Treatment of post-exertional malaise

Post-exertional malaise has no known treatment.

Some hypothesized or reported treatments include:

• Ampligen
• BC007
• COVID monoclonal antibodies
• Craniocervical fusion
• Mestinon
• Mold avoidance
• Nicotine
• Pacing
• Paxlovid

post-exertional malaise (PEM) - A notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small physical or cognitive exertions. PEM may be referred to as a "crash" or "collapse" and can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain, trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, and others.

Energy Envelope Theory A self-management tool developed and tested by Dr. Leonard Jason to reduce symptom severity and the frequency of post-exertional malaise or relapses for people with ME/CFS. According to this theory, ME/CFS patients should not expend more energy than they perceive they have, as this results in post-exertional malaise and higher disability. Instead patients are advised to stay within their energy envelope, meaning the physical limits the disease has imposed upon them. As the energy envelope theory also cautions about the dangers of under-exertion, its principles are almost identical to ‘pacing’, an activity management strategy for ME patients devised by Ellen Goudsmit in the UK.

flare-up A symptoms flare in ME/CFS is a temporary increase in symptoms, alternatively known as experiencing post-exertional malaise. May be referred to as a "crash" or "collapse".