Flu-like aches and run-down feeling after exercise

For a while I have been wondering if I have chronic fatigue syndrome due to feeling constantly drowsy and tired, and not being able to exercise to the same extent without experiencing just an overall feeling of being unwell, along with dizziness and headaches. Thankfully cognitively I still feel ok. One day during 2020 in October, after quite a stressful few months, I was doing laundry and felt this huge painful twinge in my neck, followed by days of bad neck and back pain. After it got better, I resumed my daily stressful routine of just overthinking and going overboard on my exercise bike at home. Then things got worse and I could no longer work, as even a few hours of work on my feet made me feel sick. As the work day went on I could also feel tightness around my ears and neck get worse, perhaps something to do with TMJ dysfunction. I had to take leave. To me this was the classic exertion or post-exercise malaise CFS people talk about.

After a month of just laying around, I've noticed some improvement lately from SNRI use and am able to half-run half jog about 5-6 miles a day, with minimal symptoms afterward, but today I went a little extra and afterward had back pains and aches in my right wrist and upper right arm that didn't make any sense since jogging doesn't really stress the arms. I just felt achy as if I had the flu, but I had no fever, sore throat or cough. I recently heard about TMS and bought Howard Schubiner's Unlearn Your Pain and am hoping I can get better through this; the information on CFS online scares the crap out of me and I am constantly fearful I won't ever recover. I'm wondering if it's safe to continue running, or will it make me bed-bound or worsen my condition, or should I maybe dial it back indefinitely? Sorry I'm new here and any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

CFS very well can be TMS. From what you are describing it is quite likely: stress as a pre-cursor, symptoms firing up at random all over the body, ups and downs. I took up running in the midst of my severe TMS and it helped me tremendously. I recovered long time ago, but continue running (well, I am old and slow, so it is rather jogging) at least once a week since. My position is that exercise is always a good thing. Do not be afraid of CFS, multiple people on this forum were able to beat it.