Hi Martin. So sorry for the brain hemorrhage, and CFS. For the first few years after I "caught" CFS, I had terrible headaches but they did go away after a few years and I hope yours do too.

Wow, working full time is tough, I don't think I could work full time now unless I worked from home. I've had CFS for over 20 years.

I have benefitted from exercise, although I don't also work full time, but you can try and see if you can do it. Here is what happened to me.

I hired a yoga instructor and she had to literally pull me out of bed in the mornings at first, and I relapsed badly after our sessions. But about 5 months after I started I got quite strong and had much more energy, I was almost cured! I worked out with yoga 3 times a week.

Then I had some health problems, hip and knee replacements, and only did physical therapy.

Now I walk my dog every day, try to walk on my treadmill for 30 minutes but not when I'm relapsed, and work out with two different instructors twice a week, weights and yoga.

The key is to start slow, very slow, and expect to relapse a lot in the first months. If you are like me you will turn a corner eventually and the exercise will be beneficial. I do more strength training than aerobic, aerobic exercise doesn't agree with CFS but strength training does.

Whether you can do this with your full time work will be interesting. You can give it a try and hopefully not fall into worse relapses than you already have.

Do you walk much? Walking is probably the best way to start a light exercise program and then lifting hand weights would be another thing to do. There are dvds for hand weight workouts I use sometimes.

I don't like going to gyms because my energy gets drained from the driving there, talking, changing clothes. I try to cut out any unnecessary activity in order to work out.

Good luck

Welcome Martin, God bless you for trying so hard to manage everything, it must be incredibly difficult and frustrating for you and your family! I'm curious if your Neuro doctor is familiar with chronic fatigue syndrome? Chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome are not one in the same. There is a checklist of symptoms needed for a diagnosis of CFS short term memory problems, muscle aches and pain, swollen glands, mood disturbances and exhaustion after even mild physical activity. I'm not suggesting you don't have it, just to be sure you know what's really causing your symptoms. You should not be suffering as much as you are. You need to know what's really going on and how to treat it to get better. Is there anyway to cut down your hours at work or even take an extra day off from work a week? You sound very debilitated and working full time may be making things worse. I've included a link for Subarachnoid Hemorrhage's after effects (I'm sure you know well) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms. Looking at them together they're very similar! God bless you.

http://www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-SAH.HTM#.VLa9d3uVWVY

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/basics/symptoms/con-20022009

Hi,

Thanks for your repsonnses, some great answers.

Hollie- Glad the yoga helped. I know that walking is probably my best option. Only problem is I hate to walk. I sued to play many sports when younger and always enjoyed that. Maybe I need a dog!
I will try some light treadmill and dumbell work. My legs hurt terribly every day so this will be a challeng. I know what you mean about the gym. By the time I drive there, get changed and walk up the stairs I am exhausted. How the same hell am I supposed towork out?

Zen- thanks for responding. It is incredibly difficult to go at this pace. So frustrating. I work for a small company so reducing hours is not an option.
I understand that CF and CFS may not be the same. I have all the symptoms of CFS except for swollen glands so its hard to say. I think my neuro was just guessing. In any case I am looking for ANY way to gain some energy. Life right now is a 24 hour torture/endurance test.
Thanks for the links, they were very informative and true. I wish I had an answer. I will try exercise but what energy do I have/ Chicken or the egg right?
Thanks!

Martin

I use hand weights, do some limited amount of calisthenics in the mornings...and I also maintain some acreage of land and a vegetable garden.

But there was a time when I would get sick just from walking back and forth between rooms in my house.

The exercise really helps, but you have to be extremely determined. There will be days when you just know it's the wrong thing to do. But you have to keep on, slow and steady. It isn't easy and it takes a very long time to see improvement. But I believe it really does work. I doubt if it can cure anybody, but it certainly can make your life a lot better.

I also credit my improved diet and the way I've weeded out all the parasitic people who were giving me stress. You have to be tough about that as well as the exercise. And getting enough rest is also critically important.

