Are you able to drive?

[svetoslav80]

Or does driving make you crash? (this question is only to those who know what PEM is)

 

[TiredSam]

I'm able to drive, doesn't make me crash fortunately.

 

[deleder2k]

I am able to drive almost all the time. But when I am very tired I get very dizzy, so on some occasions the car stays in the garage. I also suffer from pain from time to time. I am not able to drive after taking opioids. They make me less responsive.


I usually don't get PEM after driving, but it happens sometimes. My arms can occasionaly hurt 1-2 days after driving. I'm glad that it doesn't happen a lot.

 

[daisybell]

I can, but not like I used to.... Shorter distances, slower speed, and sometimes I pay for it afterwards. I also try to avoid driving in the dark now as I find this very difficult.

 

[geraldt52]

Driving, in and of itself, is absolutely no problem for me.

Of course if I try to do anything, including driving, for too long I'll end up in trouble...but driving is less of a problem than any number of other things. I can drive for two hours much easier than I can carry on a conversation for 10 minutes.

 

[alex3619]

I gave up driving after my health crashed fast, taking about twenty seconds, while driving on a freeway with no good places to stop.

 

[L'engle]

I do on a good day. I find it less exhausting than doing cognitive work but I still wouldn't drive for long periods frequently. Driving in traffic is worse than driving on country roads. I wouldn't drive in a big city or on a crowded freeway.

 

[*GG*]

Or does driving make you crash? (this question is only to those who know what PEM is)

Does the sidewalk count? Just kidding. I used to be falling asleep from driving on my way home from work. Would nap in my car for 1/2 hour or so before going to the grocery store. Living on your own, didn't have much of a choice. Was no at home Grocery delivery at that time.

@daisybell I prefer to drive at night, as long as the weather is clear. I can see better, fewer things on the road. Besides, by the time I fall asleep and get up and ready to go out an about, especially in the winter, it's dark!

My license is up for renewal next year. Should get my vision checked before then, having trouble reading that fine print now that I am mid 40s!

GG

 

[PennyIA]

I can a little - 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there without any issues.

I have to drive my little one to the half-way point so he can spend a weekend with his dad - it's 3 hours round trip for me and twice on one weekend... and it usually throws me into mild PEM. Last time I drove further (10 hour drive between two days and a LOT of rest stops) - I had horrible PEM for a week (which really did stink, as it was for my vacation). Then to just repeat it for the drive home. I won't be driving that far again.

 

[BruceInOz]

I can drive short distances if I am not already in a crash. The concentration required gives me a specific headache in the base of my skull, spreading to my neck and left shoulder. I think this stops me before I continue to full PEM crash. But it certainly depletes the days spoons!

 

[Mary]

Or does driving make you crash? (this question is only to those who know what PEM is)

I could probably drive 2 hours without crashing; however, I wouldn't be able to do much else that day without precipitating a crash. My activity window is around 3-1/2 hours of light activity, but I think 3 hours of straight driving would do me in.

 

[Sushi]

I drive but it is the cumulative effort of driving and doing whatever tasks/appointments that take me away from home, that is tiring, rather that driving specifically. But I notice that driving is almost an ME/CFS meter for me. Some days it takes a lot more concentration to keep track of traffic patterns. That is feedback that it isn't a great day--even if I wasn't fully aware of it before. I don't drive every day--say a few times a week.

 

[daisybell]

The other thing is that being driven can be more tiring than driving, depending on the speed, road conditions etc. I can pace myself if I drive, but not if I'm being driven!

 

[alicec]

My experience is similar to that described by @Sushi

 

[EtherSpin]

with a licenced adult in passenger and on a route I have observed around 10-20 times OR driven before I was sick with no complicated intersections and no distance above say 6-7 km

it ends up being just something I do to feel alive, not anything useful to my family unit.

 

[Kati]

Early in my illness I had a 2-3 weeks period where driving was scary, as i had distorted depth of perception and i felt like i was hitting the curb or the oncoming car. That, thankfully resolved. I can drivebut how much very much depends on how sick i am.

 

[Daffodil]

for me, its severe brain fog that keeps me from driving. i had 4 minor accidents in 6 months so had to stop. came very close to ending someones life or my own. never should have attempted it

 

[Mrs Sowester]

No, stopped being safe within a couple of months of becoming moderate. I lost my field of depth when trying to concentrate and couldn't judge distances. I can't judge when to cross a road either.
We do have a tatty old automatic Toyota that I use to get to the top of our lane - it's a rough farm track 1km long. Taxis and some friends with low slung cars don't like driving down it. But the few minute drive up or down the lane gives me head fog and headaches.

 

[PeterPositive]

Not anymore. The only driving I do these days is in videogames ...

 

[Snow Leopard]

I can drive, not every day, but it is not a big deal.