Dealing with Crashes: Seeking Advice and Tips

@leify22 I definitely second the things the other user commented on here, particularly the pacing. Take frequent breaks during tasks. Sit instead of stand, avoid rushing around and running, etc. bc those all waste energy. You need to stop while you're ahead, if you feel bad you already pushed yourself too far. If you have PEM, sometimes a crash won't set it for a few hours or days so it's very easy to overdo and feel decent then pay for it later. Also if you have PEM please don't fall for graded exercise therapy as it actively will make you feel worse. Over time, if you pace yourself even just okay enough your energy envelope might grow a bit and you'll be able to do more, it's about allowing your body to build up a tolerance without crashing interfering Something I found extremely helpful for my ME/CFS was anaerobic threshold monitoring. I started it in April and since have gained a lot more energy than I used to have. Using this formula (220 - age * .6) you can calculate the heartrate you are allowed to reach before your body starts burning extra energy. Use .5 instead if your fatigue is extreme. My number was 119 but I rounded down to 115 just to be safe. Some places will give a different formula but this one worked for me. Using my Fitbit, I tried diligently to keep my HR under 115 even when walking (had to stop using stairs when possible even just a few) and the results have been wild!! I felt a solid difference in energy within a month and it's only gotten better, I can do a lot more without crashing than I used to. It takes a lot of patience, pauses with slow breathing to calm the HR, and slowing your walking speed among other things until your body adjusts but I highly highly recommend trying it out, google "anaerobic thershold ME/CFS" to read more if you want But yeah! This is really long but basically take it easy lol. Nap if you need to, 20 minutes is usually all I need if I'm starting to feel bad, you're sick and need to rest. If you work or school somewhere look into acccommodations to allow you to sit instead of stand, avoid walking long distances, etc, if you're in the US they legally have to bc of the ADA (I can expand on that if you'd like). Hope this was helpful, we're all in this fatigue journey together 👍 Wish you all the best