Sad to report that I have had two days of PEM. It's not as severe as in the past, but PEM is PEM. The trigger was not over-exertion. It was an extremely stressful decision about a home purchase and placing a bid while my husband was out of town. I could actually feel the switch in my nervous system when the anxiety set in and I knew there would be consequences. I wish we had medical terms to describe some of the physical symptoms we experience. Anyway, it's been two rough days with sore throats, no energy, muscle weakness, and sensory issues. Yesterday and today, I have at least felt better in the evenings.
It's discouraging to have firm confirmation that the ME/CFS is still there, but anyone living with this knows how important any level of improvement is and I am not going to complain.
Very interesting, congratulations on your progress and I'm sorry to hear that you still have some PEM.
I really want to try some valtrex but it's hard to get a doctor to agree to script it (in Australia), particularly at those dosages..!
I was wondering - do you think it might be wiser to take it easy for a few more months and not jump straight into such large amounts of exertion? I can definitely relate to wanting to do more, as I often overdo it and crash myself while staying the same.. It must be very tempting when you have improved dramatically.
That being said, it seems like many people who have a positive response to some treatment end up immediately diving into as much activity as they can handle, even if it's only weeks after they were significantly ill. This seems to backfire in some cases, and they end up getting a little worse or having some type of issue.
I feel like it might be safer to increase activity more gradually and give the immune system, nervous system, HP axes, etc more time within a healthy, non ME/CFS environment to stabilise and equilibrate before pushing the boundaries of what you can do with your new level of health.