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Did you have any problem with aerobic exercise before becoming ill? Like childhood?

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
I have been thinking about this and remembered that even as a very healthy child I could not run, swim, bike as far as other kids my age--I would just poop out. This is making me wonder if there is a genetic component that affects the production of aerobic energy (or glycolysis) that predisposes us to later develop ME/CFS. (@Rose49 )

Looking back, there was never I time when I could run any distance, jog, take an aerobics class etc. Of course this was greatly exacerbated when I developed ME/CFS.

Do any others have this history?
 

Dechi

Senior Member
Messages
1,454
I was never the sporty type when I was young but I had gotten in really good shape before getting sick : I could jog, bike, do aerobic workouts for hours and lift weights. So my answer would be : no, I didn't have any problems before at all.

I had asthma but I took medications and it was under control.
 

belize44

Senior Member
Messages
1,662
I used to walk miles, take dance classes, dance until 2 am, etc. But my daughter seemed to have stamina issues; I once observed that her knees started to buckle when she started to run. She now has symptoms of fibro and chronic fatigue.
 

Basilico

Florida
Messages
948
My husband (who has CFS) was athletic and into all sorts of sports since middle school. He was especially fond of running/soccer. As an adult in his 20s he couldn't really do anything aerobic because he had bad knees, but he was a weightlifter until his PEM attacks forced him to stop in his early 30s.
 

Johnskip

Senior Member
Messages
141
My husband (who has CFS) was athletic and into all sorts of sports since middle school. He was especially fond of running/soccer. As an adult in his 20s he couldn't really do anything aerobic because he had bad knees, but he was a weightlifter until his PEM attacks forced him to stop in his early 30s.
I can't do aerobic but I'm still trying to lift weights I just got finished think I pushed too much feeling pem already it suckkkkkkkkks
 

Kati

Patient in training
Messages
5,497
No problem with aerobics until onset. Rower in my teens, long distance runner (half marathons, one marathon) in my twenties, road cycling (races, cyclotouring) in my thirties. Hiking, trail running, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing.

The sudden onset took everything from me.
 

Apple

Senior Member
Messages
217
Location
UK
I definitely had poor stamina. And it wasn't from just being unfit, my mum didn't have a car when i was a child so we used to walk 1-2miles into town and back several times a week, I was very outdoorsy, but struggled when it came to things like running, swimming, tennis etc
 

Basilico

Florida
Messages
948
I can't do aerobic but I'm still trying to lift weights I just got finished think I pushed too much feeling pem already it suckkkkkkkkks

I'm sorry to hear that! Learning where the limits are with this illness is really difficult.

We just recently found something that seems to be helping PEM. When either my husband or I are starting to get PEM, we take either a high quality non-denatured whey protein powder (which provides the precursors for glutathione production) or liposomal glutathione. They both seem to make a noticeable difference and either prevent or drastically reduce PEM. If you haven't tried either of these, maybe it's worth it.
 

anne_likes_red

Senior Member
Messages
1,103
I did a lot of cycling (steady touring speed) and I was very active compared to most kids. But I remember once around age 11 at a school athletics day I had to run in a 500 m race. I started well, then around a quarter of the way it was like someone pulled the plug and all the other competitors overtook me. I remember the teachers being as surprised as I was!
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
I could walk for hours, more than five hours at a time. However there were times when running I would get severe vertigo. Intensity of exercise mattered. I also tended to become exhausted and stay that way from any sustained aerobic exercise program ... not an individual run or whatever, but continued over time. I was stubborn though, and kept trying aerobic exercise, up until the mid 90s.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
I started well, then around a quarter of the way it was like someone pulled the plug and all the other competitors overtook me.
The last time I did a sustained running program I was one or two weeks in, and having walked to my running path I started to run. I hit the wall instantly, before I had made even a couple of steps. That energy wall, well known to runners and aerobic exercisers, and which usually can be pushed through to get second wind, lasted about six months. I had trouble even slowly walking for that time. This was in the 90s.
 

ahimsa

ahimsa_pdx on twitter
Messages
1,921
There was a somewhat related thread on this a while back, in case it's helpful.

The original poster of that thread asked about what kind of training people did prior to getting ill, wondered if people who got sick were not so good aerobically.
What type of training did you do prior to falling ill? I'm wondering if we have always had somewhat weak mitochindria and therefore aerobic systems.
For instance, i was phenominal anaerobically but moderate to poor aerobically and had a bitch of a time increasing my aerobic threshold vs an easy time with anaerobic.

Here's the link:

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/question-for-former-athletes-fitness-rats.43872/

For what it's worth, my answer was that I never had trouble with any type of exercise before I got sick:

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...thletes-fitness-rats.43872/page-2#post-712632
 

halcyon

Senior Member
Messages
2,482
Nope, was very active as a child, played soccer, baseball, basketball, ran track, swam, did road and mountain biking, snowboarding/cross-country skiing, hiking, all with no issues. The years leading up to sudden onset ME I was in the best shape of my adult life, spending 3-4 days a week weightlifting and doing cardio.
 

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
Thanks for this excellent topic, @Sushi

With everyone's interesting replies.

Myself, it seems like I was more able to do more than you SUshi, described in your first post on this thread,

but not as much as the others.

Was not as able as others, to do the longer distances.

Still was very active and athletic, though. Enjoyed very much.

Was better at sprinting than long distance.