Thread | Brutkey

"Why I Can’t Just Meet You for Dinner"

https://substack.com/home/post/p-178293036

A description of PEM (post-exertional malaise) along with some tips for how to explain it to loved ones.

"Post-exertional malaise (PEM for those of us who live with it intimately) is not tiredness. It’s not even exhaustion.

It’s a systemic crash that occurs after physical, cognitive, or emotional exertion that exceeds your body’s brutally reduced energy envelope."

@mecfs@fedigroups.social @longcovid@fedigroups.social

#MEcfs #LongCovid #PEM #ChronicIllness

Here’s what most people don’t understand: PEM isn’t just a temporary setback. Frequent PEM crashes have compounding effects.

Every time you push through PEM (every time you ignore the warning signs and keep going because you have to work, or because someone is visiting, or because you’re trying to maintain some semblance of a normal life) you’re not just paying the price in the moment. You’re potentially worsening your baseline function permanently.