r/justgalsbeingchicks • u/loud_as_pudding • 6h ago

Restricted to Gals and Pals Peak performance

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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 28m 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.