ME/CFS
Mild → no benefitIll for 26 years
Mild recurring ME/CFS for 20 years, now 2-3 weeks of crashing after big exertion
- Condition
- ME/CFS
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill for
- 26 years
- Last post
- Jun 2026
In their words
- Condition: ME/CFS
I too went an entire pregnancy without a crash or PEM.
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
After that it was basically after every big exertion if crash for 2-3 weeks until I accepted that every task had a price tag to pay and now my life is drastically affected by all exertion.
In context ↗ - Now: No benefit
So maybe I made it worse 20 years ago by not pacing but there wasn’t an obvious cause and effect like there is now.
In context ↗ - Began after: nothing they could name
Then I’d have a random week of what I’d call my mystery illness.
Summary
A Reddit user described about 20 years of mild recurring illness: months of normal exercise and productivity, then a random week of 'mystery illness'. Around age 50, near the start of Covid, they had their first crash over 10 days, after which every big exertion brought 2-3 weeks of crashing. They said their life is now drastically affected by all exertion. One pregnancy passed without crashes or PEM, which returned after giving birth.
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What they tried
Their words about each treatment
- the audio book of Toni Bernhardt’s How to Be Sick · Helped
I found many of her practices useful.
In context ↗
Their path
What they say at each step doesn’t fit the worst point or outcome above on the severity scale, so the steps are listed as they describe them. Dates are when they posted.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| about 20 years before Covid hit | recurring pattern: months fully normal, then a random week of 'mystery illness'For 20 years I had it just as you’re describing. Months would pass that were full of extreme exercise and productivity and fully normal.In context ↗ |
| around 2020, age 50 | first crash lasting over 10 days; afterwards a 2-3 week crash after every big exertionIt wasn’t until I turned 50 around the time Covid hit that i experienced my first over 10 days crash.In context ↗ |
| 2026-06-08 | still crashing 2-3 weeks after any big exertion; life drastically affected by all exertionnow my life is drastically affected by all exertionIn context ↗ |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
After that it was basically after every big exertion if crash for 2-3 weeks
In context ↗