What's your crash time frame?

[jpcv]

Before I was correctly diagnosed and learned how to properly rest, my recovery time was significantly longer. Weeks, months, up to 4 years. Not a couple of days like now.

I had years where I never "recovered", and was prescribed stimulants to clear my brain fog while pushing my way through the PEM. And a mood stabilizer to manage the swings induced by the stimulants prescribed to push through the PEM.

How do You define a proper rest? How did you learn How to rest? Trial and error?

 

[me/cfs 27931]

How do You define a proper rest? How did you learn How to rest? Trial and error?

I learned to stop pushing myself. To better recognize my triggers. To be in bed/couch several hours every day. Essentially just pacing.

I learned to stop listening to the doctors that told me I was just depressed and needed to do more to improve: more exercise, more social activities, more work, more medication, more therapy.

When I have certain immune and neuro symptoms, I have learned that I must rest more than usual that day in order to recover.

I always "knew" the push/crash cycle existed, but never had the medical evidence to support my experience nor the knowledge of how to manage my symptoms and reduce my PEM recovery time.

 

[Wishful]

I was thinking of starting a poll about the time delay, because I wondered if there was a subset of patients who shared the ~24 hr delay, but this thread seems to answer that quite clearly. My hypothesis is that the 24 hr delay is due to IFN-g released by t-cells that were cleaning up the micro-tears in muscles caused by physical exertion. The time delay is right for that. The different responses to using muscles in ways that do or don't cause significant muscle damage concurs with that. I know that my symptoms increase with activities that would increase IFN-g, and viral infections which do the same, and with increases in tryptophan transport into my brain.

A quick check shows some research papers linking CFS and IFN-g. I was going to look for papers detailing the time delay between muscle damage and IFN-g rise, but I drove to town yesterday and the PEM is starting, so that's out for another day or so.

For people who have much shorter delays, I expect that's a different process. IL-6, for example, rises quickly with physical activity.

 

[Diwi9]

I had years where I never "recovered", and was prescribed stimulants to clear my brain fog while pushing my way through the PEM. And a mood stabilizer to manage the swings induced by the stimulants prescribed to push through the PEM.

@Webdog - What a nightmare. I cannot imagine the hardship you have been through.

PEM symptoms can start within a few hours, really hits at 24 hours, worsens at 48...then it's anyone's game as to how long it sticks around. I believe I've suffered the continual push-crash cycle Dr. Davis spoke about, as getting out of PEM requires resting even after one begins to feel better. I often get up and start doing things when I feel better and re-enter the cycle...slow learner here