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Days without symptoms?

Messages
11
With ME, Is it common to go days without symptoms then experience a flare or crash after? I'm dealing with Long Covid and don't have an ME/CFS diagnosis, but have experienced a most of the symptoms this past 19th months.

I had two days last week of not experiencing any symptoms, which was a first, but my energy levels began going downhill a day after. The day after that, I felt like I was becoming sick with the flu. The following day, heavy fatigue symptoms but better. Back to my normal baseline now. I didn't increase my activity levels the days I felt well.

I've experienced hours, or partial days of feeling better, but my symptoms just feel turned down considerably, never zero symptoms.
 

keepswimming

Senior Member
Messages
327
Location
UK
I don't know if it's relevant to you, but I struggle a lot with adrenaline surges. They make me feel symptom free and like I can take on the world, and a few days later I crash. This really confused me for a long time, but I understand what's going on now and can identify it as adrenaline when it happens. This article gives a really good explanation of adrenaline surges, if you want to know more.
 

Art Vandelay

Senior Member
Messages
470
Location
Australia
With ME, Is it common to go days without symptoms then experience a flare or crash after? I'm dealing with Long Covid and don't have an ME/CFS diagnosis, but have experienced a most of the symptoms this past 19th months.

In the first few years of my illness (mine started with EBV), this was a common pattern for me. I'd start to feel better and would think that I'd finally turned the corner only to worsen a few days (or even a week) later.

My doctors at the time told me to push myself and ignore my symptoms so I'd often try to return to my job in these periods. I have no idea whether pushing myself made me permanently worse or not, however this is a common theme with ME/CFS patients.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,052
My doctors at the time told me to push myself and ignore my symptoms so I'd often try to return to my job in these periods. I have no idea whether pushing myself made me permanently worse or not, however this is a common theme with ME/CFS patients.

Yep, exactly the same. And my (so far) persistent declines were all associated with pushing myself too hard.
 
Messages
11
I don't know if it's relevant to you, but I struggle a lot with adrenaline surges. They make me feel symptom free and like I can take on the world, and a few days later I crash. This really confused me for a long time, but I understand what's going on now and can identify it as adrenaline when it happens. This article gives a really good explanation of adrenaline surges, if you want to know more.
Thanks @keepswimming

I don't think it's adrenaline surges for me. I felt calm and relaxed the days I felt well, and didn't experience any of those symptoms listed in the days after. My sleep has been good since last week.
 

vision blue

Senior Member
Messages
1,877
Yet another factor, is when i get my recurrent herpes virus, for 3 days before it surfaces, I feel much better. I know that viruses actively supress our immune system so they can replicate, and at least with this virus, i suspect its doing just that. When immune system is very active we feel sicke "sickness behaviour" is what some have dubbed it and when it's not, we feel much healthier and better.

For women, you can fluctuate with hormones as well. During ovulation, body sends awesome well being signals that trumps other things.

I'm also one of those who pushed myself when getting sick btw ann have alwasy wondered if that would have made a difference, at least dealying onset a few moe years, had i not done that. I had a weird thouth that i'd just push to it and drive myself to collapse becasue surely if that happened then docs would be able to figure out what was wrong with me. Ha!I was naive...

I have for years flucutuated and why i ended up even during milder ilnness restrticing my activites too much.

I don't think though long covid will prove to be permanantly long coivd so hang in there.
 
Messages
20
l'd suffered fatigue most of my teens but my first M.E symptom was dramatic for me 45 yrs ago as l remember the day well as l prepping food for a wedding and l couldnt hold the dish. Few days later l could hardly walk, dr told me l had Arthritis without sending me for tests. l recovered after a week and l crashed again 6 months later. It went on like that for a few years but the 'crashes' got closer and closer as l was told to keep pushing myself, so l carried on working full time. Then the 'crashes' became monthly, so l gave up work but did few days voluntary work. After about 10 years, l was getting 'crashes' weekly' that's when l got my dx that it was M.E and told to do CBT and GET but the 'crashes' then became daily and severe and l have no breaks anymore. If l had rested when first ill l believe l could have recovered fully. l know of 2 families, who are friends of mine, their 2 sons had M.E about the same time l got mine, the parents took over their care from the dr's and made them rest fully for a year and they recovered completely.
 

Woof!

Senior Member
Messages
523
This article gives a really good explanation of adrenaline surges, if you want to know more.
Very good article. I've been an adrenaline user/depleter/relapser all of my life. It's in the DNA I inherited from my Dad (who had FM, sadly, way before it was even being diagnosed in men). This explains how readily I agree to help someone a few days in the future even when I'm in bed with a nasty crash.