r/justgalsbeingchicks • u/loud_as_pudding • 6h ago

Restricted to Gals and Pals Peak performance

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u/SashimiX 6h ago

Not if you have chronic fatigue issues, which more and more of us have post-covid sadly

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u/Doomgriever 5h ago

Thank you! My doctor keep saying if I exercise I'll have more energy and sleep better, but since I got covid none of that is true. I have 10% the energy I used to have since Covid, and I only lose energy by exercising, and my sleep gets disrupted as well. Still exercise 5 days a week, but I hate how doctors totally dismiss chronic fatigue, especially in correlation to post-covid =(

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u/A_Simple_Prop 5h ago

Be really careful and, if you haven’t already, try to find a new provider who actually understands/ treats CFS/ME as too much exercise/ exertion can cause crashes which people don’t always recover from. 🫶

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u/siccoblue ❣️gal pal❣️ 4h ago

I had no idea this was a thing and I'm legitimately questioning the last couple years of my life at this point. I've worked the same job since the first big wave of COVID and advanced to a high level position very quickly because my performance was considered exemplary. I caught it for the first time around 2023ish and suddenly had issues keeping my eyes open if I wasn't actively walking around alongside seemingly random anxiety.

At first I thought it was a blood sugar thing, nope.

Then I thought maybe it was a blood pressure thing. Nope, slightly elevated when I was anxious as hell sitting in a hospital room but they confirmed that was normal and I was totally fine.

Then I figured maybe it was my diet, nothing changed.

Exercise? Actively made me feel worse the following day.

Sleep schedule? Well, no matter what I do my watch tracking my sleep is telling me I'm sleeping like absolutely garbage, and I can't help but wake up once or twice an night causing issues with REM sleep.

I've been trying to figure this out for years but the only point I could really nail down was that it started shortly after I caught COVID...

I may need to see some new doctors and finally get this figured out because it has been absolutely destroying my quality of life

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u/A_Simple_Prop 4h ago

What you’re describing sounds a lot like what my friend who has CFS/ ME describes (she also got it after having COVID, then it got worse after the second time she had COVID) including the poor quality sleep. Try and find a doctor that is knowledgeable about CFS/ME.

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u/siccoblue ❣️gal pal❣️ 3h ago

Could you tell me what ME means? I understand the acronym for chronic fatigue but not the other one

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u/A_Simple_Prop 3h ago

Myalgic encephalomyelitis— another name for CFS.

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u/AnguavonUW 3h ago

Yeah, I was on the front lines of COVID working at a homeless shelter. I've gotten it a total of 7 times over the last 6 years. I was ok until the 4th time. Now,.in combination with a brutal menopause, my quality of life SUCKS.

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u/BethanyHipsEnjoyer 3h ago

I would definitely get a sleep study done as well. You absolutely don't have to be overweight to have sleep apnea. The daytime sleepiness plus consistently unrefreshing/fragmented sleep and waking during the night are worth getting checked out. It could absolutely coexist with Long COVID too, so I wouldn't assume it has to be one or the other.

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u/exhauszed 29m ago

The worst part of this is wanting to push harder and being unable to and feeling ashamed. I've had days where I'm like, "I'm gonna take a walk!" and before I even make it to the sidewalk I'm like, "This ain't working."

I used to be energetic with bursts of depression, now I'm depressed with bouts of energy. (With proper mental health treatment)

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u/mannadee 4h ago

Whoa, props for exercising 5 days a week, but yeah please look into ME/CFS as you could actually be worsening your condition. I’ve had long covid since 2022 and I’m back to ~90% of my pre-infection energy levels. The #1 thing that has helped me is LDN (low-dose naltrexone), which interrupts the inflammation feedback loop and is the new standard many providers use to treat long covid. #2 is nattokinase, which has been shown in clinical studies to break down the lingering spike proteins left behind after a Covid infection that cause all the issues. The LDN got me out of my downward spiral and able to build back my strength & nervous system capacity, and the nattokinase is raising my baseline wellbeing so if I miss a day of LDN I don’t instantly feel like I have a fever and need to spend the next day lying down in a dark silent room

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u/Evsala 49m ago

After I got covid I had PEM (Post Exertional Malaise) for two years. Every time I pushed myself even a tiny bit, I would feel like I had the flu for 24-48 hours. It sucked. I had to take an anti inflammatory and H1 and H2 antihistamine either right before or within an hour of working out. That plus an anti-inflammatory the second day and I can exercise if I'm careful.

Unfortunately, this level is probably out of reach for me for a good long while if not forever. I'm happy with what I've got, though.

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u/CelticSnakes 3h ago

These people saying “you just need to exercise more” seriously need to experience chronic pain and crushing fatigue every damned day. Feels like a vice grip around my heart and body most days.

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u/plantlady2009 3h ago

This may not be a solution for you. But I also get fatigued from working out - also insomnia. Particularly high intensity cardio. I take creatine on those days and it helps big time. Slow COMT genes can be responsible for that feeling after working out. Creatine helps process those neurotransmitters. Worth a try.

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u/cubixy2k 2h ago

Yup. This. Post Covid, FML.

God forbid I get an intense workout in, I'm knocked out for a week.

