My advice would be to pace, eat well, avoid toxins and stimulants and get as good quality sleep as you can. Also to avoid GET unless your CFS is very mild, and avoid CBT as well.

I've found stopping as soon as I need to rather than pushing through is the best thing to do. Definitely not GET it only ever made me worse. CBT doesn't help CFS, but does help me to cope with the depression caused by having CFS. It's only if the therapist believe the CFS is caused by the depression that it's not helpful in my experience.

Thanks for the advice. Yeah Ive been doing an 'active health program' for a while, or atleast started to Im unable to participate now ofc. I've become much worse since starting that but I have no idea of that's related, tried a whole lot of things. When you say avoid stimulants Lupin, do you mean stuff like ritalin or computer screens etc?

All I can do is echo what has been said. This is all great advice. In the spiritual/emotional realm, I would say, try to find some quiet moments to breathe and to accept your body and to feel received by the One who loves you. Much love.

Ditto to all the wonderful answers above! I'll just add that I truly feel that complete acceptance of our illness, and grieving the loss of what we thought our lives would have been, are absolutely key to a lot of mental and physical health too! I saw a wonderful therapist who has helped me with this and it's amazing the difference it makes! Just sayin'! :-) Hugs

Hello! Echoing what has been previously stated! Avoiding anything aerobic is wise. Pacing is key with me with CFS. I've never really learned to stick to it as I should, but when I do, my "up" times last longer.

Good nutrition and a daily routine are also helpful. If I'm ever too far off of some sort of daily eating/sleeping pattern, my body sees that as stress and I end up in bed.

Speaking of stress, I believe it is one of my biggest crash triggers. I know we can't control everthing that happens in our daily lives, but avoiding large crowds, loud noise and excess stimulation is always wise when we can do it.

Support groups such as this one are an absolute necessity. I learn more from my DS friends about how to cope with my CFS, than from any doctor. We know more about our illness than most MD'S. Scary, Right?

Finally, my church family, pastor and fellow believers who take the time to visit me and pray for me, are an ever constant reminder that I am not forgotten. I commit my days to the Lord and ask for grace and strength to get through them. I color and listen to music often. Just keeping it "simple" is a good rule of thumb for me!

We are here to help each other. Knowing that gives me peace♡♡

I am in the process of reading "Wild Edge of Sorrow". What a wonderful book. I echo everything everyone else has said. Took me awhile to learn to "not push". But that lesson has been a life savor. I have also learned that if I want to do something important, I rest for a day or 2 beforehand. I meditate, I eat clean, and I have come to a place of acceptance (probably my biggest struggle). This is my life. And since I believe I am here to learn, then I learn.

By stimulants, I mean anything that kicks off the adrenals as our bodies are usually full of it anyway. You wanna get the body out of the sympathetic nervous system (feeling stressed) and switch on the parasympathic nervous system (relaxation). Any activity or exercise program that makes you feel worse is bad news. In US CF has been reclassified as SEID - Systemic Exersion Intolerance Disease and includes the acknowledgement that exertion makes us worse. Some studies have found this is because after exertion our lactic acid (toxins) is 20 times the normal amount. Pacing is more listening to your body and balancing activity and rest according to what works for you. Personally I believe recovery is possible.

