SOC
Senior Member
- Messages
- 7,849
Yesterday I started an experiment. I overdid. I way overdid. Over the AT and kept going overdid.
No, I haven't suddenly lost my mind (I think). It became time to test if I still have PENE. I'm now 9 months past clearing my 5 identified chronic infections. I'm approaching adequate treatment of my low blood volume and POTS. And I have the summer off to recover if I crash.
I don't feel sick anymore. I'm not cognitively recovered, but I'm much, much better in that area. I can walk across a room without going over my AT. In fact, with my current dose of calcium channel blocker to control HR, I can do a lot more before going over my AT, although nowhere near what a healthy person can do. I'm not sure that my pre-POTS-treatment AT is even meaningful after meds to control HR.
So, with all my treatments -- for sleep, pain, hypothyroid, etc -- I don't feel bad anymore. I still have some cognitive dysfunction and exercise intolerance, and maybe PENE. I don't know about the PENE because I have been extremely careful to stay below my AT since I began antiviral treatment 2.5 (?) years ago.
The question now is -- are my physical limitations still PENE-related or am I now simply deconditioned? Yes, I could be deconditioned. I've been largely housebound and unable to exercise without going over my AT for years. I wasn't deconditioned when I became ill, but I certainly could be now.
Hence, the experiment. Now I'm counting. For me, PENE can hit up to 4 days after the over-exertion, so I'm not claiming to have dodged PENE until Friday. Today I have muscle aches, not the ME kind and ibuprofen handles it. I'm not exhausted or mentally fogged. The only thing unusual is that I'm craving bread.
So, if I don't have PENE, do I not have ME anymore?
No, I haven't suddenly lost my mind (I think). It became time to test if I still have PENE. I'm now 9 months past clearing my 5 identified chronic infections. I'm approaching adequate treatment of my low blood volume and POTS. And I have the summer off to recover if I crash.
I don't feel sick anymore. I'm not cognitively recovered, but I'm much, much better in that area. I can walk across a room without going over my AT. In fact, with my current dose of calcium channel blocker to control HR, I can do a lot more before going over my AT, although nowhere near what a healthy person can do. I'm not sure that my pre-POTS-treatment AT is even meaningful after meds to control HR.
So, with all my treatments -- for sleep, pain, hypothyroid, etc -- I don't feel bad anymore. I still have some cognitive dysfunction and exercise intolerance, and maybe PENE. I don't know about the PENE because I have been extremely careful to stay below my AT since I began antiviral treatment 2.5 (?) years ago.
The question now is -- are my physical limitations still PENE-related or am I now simply deconditioned? Yes, I could be deconditioned. I've been largely housebound and unable to exercise without going over my AT for years. I wasn't deconditioned when I became ill, but I certainly could be now.
Hence, the experiment. Now I'm counting. For me, PENE can hit up to 4 days after the over-exertion, so I'm not claiming to have dodged PENE until Friday. Today I have muscle aches, not the ME kind and ibuprofen handles it. I'm not exhausted or mentally fogged. The only thing unusual is that I'm craving bread.
So, if I don't have PENE, do I not have ME anymore?