My ME started as an acute viral illness (fever, sore throat, swollen glands etc) and for the first year this reoccurred after activity. I don't know if this is a virus reactivating or my immune system was stirred up by the exercise. Later on the fever dropped. I felt hot, my face was hot but my body temperature was below normal. In fact after exercise or activity my body temperature could drop even further. Still got the sore throat glands etc though and felt fluey
Have a search on the internet for the work of the Lights and exercise in CFS. Also any papers that you can find by Nancy Klimas on exercise. Research is suggesting that in CFS the immune system is different after activity than in well people.
This is an old paper but may give you an idea of what could be happening. There is a lot more recent stuff available now.
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Immunological Changes After Both Exercise and Activity in Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome: A Pilot Study
Journal: J of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, Cover Date 2004,
Publication Date 2005,Page Range: 51 - 66, DOI: 10.1300/J092v12n02_06
Authors: P. D. White, K. E. Nye PhD, A. J. Pinching, T. M. Yap, N. Power,
V. Vleck, D. J. Bentley, J. M. Thomas, M. Buckland, J. M. Parkin
Abstract:
Background: The chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized by
post-exertional malaise and fatigue. We designed this pilot study to
explore whether the illness was associated with alterations in
immunological markers following exercise.
Methods: We measured immunological markers before and up to three days
after either a sub-maximal or maximal bicycle exercise test.We studied nine
patients with CFS and nine ageand sex-matched healthy but sedentary
controls. We also studied the same patients with CFS at home after a
night's sleep and then after travelling to the study center.
Results: There were no significant differences in any of the cell markers
after a sub-maximal exercise test compared to a maximal test. However, we
found elevated concentrations of plasma transforming growth factor beta
(TGF-ß), even before exercise, in subjects with CFS (median (IQR) of 904
(182-1072) pg/ml) versus controls (median (IQR) of 50 (45-68) pg/ml) (P <
.001). Travelling from home to the hospital significantly elevated TGF-ß
concentrations from a resting median (IQR) concentration of 1161 (130-1246)
pg/ml to a median (IQR) concentration of 1364 (1155-1768) pg/ml (P < .02).
There was also a sustained increase in plasma tumour necrosis factor alpha
(TNF-á) after exercise in CFS patients, but not in controls (P = .004 for
the area under the curve), although travelling had no such effect. CD3, CD4
and HLA DR-expressing lymphocyte counts were lower in CFS patients, but
exercise had the same effect in both groups, causing an immediate increase
in circulating cell numbers that lasted less than three hours.
Conclusions: These results suggest that the relationship between physical
activity and both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines merits
further investigation in patients with CFS. The results also emphasize the
importance of defining a truly resting baseline condition in such studies.
