Anyone had Post Viral Fatigue?

I’m suffering – been about 2 months now and I’ve not ridden a bike properly since my system melted down just over 7 weeks ago.

Just wondering what tips anyone who has suffered might have, I just seem to be stuck feeling crap all the time.

So, I’m in a minority here then?

Had swine flu last January and have caught every cold, stomach bug and nastiness that’s been going round. Been seeing my doctor regularily and he has talked about Post Viral but it all seems pretty wishy washy. Sleep, diet and reducing stress seem to be the key for me, when work gets stressfull I get sick. Been trying to get out on the bike or at least into the outdoors but the motivation is hard to find when you feel like crap.

I had post viral fatigue from Pneumonia a few years back. It’s awful I can’t offer many tips but can offer my sympathy. You just have to rest buddy, it’s the bodys way of reparing itself and it’s telling you to put your feet up. I was so tired for ages and remember my joints aching. It was near Christmas and I always used to make my aunt a planter (a pot thing filled with plants, ivy etc..) I can remember planting and lifting it up feeling ok then just sleepinganf aching for days after. I took a strong multi vitamin and echinacea to repair my immune system I don’t know if they helped but I felt as If I was doing something. Join love film or something maybe and make sure u got loads to watch while you have your feet up. Chin up and i know how useless you feel. Bike can wait till your match fit.

Didn’t get it diagnosed at the time but reckon this might have been why I felt so dreadful for so long after completing the Trans Wales a with a cold a few years back. The weather had been awful.

My energy levels and motivation were at rock bottom at times and stayed relatively low for a good couple of years. Lots of rest, good food and LIGHT exercise seemed to help. I also changed my work routine (long overdue in itself) and non-physical projects/challenges kept me active.

Look after yourself. It’s a long road and a change in perspective may be required.

MY GF, now wife, had this probably about 10 years back. She was working silly long hours at the time (regular 100 hour weeks) as well as trying to train hard. It didn’t go well. She ended up having to pack her job in and has never fully recovered. She now finds it very easy to overtrain. I can’t offer any easy answers. There will be plenty of stuff on the internet. The main thing is to listen to your body and take plenty of rest and eat well. It could get messy if you don’t. I hope you don’t end up in the same position as my wife. I know other people who have had it and they have made better recoveries. Unfortunately it tends to be ‘driven’ people who end up with this and they are not generally the sort who adapt well to being told to rest.

i can recommend a step aerobics class in tewkesbury with lots of very nice ladies in it that can help you regain fitness and motivate your mojo?

Farmer Giles – can I just spectate?

Good to hear I’m not the only one to be suffering – getting really stir crazy at the moment and being stuck in due to the snow isn’t helping, although at least I’m not looking at my bike and wishing I was out on it.

Generally I’m taking it easy and have seen that if I push myself to exercise Anerobically I am **** for days afterwards – so I am OK aerobically but only for short stints as long as I rest up really well. 2 young kids isn’t helping but I’m getting as much rest as possible.

It’s just frustrating as I don’t know what caused it and what i can do to repair – apparently I had glandular fever in the past 18months followed by Swine Flu a year ago and then some crazy nausea virus in Sept which was the final straw (along with riding GT for two days at the same time).

This rings a bell for me, I have had every sodding illness and bug available this year, actually this has gone one for a few years, since my spinal injury, they are hunting me down and I have ridden less that 10 times this year, the cycle goes like this

Ride, get ill then recover, feel ok so I go for a Hill walk, get ill then recover, cycle repeats, add into that gym, a days fishing anything. I have just started a course of steroids, anti biotics and stuff to kill off another cold\chest infection and hopefully this will see me right, I just have the blood tests to go

Chris

no you can’t just watch, you perv.
there are several pensioners that join in at a low level and two recently new mums that work out so you can go at your own pace.
sleep depravation caused by my 8 month old son is preventing me from going for the last few months but i shall be back (i’ve been going there for the past 8 years or so and during crappy weather periods it has helped me keep my base fitness)

Chris – That was me for the past year or so since Swine flu. Thought I was going mad as the blood tests didn’t pick anything up and I just kept getting ill after any exercise. Doc just kept saying that there was a lot of it going round.

Done loads of research and seems some bugs (mainly viruses) are attacked and if you have too much on in your life, the virus is defeated to a point then the body concentrates on dealing with other stresses. The virus sort of gets put to one side to be finished later. For some reason the affected cells remain in your body and cause “problems” if you dont rest up. For me I just had too much on (work, kids, riding etc) and my system just went into meltdown.

This is an interesting read…

Link to info[/url]

There is loads out there on Fatigue.

