Chronic Fatigue sufferers?

ilessa

Hi, I've been using MFP off and on for a few years.

Recently I've been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which has been really tough for me, as I've gone from being a very active person to not being able to walk the 2.1 miles to work without being wiped out entirely for the following 2-3 days. As a consequence, the weight has piled back on.

Anyone also suffering who has any advice/support to offer?

Feeling quite frustrated at the minute and looking for some advice to help me get my energy back.

Thanks!

MakePeasNotWar

I was diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis last year and chronic fatigue is a very common symptom. In the span of a few months I went from being a competitive fighter and training 20+ hours a week to having trouble walking up the stairs in my house without resting halfway up.

Two things have really helped me; they may work for you, too.

The first was increasing my fruit and vegetable consumption A LOT. I probably eat a pound of fruit and over a pound of veggies a day now (about half of that from greens). I find with such a high fruit and veggie intake, I eat a lot less of everything else, so my calorie intake has actually gone down as a result, but my energy levels are much better. About 70- 80% of my calories now are from fruit, veggies, beans, and nuts and seeds, though you probably don't have to go to that extreme to see improvements (I was already vegetarian, now vegan, so it wasn't a huge change for me, more of a re-balancing. ) If that much produce sounds intimidating, cold-pressed juices seem to help too, especially green juices. Just watch the calories on fruit juice - they can be 100+ calories a cup.

The second thing was mentally accepting my new "fitness" level and starting from where I was, not where I thought I "should" be. As you have discovered, trying to do too much at once just leads to a couple of days of complete exhaustion, and that's not a good way to progress. Find what you can do without wiping yourself out. Start there, and when that becomes easier, try just a little bit more. I started with hiking less than a mile. It was mentally tough to stop when I felt tired but I forced myself to listen to my body no matter how humiliating it was for my ego at the time. I kept at it, and now, 8 months later, I hike about 4-5 miles three times a week, and my longest weekend hike was 11 miles. I also was able to start strength training again recently. I still have to take a day off or turn back early sometimes, but it's getting rarer.

I cant guarantee this will work for you, but it's been my personal experience and I really feel like a different person from the one I was just 8-9 months ago.

TL;DR eat fruit and veggies. Start with easy exercise and work your way up. YMMV

gentlygently

Same here - I got the 'official' diagnosis last month, but i've been ill almost 2 years now and i have been following good advice for CFS - especially graded excercise, and. mindfulness / anxiety mgt. I find the excercise easier - increase it slowly, and find a base mark you can return to after a relapse. When I am poorly I stuggle to walk for 10 mins. But mainky I am fit and can swim 1k and walk 5 miles .... All built up gradually over the last 2 years....

The advice to fill up on veggies is really good. I also 'swap out' calories Eg adding lots of veggies to a chilli, to retune the calorific meat, or even having rice cake and jam rather than a biscuit. I am doing this more consciously now as I put on weight when I went gluten free (it helped with the IBS I was getting,mbut now that is better so I am just 'gluten light') mainly cos I kept on buying rather nice gluten free biscuits I suspect! Portion control too ofcourse, just gently keeping the calories in under control.

Do you eat when you are fatigued eg biscuits as I was. Worth thinking on those kind of correlations too..

It is a long old path this... Good luck with it.