An observation...and a question

[Guest guest]

In several of my posts during the last week or so, I talked about the

relationship between stress, energy expenditure, and symptoms as

discussed in some of the books I've been reading. And, the tendency

in AF sufferers to " make up for lost time " on those days when we feel

good...and push ourselves too hard.

At one time, I couldn't seem to find any correlation between my

symptoms and...anything. They just seemed to have a life of their own.

Lately, however, I think I'm beginning to see some cause/effect and

I'm wondering what others' experience is in this regard.

Here are a couple examples:

- Emotional Stress. In mid-May, I went for almost an entire week

feeling quasi-normal. Then, my boss (who works in another office 1000

miles away) showed up at our door unannounced and laid off about half

of our team. Fortunately, I was a " survivor " but as you can imagine,

it was stressful. But I did just fine in the midst of the stress...in

fact, I felt *great*. But the day afterwards, I was a *wreck*. All

the usual symptoms and I didn't feel good again for about a month.

- Physical Stress. At labor day, my son had been bugging me to take

him camping. It was a *major* effort for me, in my present condition,

to get everything ready. I was wasted going into the trip and after I

got back for about 2 weeks. But I figured " I certainly can't feel and

*worse* than I do now, so I might as well get outside and be miserable

instead of sit here. " But I think I totally underestimated just how

much energy it took me for this whole exercise.

- Physical/Emotional Stress. After I finished reading the

book " Chronic Fatigue Unmasked " it was like a big weight had been

lifted off my shoulders...instead of worrying about every symptom and

being on a continual witch hunt for new " answers " it was like I just

accepted that everything happening to me was adrenal fatigue, that I

would get better, and I could just stop worrying about it. Amazingly,

I would say I felt 30-40% better for a week afterwards. Apparently, a

direct result of reducing emotional stress. And each day I felt just a

smidgen better. But then, in predictable fashion, I pushed myself too

hard...stayed up too late 2 nights in a row and just took myself a

little to close to the exhaustion threshold. The next day, I was

right back to my usual symptoms, pains, and aches. And I've been

feeling that way for the last 2 days.

I realize that everyone will tell you that stress makes everything

worse...from a head cold to more serious illnesses. But what I'm

wondering is this: does anyone else notice that when they overdo it

(physically, emotionally, or mentally)...even by just a little

bit...that they pay for it dearly within a day or two afterwards? And

does anyone else seem to notice that they do OK in the moment

of " crisis " or when there is a demand for extra energy...even feeling

like they're on some kind of feel-good drugs (maybe that's the

adrenaline)...but only the next day do they feel the effects...and for

many days afterwards?

That seems to describe me. I should probably be keeping a journal ...

maybe a truly obvious cause/effect pattern would be staring me in the

face.

The hard part is that it takes such seemingly small amounts to push me

into energy deficit. Stuff like going to Costco can require too much

energy...or taking my son to a cub scout meeting. It's almost

ridiculous when I think about how little energy I seem to have. I

used to be able to work all day, and then come home and remodel or

paint until midnight, and then do it all over again for months or

years at a time. Now, it's like the battery that used to start a

bulldozer can barely keep a mini flashlight alive.

Anyone in the same boat?

--Steve