Another interesting read and the symptoms are very similar is overtraining…

Overtraining link

Cheers Bushwacked, I will look at it, over-training, the chance would be a fine thing, I think I managed 3 rides totalling 12 miles one week…..

Chris

Plenty of vitamins, A,C,D,E, eat well, no alchohol chocolate caffine, rest as much as possible. I have a similar problem but its a reactive arthralgia mixed with low vitamin d and calcium.

when riding take it easy, i keep thinking that i should be a few gears faster and push it too much.

also have a baby here so I know its hard to rest, generally up for 2-4hrs a night with him due other problems.

Plenty of vitamins, A,C,D,E, eat well, no alchohol chocolate caffine, rest as much as possible. I have a similar problem but its a reactive arthralgia mixed with low vitamin d and calcium.

when riding take it easy, i keep thinking that i should be a few gears faster and push it too much.

also have a baby here so I know its hard to rest, generally up for 2-4hrs a night with him due other problems.

not PVF but have had M.E for the past 7 years, Is really not nice, and i honestly wouldnt wish it on anyone! although minor exception being able to hand out a fortnight dosage to the non beleivers to see how they cope!!! it could last another week, or it could last a few years!! there’s no corralation to how and when it’ll go, the guy i see said it can go as quickly as it came on (more M.E. than pvf)which would be a godsend lol! but ive been 7 years hoping for it!!!
if youve still got it after 6 months chances are they’ll put you down as M.E/pvf, they dont like to confirm it pre 6 months, just incase! and if youve still got it 18 months + then you get labeled long term!

the best thing you can do is do what your body tells you! its not easy by any stretch, took me a while to get used to it, coming from a physical job, cycling, sailing etc. during the weeks, Never really being ill apart from the odd cold, only ever having a maximum of a week all in off sick in 15 years to suddenly barely able to make a cup of tea without running out of energy!!
you will need to pace your self, just because you used to be able to ride 20 miles doesnt mean you can now!! start off small walk around the block, say 5 mins worth, do it a couple of times a week if you can and when you start to not feel any after effect from it, extend it by a little, and repeat, Dont think i’ve managed 5 mins, i’ll crack on 10 mins like i did! ended up stranded at the end of the road!! Very embarassing when your in your 30’s not able to walk home and having to sit down on the pavement!
do the same with the bike, a small local loop, couple of miles max to start with, plan routes around your place so that your never more than a couple of mins away from the house! even if it means riding around the local housing developments, until you can extend it nicely without blowing your self out completely!! (i find cycling easier than walking at the mo!!)
be prepared to get every bug, cold, sniffle going as your immune system is effectively shot at the mo fighting what it doesnt know, its an incredibly tiring and frustrating process beleive me, just as you feel good a small bug no one else in the house gets will knock you for 6 and you’ll be back at square 1!!
i blew my self out completely on a ride a fortnight ago tomorrow, riding with guys i knew were much better and fitter than me, but only i knew the route, it was Great fun, a top ride and the guys were spot on, used a coupl eof energy drinks and ‘Bounce balls’ spirulena energy ball to get me round mind! havent ridden since as haver Simply not had the energy! the most annoying thing for me is, picked up a tag along for the oldest daughter (4 1/2) to get to school on as its easier on the bike than the car, and walking the route isnt possible some days, but 3 days of up and backs, 0.7mile each way, knocked me out for a complete day! litrally couldnt get my self out of bed! embarassing and frustrating to say the least!! a very good job the wife was home on maternity leave!! she’s also just learnt to ride with out the stab’s (the daughter not the wife!!)and i cant take her riding, or out in the park as i cant keep up on foot!

its incredibly frustrating, and many people will simply not beleive your not well as they will only ever see you on the good days, the bad days when you can barely get your self out of bed no one see’s!
the whole trouble with ‘invisible diseases’!!
dont let it beat you either! i know it sounds the opposite to what ive just said, but dont let it beat you or it will win, Dont try and force it out mind, as all you’ll do is Relapse in a Far greater way! too many people give up and let it win, hence why you hear of a lot of sufferers bed bound, not good!!

listen to your body/system, if its telling you to sleep, sleep, i tend to get 12 hours a day kip, be it 12 in one hit, or three lots of 4 spaced out over the day etc. you’ll know when you dont need to okay, but do what your body’s telling you! and beware that Adrenaline Will mask most the symptoms you feel, when it wears off you’ll luitrally feel like you ran intop a wall with 2 50kg bags on your shoulders!

blood tests will most likely come back blank for every test, i spend the best part of 2 months over the road at the doctors surgery (very handy being able to walk out the gate, cross the road and into the surgery!) having bloods taken for this that and the other, had all manor of tests to scheck the systems (adrenaline being the main one as is often a lacking of such that can cause it) and seeing many consultants all to be told, everything is normal, just rest!!

oh, and quite possiblym you’ll find your attention span, short term memory etc. will all deminish massively! i barely drive anymore due to this!! and coming from working in the motor trade where your in and out of cars all day long was hard!!

hope that helps someway??