Hi Corey, for me, getting on an anti-depressant was a really BIG help. I've had CFS for too long (47 years) and I was just feeling so hopeless and a bit suicidal. I also felt a lot of anger - "why do I have to put up with this" and also anger that other people didn't understand. I was in a bookstore and I asked the clerk if they had any books on how to handle anger or get rid of it. She said I should "just let it go". I didn't think that was possible but then I realized it IS possible. We can choose NOT to be angry when we realize how toxic it is to ourselves and to others as well. Better to just let it go. Always try our best, but accept the things that we can't change. Just look for the good and find it in every situation that we're in. No need to be angry. I believe that I am blessed. I look forward to and enjoy every day. I try to plan some social times with other people, even if it's just phoning an old friend to keep in touch. I try to attend church when I can and I have sort of meditation books where there is a page to read and then a few chapters of the bible to read as well. I find the bible reading is SO important to me. I don't want to miss it. I feel it's my connection with my heavenly Father. I talk to God too, the way I would talk to a mentor or my most trusted friend and I ask Him to guide me and inspire me and tell me what to do. I ask Him to handle the problems that seem impossible for me. He has sent so many people into my life to help me with things. Just as It seems time for despair then something happens and I know that God has come to my rescue again. Like when I discovered this site, I thought "this is a true Godsend". There are always new things happening to meet our needs. Those are the big things for me. I can't think of any physical treatment that has helped very much, except for the pacing which is totally necessary. I have my rest days when my biggest goal is just to have a shower and then lots of rest. Other days are stay home but try to get a few things done and "going out" days when that is my main goal. Hope this was helpful in some way. Cheryl xo

Lots of good input already. Some supplements that have really helped me get off the couch are bio-identical hormones, adrenal support, and phosphatidyl serine. Out of about 14 docs, alternative and traditional, I found 2 that really helped me with the above. Also, as others have said, learning to deal with this cruel taskmaster, CFS, emotionally & spiritually. Some things that have helped me in that way are the Gupta Program, Dr. Joe Dispenza's work, and now trauma release work.

Recovery. Tough word. Connotations of full healing.... Not recovery.. remissions? Yes. Acceptance of a new forever way of living? Yes. My turning point was when I stopped fighting the natural cycle of this illness and gained loving acceptance of my body as it is now and will be. What helped...what changed everything for me was "How to be Sick" by Toni Bernhard. It was one of those transformative moments in life to read it, see myself in her story and use some of the tenets of Buddism she espouses to try and see my body as it is due to CFS as just...my body. Not my sick body, as if it will get well. (note this was in my 20th or so year with this illness) To be at peace with the fact that the life I thought I would have would never be....and fighting to change that would only cause me to lose time within the life that exists for me in this time and place. It's hard to explain but once you find your lightbulb moment you'll get it. It helped to mourn my past dreams as if they were friends who passed on and then to slowly dream new dreams within the energy available to me. So, for example, I will never again sing Opera. But I can still put on a pair of good headphones and immerse myself. I may never see the Grand Canyon in person but there is now virtual reality... The other major step to feeling better about this illness was discovering DS and making friends from all over the globe. We save each other on a daily basis. hugs to all

I think it's important to understand what most likely caused your CFS, mine was due to complex PTSD. Since I know that I can deal with it from a mental health perspective. If you feel you got it from a virus, you can explore that road, it's different for everyone. I personally use CBD oil for pain, you can buy it on the Internet. I found Seroquel works best for my insomnia. I'm currently taking a prescribed amphetamine to increase my energy during the day. It took a long time to figure out what medications worked, but I now have a good mix, find Dr's who believe in you, if they don't, move on to someone else, don't waste too much time on someone who won't take you or CFS seriously. Good luck!

Thanks for the answers everyone. It's a bit hard to accept Ill be mostly bedridden and in atrocious pain for the rest of my life, but I mean.. no meds or treatments help symptoms so. Reading a book would be near impossible, ill try more meds though. I did CBT a while ago and also more recently and they believed I was not depressed. I don't think I am, it's just so much physical sickness and pain from every symptom, and the unique 'fatigue' that comes with this ofc. I guess Ill find my own way in time to stop trying to recover/improve and accept this

I think it's good to have hope. Medical advances are made all the time. We may stumble upon something that works for us or at least helps. A balance between acceptance and hope is a good thing. Cheryl xo

I agree with goldengirl, you always need to have hope. I'm much better today than I was a few years ago, so I know improvement is possible. I've learned to pace myself and am now able to exercise everyday, which for me, is a blessing for my mental health and has kept me going. I pray and meditate everyday for healing & energy. Improvements in my eating habits have also made a big impact on the way I feel. Try to find something that makes you smile or laugh everyday and hang in there. : )