ME/CFS
Moderate → relapsedIll 8 years before improving or writing
ME/CFS since 2018, improved then relapsed, now moderate and not working
- Condition
- ME/CFS
- At worst
- Moderate (mostly housebound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 8 years
- Last post
- Mar 2026
In their words
- Condition: ME/CFS
I got sick in 2018, went on medical leave from my PhD program at the end of the semester ... discovered ME/CFS in 2019
In context ↗ - At worst: Moderate
Over the past 5 years, I'd say I've gone back and forth between moderate and mild several times
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
went back to work just shy of full-time in 2022, cut back to minimal part-time at the end of teaching that semester, kept teaching 1 class until the end of last year
In context ↗
Read from 8 of their posts and comments; links to the 6 this page draws on
Summary
Got sick in 2018, went on medical leave from a PhD and moved in with parents. Over five years they swung between moderate and mild, teaching near full-time in 2022 then crashing, later cutting to one class before the university told them they wouldn't need them. A medication kept their depression level but did nothing for ME symptoms; a low-dose medication they'd taken for years let them sleep but blurred their vision and added weight. They called themselves moderate in late 2025, not working.
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What they tried
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- duloxetine (cymbalta) · Helped
It keeps me at my current level of depression--I mostly wouldn't mind not existing--and no worse. So, good for me, but not good for treating any ME symptoms.
In context ↗ - amitriptyline · Helped
It doesn't put me to sleep, but somehow it LETS me sleep.
In context ↗ - finding a balance in what I can and cannot do · Not said
spent a few years trying to find a balance in what I can and cannot do
In context ↗
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. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | got sick, went on medical leave from PhD, moved in with parentsI got sick in 2018, went on medical leave from my PhD program at the end of the semester, moved back in with my parentsIn context ↗ | Moderate |
| 2022 | returned to teaching just shy of full-timewent back to work just shy of full-time in 2022In context ↗ | Mild |
| September 2022 | crashed after teaching 3 classes, sleeping only a few hours a nightI ended up teaching 3 classes instead of the 2 I figured I could for sure handle, and wouldn't you know it but I crashed last week and am treading water to survive at this pointIn context ↗ | Moderate |
| 2023 | overdid it working, suffered for months, had to stop workingI needed money and thus went back to work, overdid it and have been suffering for it for months, to the point that I had to stop workingIn context ↗ | Moderate |
| 2025-11-22 | described self as moderate, not working, financially supported by mother | Moderate |
Adverse events
- Amitriptyline (Elavil)“I've been on a low dose of it for years now, and I packed on about 15 pounds early on” In context ↗ Side effects
- Amitriptyline (Elavil)“My biggest issue is that it blurs my vision a bit, even on the lowest dosage.” In context ↗ Side effects
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
I ended up teaching 3 classes instead of the 2 I figured I could for sure handle, and wouldn't you know it but I crashed last week
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
only sleeping a few hours a night
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
my current level of depression--I mostly wouldn't mind not existing
In context ↗