Thank you! My doctor keep saying if I exercise I'll have more energy and sleep better, but since I got covid none of that is true. I have 10% the energy I used to have since Covid, and I only lose energy by exercising, and my sleep gets disrupted as well. Still exercise 5 days a week, but I hate how doctors totally dismiss chronic fatigue, especially in correlation to post-covid =(
Be really careful and, if you haven’t already, try to find a new provider who actually understands/ treats CFS/ME as too much exercise/ exertion can cause crashes which people don’t always recover from. 🫶
What you’re describing sounds a lot like what my friend who has CFS/ ME describes (she also got it after having COVID, then it got worse after the second time she had COVID) including the poor quality sleep. Try and find a doctor that is knowledgeable about CFS/ME.
Yeah, I was on the front lines of COVID working at a homeless shelter. I've gotten it a total of 7 times over the last 6 years. I was ok until the 4th time. Now,.in combination with a brutal menopause, my quality of life SUCKS.
I would definitely get a sleep study done as well. You absolutely don't have to be overweight to have sleep apnea. The daytime sleepiness plus consistently unrefreshing/fragmented sleep and waking during the night are worth getting checked out. It could absolutely coexist with Long COVID too, so I wouldn't assume it has to be one or the other.
The worst part of this is wanting to push harder and being unable to and feeling ashamed. I've had days where I'm like, "I'm gonna take a walk!" and before I even make it to the sidewalk I'm like, "This ain't working."
I used to be energetic with bursts of depression, now I'm depressed with bouts of energy. (With proper mental health treatment)
Whoa, props for exercising 5 days a week, but yeah please look into ME/CFS as you could actually be worsening your condition. I’ve had long covid since 2022 and I’m back to ~90% of my pre-infection energy levels. The #1 thing that has helped me is LDN (low-dose naltrexone), which interrupts the inflammation feedback loop and is the new standard many providers use to treat long covid. #2 is nattokinase, which has been shown in clinical studies to break down the lingering spike proteins left behind after a Covid infection that cause all the issues. The LDN got me out of my downward spiral and able to build back my strength & nervous system capacity, and the nattokinase is raising my baseline wellbeing so if I miss a day of LDN I don’t instantly feel like I have a fever and need to spend the next day lying down in a dark silent room
After I got covid I had PEM (Post Exertional Malaise) for two years. Every time I pushed myself even a tiny bit, I would feel like I had the flu for 24-48 hours. It sucked. I had to take an anti inflammatory and H1 and H2 antihistamine either right before or within an hour of working out. That plus an anti-inflammatory the second day and I can exercise if I'm careful.
Unfortunately, this level is probably out of reach for me for a good long while if not forever. I'm happy with what I've got, though.
These people saying “you just need to exercise more” seriously need to experience chronic pain and crushing fatigue every damned day. Feels like a vice grip around my heart and body most days.
This may not be a solution for you. But I also get fatigued from working out - also insomnia. Particularly high intensity cardio. I take creatine on those days and it helps big time. Slow COMT genes can be responsible for that feeling after working out. Creatine helps process those neurotransmitters. Worth a try.
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u/Doomgriever Aug 18 '26
Thank you! My doctor keep saying if I exercise I'll have more energy and sleep better, but since I got covid none of that is true. I have 10% the energy I used to have since Covid, and I only lose energy by exercising, and my sleep gets disrupted as well. Still exercise 5 days a week, but I hate how doctors totally dismiss chronic fatigue, especially in correlation to post-covid =(