Housebound and often bedbound with ME/CFS, prednisolone boost then relapse after stopping
- Condition
- ME/CFS
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 6 years
- Last post
- Jun 2025
In their words
- Condition: ME/CFS
I've gained on average a stone a year since my ME diagnosis in 2019
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
I'm now also mostly housebound, often bedbound
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
8 months off steroids, and no way of going back on them and I'm back at a moderate to severe baseline
In context ↗
Read from 1 of their posts and comments; links to the one this page draws on
Summary
Bramble 76035 was diagnosed with ME in 2019 and became mostly housebound and often bedbound, gaining about a stone a year. A year of prednisolone for skin issues in 2023–2024 boosted their energy enough to return to the gym and they lost much of the weight. Eight months after stopping steroids they were back at a moderate-to-severe baseline; recent relationship and work stress left them exhausted and gaining faster.
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What they tried
What they credit
Their words about each treatment
- prednisolone · Helped
the steroids boosted my energy levels and I was able to return to the gym
In context ↗ - physio, re-conditioning and resistance work · Not said
I was able to return to the gym for physio, re-conditioning and resistance work
In context ↗ - pacing · Not said
the cravings for carb rich foods are near constant when I'm not pacing well
In context ↗
Approaches: Other drugs and medicines
Their path
How ill they were on the ME/CFS severity scale, estimated from what they describe at each point, with time counted from when the illness began. Hover or tap a point. The chart starts 4 years after onset: the story doesn’t say how ill they were before that. 1 step has no time and sits in story order between the steps around it. 1 step says too little to place on the scale and is only in the table. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | ME diagnosissince my ME diagnosis in 2019In context ↗ | Not stated | |
| 2023-2024 | year of prednisolone improved energy and allowed gym workthe steroids boosted my energy levels and I was able to return to the gym for physio, re-conditioning and resistance workIn context ↗ | Mild | Corticosteroid pulses |
| 8 months off steroids | stopped steroids, back to moderate-to-severe baseline8 months off steroids, and no way of going back on them and I'm back at a moderate to severe baselineIn context ↗ | Severe | |
| last 4 weeks | relationship and work stress worsened exhaustion and weight gainwith the stress of it over the last 4 weeks I've just been so fucking exhaustedIn context ↗ | Severe |
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