• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Search results

  1. rahmama

    Muscle pain & weakness

    I have been meaning to post my success with magnesium. I started taking a powdered form of it (highly absorbable) several months ago. It was obvious from the first dose that this was what my body was craving. My main CF symptoms were muscle weakness which was at times extremely painful but...
  2. rahmama

    The importance of Magnesium in post exercise

    How do I determine how much Zinc to take? I'm taking approx. 500 mg of Magnesium--Calm by Natural Vitality.
  3. rahmama

    The importance of Magnesium in post exercise

    I found this thread in a search for Magnesium, a supplement that has changed my life. Our local health food store recommended Natural Calm by Natural Vitality. From the first dose I noticed a major improvement, mostly in my legs. When I crashed, I had mild to severe leg cramps. They would come...
  4. rahmama

    When pacing doesn't work..

    Greetings @soxfan I'm sure you've tried a jillion things over the years and I'm glad to hear you've found a good doctor to go to. I just wonder if you've looked into a possible magnesium deficiency. I recently started taking something called Natural Calm by Natural Vitality...
  5. rahmama

    It's all about the pacing...

    I'm just learning about using my heart rate to monitor my AT, or anaerobic threshold. @TiredSam posted a link that explains it very well. Pacing by Numbers: Using Your Heart Rate To Stay Inside the Energy Envelope...
  6. rahmama

    When pacing doesn't work..

    I feel your pain @soxfan Reading your post made me realize that I felt just like this in the beginning (4 years ago). Unrefreshing sleep; resting makes it worse but you can't walk into the kitchen to get a drink because it seems soooo far away. Every day is different and it really sucks not...
  7. rahmama

    It's all about the pacing...

    I bought a simple heart rate monitor this morning from the pharmacy. It's call a pulse oximeter (clips onto your finger) and shows both oxygen levels and heart rate. It's the one my Physical Therapist had in his office. I'd asked him about staying in the heart rate zone and was surprised at his...
  8. rahmama

    It's all about the pacing...

    I did ask and loved reading about your pacing experience. I've only been on this forum for a few days and feel like I've learned a lot already. Having contact with other CFS sufferers has been very rewarding. No one, not even those who love me most, 'get it'. And I'm sure it's boring to...
  9. rahmama

    It's all about the pacing...

    I appreciate your feedback and perspective @TiredSam Thanks for encouraging me to rethink this. I was willing to break my own rules when it comes to volunteering...:( But I just sent out a email to this volunteer group and requested a sit down job rather than quit. Request has already been...
  10. rahmama

    It's all about the pacing...

    Sorry to hear you're having a difficult day @butterfly7 It's so hard keeping ourselves in line with the limitations that CFS imposes on us. You never know how much is going to be too much. I volunteer at a local food shelf and two hours on my feet making up bags of groceries does me in for the...
  11. rahmama

    It's all about the pacing...

    Thanks for your feedback @Hutan. I am interested in trying the heart rate monitor as I've seen in mentioned here in several posts. Where can I get good information about using one for CFS. What kind? I have no experience with one. Thanks.
  12. rahmama

    It's all about the pacing...

    I've known for a long time that I need to pace myself because I'm goal driven and it's hard to stop me once I get going. But now I'm starting to think of pacing as part of my therapy and recovery. I could never get a handle on how to manifest a healthy pace because I lose track of time when I'm...
  13. rahmama

    PEM symptoms at the exact moment I don't need them - BEDTIME... any ideas?

    For years I've had difficulty sleeping which I dealt with by reading myself to sleep. I am always wide awake at bedtime making lists of things I need to do. :( My usual sleeping pattern: a cycle of 'read myself to sleep, then doze, wake up, doze, wake up' until 1 or 2 a.m. Never really got more...
  14. rahmama

    PEM - what's caused it this time?

    This post really caught my eye as I find it's the most frustrating part of this condition. I hate not knowing when my body is going to give out on me. Makes it hard to plan anything. Fortunately I'm retired so I can rest when I need to but I don't. Not until I can't go on. When I'm feeling good...