Homebound by ME/CFS, better doing less in lockdown, then a walk caused a month-long crash
- Condition
- ME/CFS
- At worst
- Moderate (mostly housebound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- Not stated
- Last post
- Jul 2025
In their words
- Condition: ME/CFS
I didn't really come to terms with my me/cfs until the pandemic lockdown
In context ↗ - At worst: Moderate
I'm homebound, not bedbound, but I have to watch how much I walk around my apartment to avoid PEM.
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
After a couple of months, I felt great. I could think! And then I went for a walk and was "comfy chair"-ridden for a month.
In context ↗
Summary
A Reddit user with ME/CFS described being homebound and having to limit walking around the apartment and heavy thinking to avoid PEM. During the pandemic lockdown, forced to stay home and do much less, they felt great after a couple of months, but one walk left them chair-ridden for a month. By 2024 they were still homebound, using familiar TV shows, puzzles and video games to rest.
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What they tried
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- forced to stay home and did so much less activity · Helped a lot
I was forced to stay home and did so much less activity than I'd been doing before. After a couple of months, I felt great. I could think!
In context ↗ - watching how much I walk around my apartment · Helped
I have to watch how much I walk around my apartment to avoid PEM
In context ↗ - watching tv that's interesting enough to hold my attention · Helped a lot
By far the thing that helps me the most is watching tv that's interesting enough to hold my attention
In context ↗
Approaches: Radical rest
Their path
How ill they were on the ME/CFS severity scale, estimated from what they describe at each point, in the order they describe; they don’t give enough times to place each step. Hover or tap a point. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | ME/CFS at an unstated time before the pandemicI didn't really come to terms with my me/cfs until the pandemic lockdownIn context ↗ | Not stated | |
| pandemic lockdown | forced to stay home and do much less activity; felt great after a couple of monthsthe pandemic lockdown when I was forced to stay home and did so much less activity than I'd been doing before. After a couple of months, I felt great. I could think!In context ↗ | Mild | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| — | crashed after a walk, chair-ridden for a monthAnd then I went for a walk and was "comfy chair"-ridden for a month.In context ↗ | Severe | |
| 2024-02-02 | still homebound, limiting walking and big thinking to avoid PEMI'm homebound, not bedbound, but I have to watch how much I walk around my apartment to avoid PEM.In context ↗ | Moderate |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
I have to watch how much I walk around my apartment to avoid PEM. It's usually the big thinking that triggers PEM for me more than physical exertion.
In context ↗ - Brain fog
After a couple of months, I felt great. I could think!
In context ↗
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