Can we share ideas on how to help recover from an energy crash?

I have very severe chronic fatigue, that is everpresent, but there are times when I have what I call a "crash" or "collapse" or "meltdown", when things get worse than ever. I experienced one of these on Friday (see previous post, "Another humiliating public meltdown".) Now it is Sunday, and I still am really really low. Haven't seemed to be able to recover, which is not that unusual, but forever frustrating.

I just wondered what others do to help themselves get back to functioning level, besides just rest. Laying around all day makes me feel horrible, but that is all I can do. Any tips to share??

Hi Pasara,
Your posts are catching my eye tonight. When I saw energy crash, I just had to read. I don't have CFS, but do have lupus, RA, Fibro and other things that make me very fatigued.
I like the "crash", "collapse" and "meltdown" words you use. I always say "someone pulled the plug" and drained all my energy out of my body. Thats the way it feels sometimes. I will be doing just fine and all of a sudden, I need to lay down.
Hippi gave you some wonderful advice. I'm sure she is alot more help than I am...I just wanted share my fatigue experience with you. I really don't know alot about CFS, but do know alot about severe fatigue and pain.

I hope your energy picks back up soon and you feel a bit better. Take care and God Bless!
Babs

I have to give my physician a lot of credit here.  My crash was purely my fault.  I was pushing myself and couldn't afford the meds he wanted me on(happens when you haven't worked for months).  To recovering from a crash....he has me on Wellbutrin and Strovite.  The wellbutrin is to help steady me out with the emotional ups and downs of being ill, help handle the depression that comes with CFS and EBV as well as helping me quit smoking (bonus).   Strovite is a HIGH dose vitamin (costs about $20 a month)...equal to like three OTC vitamins.  Both are very helpful.  I feel the difference with in a day or two if I don't take them.  I eat a high protein, fairly high carbohydrate diet.  Protein for healing and carbs for energy.  Fats can also be a good thing in moderation because they do assist in brain function and various other functions.  I also have a sleeping pill...yeah I know...but my body rebelled.  I would get utterly exhausted but unable to sleep.  My body was used to working 40+ a week, going to school full time and raising 3 kids.  My body doesn't know how to do nothing...lol.  Also, if you can, talk to a nurse.  They handle a totally different aspect of care and one of the main focuses is prevention and s/he will talk with you to find things that may help to prevent crashing or assist in your recovery from a crash.  A physician, in most cases, will focus on the illness.  The nurse focuses on the patient and items specific to YOU.  A dietician could also help with coming up with a "good" diet for you. 

Forgive me if I repeated info you already knew.  It is sometimes difficult to know where someones knowledge base is...  I do hope I offered something that helps. 

Ang

Hi pasara, I'm new to the forum but not to CFS. This month is my 26th anniversary of becoming ill, though I'm not celebrating!

I think one of the greatest weapons in our arsenal in fighting this illness is knowledge and one of my priorities is being as informed about the latest research as I possibly can.

Of course you know that the main thing we have to do to recover from a crash is rest and that really means profound rest of body and mind.

In some recent publications I've come to understand more why that is so essential and I'm sure it would be helpful to others as well.

This particular research article was especially enlightening - And while there is a good bit more in the article, this excerpt is the section that speaks specifically to why we crash and what it takes to recover -

http://www.chronicfatiguesyndromesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/id/7495

"EXPLANATION OF THE FATIGUE PROBLEMS IN CFS PATIENTS

Energy to the body is supplied by mitochondria, which produce NAD (nicotinamide adenosine diphosphate) and ATP (adenosine triphosphate). These molecules are the “currency” of energy in the body. Almost all energy requiring processes in the body have to be “paid for” with NAD and ATP, but largely ATP. The reserves of ATP in cells are very small. At any one moment in heart muscle cells there is only enough ATP to last about 10 contractions. Thus the mitochondria have to be extremely good at re-cycling ATP to keep the cell constantly supplied with energy.

If the cell is not very efficient at re-cycling ATP, then the cell runs out of energy very quickly and this causes the symptoms of weakness and poor stamina. The cell literally has to “hibernate” and wait until more ATP has been manufactured.

Energy is produced when ATP (three phosphates) is converted into ADP (two phosphates). ADP is then re-cycled back through mitochondria to create more ATP for future energy production.

However, if the cell is pushed when there is no ATP about, then it will start to use ADP instead. The body can create energy from ADP to AMP (one phosphate), but the trouble is that AMP cannot be re-cycled. The only way that ADP can be regenerated is by making from fresh ingredients, but this takes days to do. This explains the delayed fatigue seen in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

To summarize: The basic pathology in CFS is slow re-cycling of ATP to ADP and back to ATP again. If patients push themselves and make more energy demands, then ADP is converted to AMP, which cannot be recycled, and it is this which is responsible for the delayed fatigue. This is because it takes the body several days to make fresh ATP from new ingredients. When patients overdo things and "hit a brick wall" this is because they have no ATP or ADP to function at all. "

This is why continuing to 'push' after a crash only means a longer and deeper crash will follow, so we have to make total rest a very high priority. Hoped this helped.

May your 'levels' come back up soon :)

Thanks for the welcome, MsKittie, yes eating high sugar things is never a good idea, but particularly in a crash. That is when we need the best nutrition possible.

Years ago it became a priority for me to use what strength and health I had in preparing nutritious healthy meals for my family. Every day that is what gets my attention, and after that if I have anything left I concentrate on other things.

People with CFS are definitely more sensitive to additives and chemicals, so in addition to controlling the quality of food, I also am careful to make food that is as free of such things as possible.

There is no 'CURE' for CFS, and after suffering with this illness for more than 26 years, I find those who tout them to be either uninformed or actively trying to make money with snake oil. Which are you?

Emerald and Flannery, it is great to see new members joining the board and I hope to see you sharing here often.

emerald, I am glad you feel the aloe vera juice helped you. I have read that aloe vera has many healthful properties that support the immune system and circulation, so I can see why it is a good thing to try.

Since there are so many potential manifestations and sources of CFS, what helped one person is not necessarily going to help the next. If you say you were cured of CFS I believe you. I appreciate the sharing of all advice.

I also understand where your feelings are coming from flannery, because so often we are told all we need to do is "THIS_______" (fill in the blank) and anyone who has had CFS for a long time has probably tried most of them, seldom with real lasting effect if any at all. Then of course also it seems that so many people with this, myself included, really crave affirmation of the reality of the illness, and seldom get it. After a while it gets to be that a helpful comment starts to feel like another personal failure.

By the way, it has been 3 weeks since this latest "crash." I spent a good two of them in bed for almost the whole day. I couldn't do any reading until just a day or two ago because my vision was too shaky and inability to concentrate. Now able to go out briefly each day, and today will try to go to part of my water therapy class. I rest and rest, take supplements, eat well, get fresh air each day if I am able, try to keep my mind busy so I don't focus on things, and try to stay positive. As time wears on it is harder and harder to do this last thing. I am starting to go in and out of depression. It seems like a war of attrition.

thanks flannery for the suggestion. i am not so familiar with GABA and will do a little investigation. Meanwhile I do take a slew of supplements prescribed for me by my psychiatrist. as far as the aloe, i think we are on the same page. i don't think i or anyone was suggesting it was a potential cure-all, but may be a helpful support for some people. Mostly thanks your words about the crash, which served as a little hug of encouragement. means a lot.