I had an ...interesting experience recently. My physically-induced PEM has always had a consistent 24 hr delay. Last week I experienced PEM shortly (an hour or so?) after splitting some wood, and after shovelling some snow. The symptoms included a rise in body temperature (.3C). The most likely culprit was some 'honey roasted' peanuts. These were packaged in plastic bottles, and much drier than the bulk peanuts I'd had without problems. These ones also caused some intestinal distress: lots of gas, and in the mornings, when I had to go, I really, really had to go NOW! I stopped eating them, the intestinal difficulties passed, and I split wood today without triggering PEM. I suppose I should retest the brand of peanuts at least twice more for scientific reliability, but it's too unpleasant without purpose. I simply accept that gut issues (probably microbiome changes) can result in physically-induced short-delay PEM.
This short-delay PEM wasn't blocked by cumin, which the long-delay PEM is. The short delay and the resistance to cumin made it very similar in not identical (hard to tell) to my cerebrally-induced PEM. In another thread I speculated whether physically-induced PEM was caused by the cerebral effort of making the muscles move. I still think my delayed physically-induced PEM results from IFN-g released by the t-cells cleaning up the damaged cells. This new (for me) short delay PEM might have been caused by the cerebral effort of the physical effort. For me, viral infections (triggering t-cell activity) acts similarly to my long-delay PEM.
This doesn't change my mind about the relation between ME and gut activity. I think the altered microbiome influenced the activity of brain cells in a way that made the cerebral effort trigger PEM, as it otherwise wouldn't have done. I don't believe that gut activity is a direct factor of ME.
I think of ME as an automotive engine with a defective ignition system, not igniting the fuel reliably, resulting in poor performance. Using bad fuel will make the engine perform even worse, more so than in an engine with good ignition. Using perfect fuel would eliminate the extra-bad performance, but the engine still won't perform properly, because the faulty ignition is still there. In ME terms, getting a perfect microbiome and all the supplements for a healthy gut would help you avoid extra symptoms, but you'll probably still have ME.
This short-delay PEM wasn't blocked by cumin, which the long-delay PEM is. The short delay and the resistance to cumin made it very similar in not identical (hard to tell) to my cerebrally-induced PEM. In another thread I speculated whether physically-induced PEM was caused by the cerebral effort of making the muscles move. I still think my delayed physically-induced PEM results from IFN-g released by the t-cells cleaning up the damaged cells. This new (for me) short delay PEM might have been caused by the cerebral effort of the physical effort. For me, viral infections (triggering t-cell activity) acts similarly to my long-delay PEM.
This doesn't change my mind about the relation between ME and gut activity. I think the altered microbiome influenced the activity of brain cells in a way that made the cerebral effort trigger PEM, as it otherwise wouldn't have done. I don't believe that gut activity is a direct factor of ME.
I think of ME as an automotive engine with a defective ignition system, not igniting the fuel reliably, resulting in poor performance. Using bad fuel will make the engine perform even worse, more so than in an engine with good ignition. Using perfect fuel would eliminate the extra-bad performance, but the engine still won't perform properly, because the faulty ignition is still there. In ME terms, getting a perfect microbiome and all the supplements for a healthy gut would help you avoid extra symptoms, but you'll probably still have ME.
