Exercise and Stress Tolerance
I’m coming up on 6 years with PFS, and unfortunately my condition seems to be deteriorating rather than improving. I’ve gone from really bad to somehow even worse.
For the first few years, one of the only ways I could get my brain and CNS to calm down was by pushing myself physically. At one point I was lifting 3–5 days a week and running 40–50 miles per week. Exercise was one of the few things that made me feel somewhat normal.
After a few years, I needed knee and hip surgery and went through a long recovery of about a year. Eventually I was able to get back to lifting and running. Through everything PFS had taken from me, I was incredibly grateful that I could still use my body and push myself physically.
For about the past 18 months, though, I’ve been back in the sufferfest. My brain and body feel permanently stuck in fight or flight. Intrusive thoughts, constant hyperarousal, essentially zero stress tolerance. I’ve stopped all supplements, made dietary changes, tried simplifying everything, and nothing has made a meaningful difference.
Last month I hurt my back and then got sick immediately afterward. For a few weeks I could barely get out of bed and did absolutely no exercise. For the first time in months, I could actually feel my nervous system starting to calm down. My mind became clearer. I was able to sit quietly and read several books. I started feeling like I was coming out of this constant fight-or-flight state.
Now my back is better and I’ve started going to the gym again. Almost immediately, I’m back in fight or flight and feeling terrible.
I’ve seen people here talk about exercise intolerance and eventually recovering from it, but I’m wondering if anyone has experienced this developing or worsening years into PFS.
At this point, my stress tolerance is basically nonexistent. I can’t go to a restaurant. Apparently I can’t go to the gym. I even tried learning a new language and had to cancel the lessons because it was too stimulating. It feels like almost any physical or mental stress pushes my nervous system over the edge.
Exercise was the last thing I felt like PFS hadn’t taken from me, which makes this particularly difficult to accept.
Has anyone had a similar progression where exercise initially helped for years, but eventually started making your symptoms significantly worse? Did you have to stop exercising completely for a period of time? And if so, were you eventually able to build your tolerance back up?
I’m trying to understand whether anyone else has gone through this trajectory and come out the other side.