyalgia is an incurable musculoskeletal condition that leaves sufferers in agony while ME causes persistent fatigue that a doesn't go away with sleep or rest.

'I try to keep active by taking short walks and I've even tried swimming, but it's unbelievable how hard things are,' she said.

'I ache the whole time and I'm so sensitive to everything - noises feel like hot rods in my ears.'

Miss Dempsey who lives in West Kirby, Wirral, first noticed a radiating pain in her back, going down her legs in the summer of 2014.

She said the symptoms were on and off at first and put them down to the depression and anxiety she'd suffered since being a teenager.

'As it got worse, and I was rarely having a good day, I knew in my heart that something else was wrong,' she said.

WHAT IS CHRONIC FATIGUE/ME? Chronic fatigue syndrome is also know as ME. The condition affects millions of people worldwide - and the combination of symptoms can devastate a patient's life for decades. Jose Montoya, a professor of medicine at Stanford University and a leading expert in CFS, has previously described the condition as 'one of the greatest scientific and medical challenges of our time'. He said: 'Its symptoms often include not only overwhelming fatigue but also: Joint and muscle pain Incapacitating headaches Food intolerance Sore throat/enlarged lymph nodes Gastrointestinal problems Abnormal blood-pressure and heart-rate events Hypersensitivity to light, noise or other sensations Advertisement

She went back to the doctors and asked for tests and a routine blood check revealed neutropenia - a low white blood cell level.

This can be a sign of blood or bone cancer and her family were worried this was the cause behind her ill health before a bone marrow biopsy came back clear.

'I should have been jumping for joy but part of me thought, if it's not cancer, what the hell is going on? What am I going to do?' she said.

Last autumn, following an agonising year of investigations, autoimmune and viral conditions were also ruled out.

After a process of elimination, her haematologist and rheumatologist diagnosed fibromyalgia with an overlapping sleep disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome.

Miss Dempsey said she had never heard of fibromyalgia before, but was conscious of a stigma surrounding fatigue syndrome and ME.

'I know some people think you're just tired, or using it as an excuse, but it's so different from normal tiredness.

'Sometimes you can't lift your head off the pillow. I can have a full night's sleep but in the morning it's like my eyes are glued shut and I've not slept at all.'

There is no known cure for fibromyalgia and its cause is uncertain.

Doctors believe it is related to abnormal levels of certain chemicals in the brain and changes in the way the central nervous system processes pain messages carried around the body.

Miss Dempsey still has her Sandy outfit from when she won Stars In Their Eyes but says her life has changed a lot since then as she is in constant pain

'I've never been sat down and told why I suddenly developed it, but from what I've researched myself it can strike after illness or trauma,' she said.

'I had been in a car crash, and I'd been through some emotional trauma over the past few years, so that's the most likely explanation for mine. I think my body just decided it couldn't take anymore.'

Both conditions have meant she has had to give up work as a manager and is now resigned to dealing with the pain on a day by day basis.

She is on liquid morphine every two to four hours and the maximum dose of codeine, when the pain is most severe.

There are good days and bad days, she adds and it can be very isolating but she is determined not to let the conditions overwhelm her.

Miss Dempsey impressed with her performances on the popular TV show

'I live with my parents so I'm lucky, I'm definitely not the worst case scenario,' she said.

'There are people suffering with fibromyalgia who never move from their house.

'I live near a park so I can walk out and get some fresh air, even though sometimes it feels impossible even to take my dog for a walk.

'But the best thing for me has been social media, that's been a tremendous support.

'I've been able to reach out to people who don't know me and they've reached back so I've gradually built up this virtual friendship group.'

Despite her support, she still has days when she says she feels almost bereaved.

'A part of me has died and I don't think it will ever come back.

'When you can't get out you spend so much time alone, looking at yourself in the mirror and wondering where you've gone.'

But with an informal group already established, Miss Dempsey now wants to create a network to join forces with other sufferers and supporters and spread understanding.

Miss Dempsey hopes to reach out to others using her Twitter account.

'The biggest problems are the stigma and people thinking, I've heard of that but I'm not sure what it is,' she said.

'But I am strong enough to campaign, to get the word out there and push for more help to be available, and I'm happy to do it because it gives me a purpose.