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Help!! Climbing Snowdon in 2 weeks and need some advice! :-)

Aurator

Senior Member
Messages
625
Does anyone have any advice as to how I can build up a bit more stamina and strength before the massive task I have set myself?
It's hard for me not to see tragic irony in your reference to a massive task; it's possible the task of walking up Snowdon won't be that massive, but that the task of recovery will be.

I was a committed amateur athlete before getting ill. Before getting ill I used to hammer myself regularly and enjoy it. I also used to recover quite quickly.

After I fell ill, I tried repeatedly to do what I loved again and resume training, but even at what could only be described as a modest pace I repeatedly failed to recover. After a brief spell of overdoing things, weeks or months of exacerbated symptoms and enforced bed rest would follow and eventually get me back to a state where even though my body was telling me still to rest, I was active enough and willing enough to have a go at training again.

Then, two or three days into the new training kick, my body would decide it had had enough; the flu-like symptoms that had been noticeable even at the start of the training would flare tremendously, and weeks or months of "rest" (read "torment") would inevitably follow. After the fourth or fifth episode of paying for my excesses like this, spread out over a period of more than 18 months, I couldn't help seeing a message in there that vigorous activity in my current state was probably not good for me.

I'm not deconditioned presently, and, in spite of feeling physically awful, I could and would go out and hammer myself right now if I weren't practically certain that there'd be serious and long-term repercussions. But I'm not an amnesiac and know by now what the deal is likely to be.

I still push the boundaries of my activity level, probing to see how ragged the edge can get whilst still remaining an edge (we all do, I suspect, just to get through an average day), but I've learned the hard way the meaning of hubris, and know that though paying a heavy price for overdoing things is not absolutely certain, what is absolutely certain is that I'll be the one paying for it.

It'll all be different when I get my NHS-funded shots of Rituximab, or something even better, in the year 2025. You won't see me for dust then and, who knows, maybe I'll have developed amnesia after all by then and I'll forget that this whole nightmare ever happened.

Climb Snowdon if you really feel up to it, but don't be afraid of pulling out, either now or part-way through the attempt.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Cheat and get the train!

:thumbsup:

snowathlete said:
If you are sure you want to risk it then perhaps get people to sponsor you to raise money for research?

I understand the sentiment but I think you, @alicats1977, should at all costs avoid anything that would put you under pressure to do the walk.

I'm all in favour of cheating and taking the train.

I have (rather insanely!) agreed to accompany my best friend up Mount Snowdon [...] and I am nothing short of petrified. [...] I am in a lot of pain and struggling to move [...] the massive task I have set myself [...] I really do understand how hard it is going to be [...] I fear you are right and I will be in a very bad way afterwards [...] I may be putting that "normal" life in jeopardy for one day out [...] possibly consult with my doctor

I think you just have to read what you're writing yourself, alicats1977!
 

Bob

Senior Member
Messages
16,455
Location
England (south coast)
@alicats1977, if there's ever any doubt with ME/CFS then I strongly advise being cautious.
And it sounds like you have plenty of doubt about whether you're ready and fit enough to do this activity.
Many of us look back on our illness and think "if only I'd known then what I know now, I would have avoided that day, or that activity."
As others have said, in five years time, you could be looking back on your trip up Snowdon with deep regret.
So I would strongly urge rethinking your plans, especially as your aren't confident about your ability to do it, and you're already struggling after your preparations, and you can't get up and down your stairs.
I think your current symptoms answer your question for you.
A mild disappointment about a day out is nothing compared with a catastrophic failure in health.

You could perhaps still have a day out, but do something less challenging?
Or if your friend has to walk up Snowdon, for any particular reason, perhaps you could accompany them to the base, and then meet them at the top via the train?
 
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TiredSam

The wise nematode hibernates
Messages
2,677
Location
Germany
What everyone has said so far. I have mild ME and like Aurator the first thing I tried was pushing myself, then resting, recovering and having another go, until I learnt that everything that had been true about sport in the past (how to increase stamina etc) no longer applied to me, and I stopped to prevent further damage.

I haven't done anything more than go for a short, slow walk for about a year now. I am desperate to retain the functionality that I still have, and to be honest would rather lose a friend than do something as very likely to damage my health for months if not permanently as walking up Snowdon (and I know it's a gentle stroll and a nice day out).

