Housebound with ME/CFS, improved with pacing and rest, then a move caused a severe setback
- Condition
- ME/CFS
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 14 months
- Last post
- Mar 2026
In their words
- Condition: ME/CFS
Prior to becoming unwell with ME/CFS I tended to fluctuate between periods of self-imposed isolation
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
I was mostly bed/couch bound for the first couple of months, then progressed to mostly housebound for the next couple of months
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
extreme fatigue and loss of a huge amount of the functional capacity I spent a year gaining
In context ↗ - Began after: another virus
precipitated by various stressors combined with catching a virus
Summary
Onset was a bad crash in early 2025 after stressors and a virus, leaving them mostly bed- or couch-bound, then housebound, and unable to work. Over the next year EMDR, yoga nidra, breathwork, cold therapy, pacing, radical rest and nutrition helped; sleep and capacity improved. A forced house move across the country then caused a severe setback with dissociation, adrenaline dumps, tremors, tachycardia and extreme fatigue, losing much of the gain.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- narrative therapy · Helped
have previously had other forms of narrative therapy which have helped a great deal
In context ↗ - EMDR therapy · Helped
Over the past year I had been making progress using a myriad of techniques - EMDR therapy
In context ↗ - yoga nidra, breathwork, meditation · Helped
yoga nidra, breathwork, mediation, cold therapy
In context ↗ - cold therapy · Helped
mediation, cold therapy, other techniques to improve vagal tone, radical rest
In context ↗ - radical rest · Helped
cold therapy, other techniques to improve vagal tone, radical rest, pacing, improving nutrition
In context ↗ - pacing · Helped
radical rest, pacing, improving nutrition
In context ↗ - improving nutrition · Helped
pacing, improving nutrition, and some medication to help manage comorbidities
In context ↗ - some medication to help manage comorbidities · Helped
some medication to help manage comorbidities that were also contributing to my fatigue
In context ↗
Approaches: Alternative therapies · Mind-body practices · Pacing · Radical rest · Trauma & somatic work
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 |
|---|---|---|
| beginning of 2025 | bad crash after stressors and a virus; left job and moved to live aloneAt the beginning of the year I had a bad crash, which had been precipitated by various stressors combined with catching a virus.In context ↗ | Severe |
| 2025-06 | able to take short walks a few times a week; still not at baselineI have a little more freedom (can go for short walks a few times a week) but am not yet back to what my baseline was prior to the crash.In context ↗ | Moderate |
| by early 2026 | energy and functional capacity greatly improved; sleeping through the nightmy energy levels and functional capacity was greatly improved from what it had been at the start of the yearIn context ↗ | Mild |
| 2026-03 | house move across country caused severe setbackthe process of moving from my place of safety, across the country, has impacted me extremely severelyIn context ↗ | Severe |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Anxiety & low mood
I've struggled with my mental health since I was a child
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
had started sleeping through the night for the first time in years
In context ↗ - Light & noise sensitivity
I had been finding living in a shared home too overstimulating
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
experiencing adrenaline dumps, tremors, tachycardia
In context ↗
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