Timmo – sorry to hear that. A friend has ME and her symptoms are a lot worse than mine. I tried to ride two days on the trott – nothing major, 20mins on the flat at a very slow pace – I could barely do anything for the rest of the week!

Bad state of affairs.

Hope you get better soon.

bush,
thanks fella, its not easy but ive learnt what i can and cant do now! the worst part is not being able to go and see the folks as the passenger ride in the car knocks me out!
is also not good having a bike that you Love to ride but not being able too!
it’ll get there one day! just we dont know when!

worth a search on here – there was a lengthy post about it maybe 6 months ago.

HTH

Cheers

Hi Bushwacked

Let me try and give you some positive encouragement.
I had glandular fever perhaps 8 /9 yrs ago now, i used to work every
hour i could doing heavy engineering, do martial arts training 5 times a week as well as study 25 hours a week on a four year course.

When i got the chance any spare time was taken up with riding.
Guess what my body thought of all this abuse??
It decided to stop working and put me in bed for two months. I dont say this lightly when i say i thought i was honestly dying from some strange virus.

After months of doctors and hospital visits i was diagnosed with glandular fever. I really didnt believe that a virus could floor you like it did me and before this happened i was always sports mad and very fit so i wouldn’t accept a little illness could do this.

I took a reality check and adjusted my life accordingly, ie realised rest is just as important as training and listen to my body now.

It took perhaps five or six years till i started to feel like my old self and anyone that ever bikes with me now would never know i was that ill.

I ride the rough parts of the peak district most weekends and i dont get anymore tired than my buddies.
There are still the odd days where i feel i have zero energy and when this happens its vital you listen to your body.

It had such a profound affect on my life i am now an acupuncturist treating lots of people for Chronic fatigue, and before people say that sticking needles in cant help, acupuncture isnt all about needles, its often about helping people realise they might be better addressing changes to there lifestyle, ie food, drink, exercise and adjusting the focus of stresses ect.

Sorry i hope ive not waffled on
If you need any more info or want to ask any questions no matter how strange they seem my email is in profile

PS you will get back to full strength… Honestly

Spikester – cheers – positive message even though it may take some time.

I’ve had a few goes on Acupuncture and it has a really strong effect on me. Although the first guy I went to seemed to have a more positive effect than the new one, but time will tell.

Yes,

Simply awful – went from being proper fit to barely able to walk the dog. Work / life fell apart and docs just wanted to label me PVFS and give anti depressants to quell the malaise I fell into. I was concerned it was Lyme Disease and had the tests… negative – I was dizzy / vertigo and had zero energy and felt like had the flu…

In a nutshell – 4 mths of TOTAL rest and doing next to no exercise and a massive diet / vitamin plan with rest and more rest. I reckon I made the mistake of riding hard when ill with a cold / virus = it ruined me.

On a good note = I got better with time and patience – Now I am super careful to not over do things…

email me if you want some support

You have my sympathy – theres a lot of forum support out there re this horrible illness – a lot of people just didnt appreciate what it was like. You will get over it – takes time

paul

I think I may have this – knackered during and after a ride, no motivation or enthusiasm to get out…amongst other stuff. Doc is doing tests to determine what it could be…only thing is I rarely get ill so not entirely similar.

I hope you make a full recovery…

Bushwacked – +1 for M.E. here: got it after glandular fever :/

It’s taken me years to get back to any kind of normality – I can’t really say any more than what Timmo and Spikester have already said, except that you’re definitely not alone with this. You’ll be suprised actually how many people come out of the woodwork to say “me too” – something which gave me massive support during the early days when I thought it was “just me”.

It’s still early days for you yet after just a couple of months, and you might recover quicker than the more unfortunate ones like us, but you will need to *listen* to your body. I was doing night shifts at the time when I had the initial illness and I swear that made it exponentially worse.
My particular illness would come in waves (and indeed it still does to an extent), it would be a month of being ill, 2 weeks of starting to feel better then straight into being ill – rinse/repeat for 4 years.
Gradually the cycles became less and less severe til today where they are managable.
It really does play some funny games with your body, some of the symptoms are really quite bizarre. I’m not going to go in to detail here, but if need to talk to anyone about it, I really don’t mind you getting in contact – likewise, I found it really useful to talk to other sufferers in the earlier stages.