Hi
@Mel9,
Interesting formula. I used to be able to drive fairly well, but that has dropped off significantly the past few years. I made a 150 mile round trip last year, and was fairly shocked to have PEM for most of the following week. I doubt I'll be doing that again anytime soon.
It seems it may be age related, but who really knows for sure. I remember when I was young and very much into physical fitness, I thought for sure I'd be active and in good health into my 90's. Who'd a thunk that early vision of my aging years would come tumbling down in such dramatic fashion?
I’m in the same boat - getting older, formerly a fitness buff in earlier years pre-CFS.
As for my new theory of CFS, as posted elsewhere:
It (cause of CFS) May be a neurological rabbit hole difficult to explore because the science is so esoteric and complicated and neuroscientists have more pressing agendas. I wonder how many of them even take time to consider the nature of CFS relative to their specialized fields. Or, are they even aware of the problem, much of which has neurological correlations? Read that most crashes are preceded by stress to the brain in some manner.
The stress input for the crash is through the eyes, physical (looking at efforts, work, stressors) or mental (reading, talking, exerting), i.e. anything that leads to a crash.
Many psychoactive drugs yield dramatic palliative results for the various stages of CFS, e,g. addressing cognitive issues, crashes and PEM. They, the various rxs can change the course of CFS, maybe not cure it, but make it tolerable, doable.
I would raise research banners around the various neurological camps. This calls for the classic paradigm shift in focus to research and funding in neuroscience. It seems reasonable that the time is right. Infectious disease stalwarts have for decades beat the same old drums looking for viruses, immune dysfunctions and mitochondrial disorders, and dietary experiments with little to no effective results. Why not work backwards from palliative drugs and explore how the mechanisms in the brain are affected by them? IMO, CFS and PEM are neurological events triggered by substance and/or process ‘X’.