If you absolutely must do it, at least use a heart rate monitor, as described here:

http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/librar...our-heart-rate-to-stay-inside-energy-envelope

I use one that cost about 30 quid, and it's set to peep every time I go over 60% of my maximum heart rate, which is when we poor ME folk apparently go over the anaerobic threshhold and start doing damage to ourselves. A brisk walk up the stairs does that. If you wear it on your walk up Snowdon it will peep all the time, making it harder for you and your friend not to acknowledge the damage you are probably doing to yourself. If you wear it for a few days before going up Snowdon it will give you a good idea of where your energy envelope is and what you can do and shouldn't do.

Even if you learn to walk without setting your heart rate monitor off, it's not a good idea. The first time I tried mine out I went for a half-hour walk and was very proud of myself because by resting at intervals and walking slowly I hadn't set it off. The next day I crashed for a few weeks. The walk had been too long at any heart rate.

If I were you I'd get the train, have a nice snooze (sorry I mean pre-emptive rest) on the way up, remember not to stand up too quickly when getting off, then sit at the top and enjoy the view with your friend. Sounds like a great day out.
 

Effi

Senior Member
Messages
1,496
Location
Europe
I think you just have to read what you're writing yourself, alicats1977!
alicats1977 said:
I have (rather insanely!) agreed to accompany my best friend up Mount Snowdon [...] and I am nothing short of petrified. [...] I am in a lot of pain and struggling to move [...] the massive task I have set myself [...] I really do understand how hard it is going to be [...] I fear you are right and I will be in a very bad way afterwards [...] I may be putting that "normal" life in jeopardy for one day out [...] possibly consult with my doctor
LOL :rofl: @Sasha are you playing mindgames on poor @alicats1977 ? so clever! Sometimes when we ask for advice we have already given it to ourselves without realizing... :nerd:
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,300
Location
Ashland, Oregon
Does anyone have any advice

Hi @alicats1977

Welcome to the forum. I haven't read all the replies here, but I would just tell your friend that you have limitations on how much you can exert yourself, and that changes from day to day. If it's important for you, perhaps just get started, but be prepared--and have your friend prepared--to quit at any moment, and then meet up afterwards. Serious over-exertion can have serious long-term ramifications. Best, Wayne
 
Messages
15,786
If you are sure you want to risk it then perhaps get people to sponsor you to raise money for research?
Please don't. Ever. The damage done by the media message of "ME patients can walk up mountains if they really want to" is far far greater than any good that can come from the money raised.

I have no respect for patients who do this sort of thing, even after recovery. There is just such an incredible amount of harm done to the entire patient community in the process.
 
Messages
4
alicats1977 you didn't tell much about your medical history, why do you think you have cfs, on the first place?
Hi svetoslav80, I was diagnosed with post-viral CFS in 2009 following having swine flu which didn't seem to get better even after several weeks. I was very ill for about a year and have been lucky enough to have only had one really bad relapse when I was working too many hours in 2012. I subsequently had to give up work & I recovered well after about 6 months of complete rest. Since then, I have far more good days than bad, which is probably why I keep forgetting I am not very well & decide to try & climb a mountain!! Lol x
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
@alicats1977,
If you have ME/CFS, which includes PEM (and I assume you do), overexerting yourself is not simply a matter of feeling rotten for a week or so. PEM can last months or years. The consequence could be not just a week or two of fatigue and pain, it can be a permanent (or very long term -- decades) deterioration of your condition. There are plenty of people here at PR who can tell you that they overexerted -- through ignorance, stubbornness, or GET -- and never recovered. Some activities may be worth that risk. Is this one? If you're going to a take the risk of overexerting, wouldn't it make more sense to start with something less demanding and slowly work up until you find out where your limit actually is?

If you have mild ME with relatively rare PEM episodes, you are fortunate. Are you willing to throw that away and end up like many of us -- housebound or bedbound, unable to work or take care of your activities of daily living? If I were in your shoes, I'd enjoy activities that was able to do without PEM, such as hiking in the woods, or a gentle bicycle ride, and maintain as much of my health and capability as I could so that I was in the best possible place to benefit from the results of the (relatively) rapidly progressing research.
 

Sean

Senior Member
Messages
7,378
Sorry, but this does not sound like a smart idea. What happens if you get 2/3 way up and crash, and can't go any further up or down? Your friend is not going to be too pleased about having to carry you off a mountain.