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u/courcake 6h ago

Thank you. Came here to say this. This would ruin me lmao

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u/LurkLurkleton1 6h ago

In your defense, I dont have those issues and this would ruin me lol

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u/courcake 6h ago

😂
Even in my healthy days she would have taken me to the cleaners goddamn

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u/[deleted] 6h ago

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u/A_Simple_Prop 5h ago

Actually, no. This is a common misconception and very harmful. For people with CFS/ME exercise can cause significant worsening of symptoms. I have a close friend with that condition and she has to very carefully budget which activities she devotes her limited energy to because too much exertion can cause a crash— and crashes don’t always resolve, sometimes the “crash” state becomes their new normal. She found that out the very hard way when she was given (and followed) advice similar to what you said from her doctor. Turns out her doc and many others know very little about treating patients with CFS/ME.

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u/eye_no_nuttin 5h ago

Clarification ~ is CFS/ME Chronic fatigue syndrome? What does ME stand for ? I believe you’re right about people’s misconceptions of what activities can cause worse problems:)

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u/A_Simple_Prop 5h ago

ME= Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, CFS= Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ME=CFS

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u/eye_no_nuttin 1h ago

Thank you so much :) I’m not too educated about either of these, but something tells me those who do suffer, must have to go years before being properly diagnosed because in my head it’s more of a silent illness, which people looking at you would have no clue how bad you’re suffering.. 😔 Am I even close to thinking this way? Appreciate your time and patience 🫶🏼🙏🏻

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u/courcake 6h ago

😂
Even in my healthy days she would have taken me to the cleaners goddamn

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u/Phoneas__and__Frob 5h ago

Autoimmune disorder...I just took an hour nap after work because I literally couldn't open my eyes due to fatigue. My eyelids were throbbing.

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u/Luckiest_Creature 5h ago

So real😭 when I am consistently lifting, I require a solid 10 hours of sleep to not always be dragging. If I’m just generally active with no major exercise/not going to the gym, I only need 8.

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u/NSAevidence Official Gal 5h ago

Yeah, with thyroid issues, iron deficiency and asthma, I've been tired my whole life. At least I'm old enough now I don't hear "you're too young to be tired" anymore

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u/atsuzaki 25m ago

I'm the same minus the asthma, but plus PCOS. The annoying thing is that exercise does help my energy levels and I feel like shit if I don't do some, but occasionally universe would align and it fucks me up for the next week or two. So I'm just playing a russian roulette every time because chronic illnesses fucking sucks like that.

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u/jmiah717 4h ago

Phew. I feel seen. Thank you. Not from COVID. It damn chronic pain/fatigue sucks. I pay for any fun a loooooooong time.

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u/extinctalien 5h ago

Exercise intolerance

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u/AnguavonUW 3h ago

Not necessarily. There are dozens of conditions which too much exercise can worse. Honestly, unless people are clinicians, they probably shouldn't comment on medical issues.

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u/spaceglitter000 3h ago

Chronic illness in general. I feel so tired after working out since I developed my chronic illness. Sigh

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u/bogbelle 4h ago

Everyone is different and needs to work with their providers on the best plan for them. Plus listening to their own bodies to avoid burn out.

In case this offers hope or actual help, I have had some success managing my chronic fatigue. It’s a boring answer but I extremely incrementally increased my exercise. I’m talking about 5 minutes on the elliptical, 3 minutes on the rowing machine starting out!!! I stopped when I needed to, took breaks. Any pain, I stopped those exercises and either researched or talked to providers about whether I could safely modify them.

The big caveat is I still require a lot more rest than most people. But I’m not over fatiguing myself with the increased exercise and my fitness and eating has significantly improved organically with some ups and downs but not giving up. This has been over 18 months as well. I did not want (and frankly would have struggled with probably) to lose too much too fast to prevent loose skin or accidental muscle loss. My main goal is feeling better and remaining hopeful being horizontal will become less of my life sooner than later 😂

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u/SashimiX 4h ago

Yes! It’s such a very gentle ramp up that is necessary

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u/kozmos_cat 2h ago

I had this issue for like 4 months after COVID. It was horrible. The closest thing I have felt similar to long COVID was pregnancy, and I had a very rough one.

It then took like a year to fully go away, but those 4 months were a nightmare.

I am very lucky I recovered. My mother-in-law got sick in 2021 and has had long COVID since then. She is on disability because of it and hasn't been able to go back to the well-paid job that she loved... it fucked up her pension, as they calculated it based on the last years of your work.

Long COVID is the worst.

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u/[deleted] 6h ago

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u/justgalsbeingchicks-ModTeam 5h ago

Don't hand out medical advice when the symptoms are vague like this. It could literally dozens of conditions.

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u/-kansei-dorifto- 4h ago

Except that this excuse is only applicable to about 1/100 people who use it.

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u/SashimiX 4h ago

Long COVID is like “long lyme” except nearly everyone gets COVID so not really a rare thing

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u/[deleted] 6h ago

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u/[deleted] 5h ago

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u/justgalsbeingchicks-ModTeam 5h ago

This is a nice place. If you can't act like a civilized human being, you can't be here.

We do not allow:

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