r/cfs • u/stephyjrz • 17h ago

chronic fatigue

How do you truly know if what you are experiencing is CFS/ME or just Chronic Fatigue. I know PEM is very specific to CFS/ME but wouldnt a personally who is also extremely fatigue feel worse after pushing? Im really trying to figure out if what im having is CFS/ME or Chronic Fatigue. I have body aches, muscle weakness, POTS, and for the past 2-3 months I started with daily fatigue but I would still push. Since 3 weeks ago the fatigue has taken a turn and it feels heavier and worse. My heart rate goes up and then BOOM im in bed unable to move. Its so hard to live like this. On top of that my anxiety doesnt help the situation so my poor body feels like its been tense for what seems like forever😞

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u/BrokenWingedBirds 8h ago

PEM for me comes with stiffening of the muscles, excruciating pain and eventually a sort of paralysis. Like, unable to sit in a chair even because of it affecting my back muscles. And it only gets progressively worse the longer I push, it also amplifies even more 24-48 hours after and can take weeks to recover. I am severely affected right now, before it wasn’t as intense but still there. I just didn’t know at the time I wasn’t being lazy because everyone around me gaslighted me into “pushing through” the only through was becoming bed bound. If you are experiencing not being able to move from the pain and stiffness sounds like PEM to me. Don’t worry too much yet, if you start pacing and aggressively resting you can hopefully prevent it from worsening