Martin, my dog forces me to walk daily, a blessing and a curse. With your situation a dog might just be too much work though.

I'm relapsed now from starting back up with my weight training after the holidays, but that is to be expected. I don't work out when I'm relapsed, although I have yoga later today and for some reason yoga energizes me unlike other exercise.

Walking may help your leg pain, it seems counter intuitive but it does help for me. You don't have to walk far and don't have it be aerobic at first. Strength training is best for starting, it seems to get along with CFS best.

You have so much on your plate with work and it sounds like you're already relapsed when not working, I worry about you adding exercise but you can try.

And I agree with Richie, rest is more important than anything.

Hi Martin --
Yu've gotten some really sound advice from the rest of the folks here. I've had CFIDS for 30 years and exercise has always been a buga boo. It's critical that you GO SLOWLY. If you think you can walk around the block, go only half of the block and slowly, slowly work your way up. I totally agree with the others that aerobic exercise is very hard on us. Weights, again beginning very lightly and working up, is the way to go. Gentle yoga or beginning with restorative yoga first might be the way to go with yoga. I really don't know how you are managing to work full time with the crushing fatigue you are coping with. I know one of the other dear ones on this site asked if you could cut back, and I would cheer you on ito do that if it's possible in any way. Deep sleep and rest are the definitely the most important, but if you try to exercise be very, very cautious and gentle with yourself. Glad you found your way to this DS site. I am so sorry you are going through this. It is such a huge challenge and I hope you find some relief from it. Keep us posted as to how you are doing. AS you can see, you are not alone.
Sending wishes of healing to you,
Denise

I do this very simple Yoga routine and it give me a great feeling of energy opened up all through my body (kind of like tingling). I can't do much more but this gets the kinks out and makes me feel very peaceful after! I bought this in a kit with a mat/dvd and stretching strap. Maybe someone will enjoy it. It's funny, I tell my pain care doctor I do my yoga, I'm not going to tell him it's the same video over and over lol I hope he never asks me what my favorite poses are, hell if I remember them! It's very gentle.

Here's the video link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsUd5LgVVBk

Sustained walking and stretching to music works for me and picks up my energy. Isabelle1954

Hi Welcome!!

Thought I would add my two cents, since that's what you came here for, my friend.

Aerobic anything seems to be bad for CFS. It just depletes our already depleted energy all the more. In my case, physical therapy was sought out in the beginning of my illness and it pushed me into a terrible crash. I still didn't want to deal with muscle atrophy so I slowed WAY down and started over.

As others have stated, a good minimal energy sucking exercise is a good walk. Not a long tedious one. A short one. Every day if you can. In your case, I would be extremely careful as you are working full time and that is probably all the exercise you can handle. Just getting up and down at a desk is almost aerobic for us.

I hope you are able to find a balance in your activity routine. It's different for each of us. What we must NOT do is PUSH ourselves. Do a little walk. That's it. If you crash from doing that, then it was too much.

Listen to your body!!!

One step at a time with this illness. I'm bed bound often from pushing, yet I still do it. We aren't good pacers.....but we need to learn to be.

I'm glad you found this site and I wish you the best!

Hi, Martin. Welcome! Yeah, CFS is more of an endurance event than a sprint. It does feel like you're just trying to get through the day. I get that. Like Darla said, listen to your body. Sure, some light exercise is good if you can pull it off. I like the term "movement for life." It doesn't put the pressure on me that "exercise" does. So, movement for life for me is getting up and down the steps to the bathroom, putting in a load of laundry, making dinner for my family. All of those things required energy. People are taking a lot about pacing these days. You might want to Google it. The basic idea is to rate your activities throughout the day as to low energy, moderate energy, and high energy. I learned that everything has to be included. Even talking on the phone and watching TV or reading require some energy. Resting is lying in a dark, quiet room. I thought resting was sitting in my easy chair, but that doesn't count. I wish you all the best. I know what it is to work full-time. It eventually became too much for me, but I pulled it off for a while. I pray that your strength will be renewed. Many blessings on you.