Borderline moderate ME/CFS improved with pacing and medication, then viruses set them back
- Condition
- ME/CFS
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 18 months
- Last post
- Oct 2026
In their words
- Condition: ME/CFS
'Mild' CFS is no joke though (I was probably borderline moderate at my worst)
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
I needed to cut work hours down initially as low as 15 hours a week
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
a cascade of crashes following viral infections that had me essentially lose a year's progress in recovery
In context ↗ - Began after: another virus
a very persistent RSV infection that was almost certainly the trigger of this for me
Read from 8 of their posts and comments; links to the 4 this page draws on
Summary
Mesa 65409 fell ill around early 2025 after a persistent RSV infection; PEM crashes grew more frequent until work was cut to 15 hours a week, borderline moderate at worst. A specialist's medication plus rigid pacing slowly stabilised them, and by mid-2026 they worked 25 hours a week with mild fog, headaches and mild POTS. A later run of viral infections brought a cascade of crashes that cost about a year of progress.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- radical pacing · Helped
I needed to shift to more radical pacing
In context ↗ - some medication · Helped
who got me onto some medication which, in combination with pacing, stabilised me
In context ↗ - splitting dinners into two meals an hour apart · Helped
One thing I have done though is split dinners into two meals and hour apart and that works fairly well.
In context ↗
Approaches: Pacing
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 | After |
|---|---|---|
| early 2025 | ME/CFS began after a persistent RSV infection; PEM crashes about every 6 weeksfollowing a very persistent RSV infection that was almost certainly the trigger of this for meIn context ↗ | |
| 2025 | crashing every couple of weeks; cut work to 15 hours a week and switched to radical pacingit got to the point where I'd be crashing every couple of weeks ... So I needed to cut work hours down initially as low as 15 hours a weekIn context ↗ | |
| early 2026 | specialist medication plus rigid pacing stabilised them; worked slowly up to 25 hours a week and could walk 45 minutes at weekendsstabilised me and I've very slowly been able to work up to 25 hours of work per week with good stability ... I can walk 45 minutes on a weekend without much problemIn context ↗ | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| July 2026 | crashed after two viral infections in three weeks; in bed for a day, back to baseline within daysI did crash for the first time in a couple of months recently when I caught two viral infections in three weeksIn context ↗ | |
| October 2026 | cascade of crashes after viral infections; lost about a year of progressI've just come off the taliend of a cascade of crashes following viral infections that had me essentially lose a year's progress in recoveryIn context ↗ | |
| 2026-10-22 | down period after the crash cascade, pacing conservativelyI'm in a down period now though after a run of viral infections caused a crash cascade so I'm in a bit of a preservation modeIn context ↗ |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
I experienced increasingly frequent but also increasingly mild PEM crashes
In context ↗ - Brain fog
I do fatigue quickly and can get headaches and mild fog
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
can get headaches and mild fog
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
I also have mild POTS
In context ↗ - Gut problems
I can also sometimes run into digestion problems where my body seemingly 'forgets' to digest food and I'll feel bloated
In context ↗ - Light & noise sensitivity
I tend to also fog up quickly in louder environments such as bars, restaurants, etc.
In context ↗
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