Using adrenalin/epinephrine as a crutch ?

For the first time since falling ill many years ago, I think I made a connection between an event and feeling better.

The last months have been difficult and I was stuck at home most of the time, only going out to make errands once or twice a week. This week, after intense intellectual stimulation from having a meeting with a financial advisor (yeah, I am weird this way), I felt like I was alive again.

I was so wired I couldn’t sleep for 2 days but then at one point I litterally felt a release from adrenalin while trying to sleep and felt better the next day. The following 2 days I felt better than I have in months. Moral is up too.

I have no medical background obviously but what I feel happened is that too much adrenalin was produced at once and my body couldn’t manage it. Then the levels evened out, and the dose that was left was adequate to make me feel better. At least short term, it has only been 4 days since the rush.

Am I right in thinking this and if so, would taking some kind of epinephrine medication in small/moderate dosage help ? I’ve looked online but haven’t been successful in finding answers.

Thanks for your input !

(eta : after typing this I went downstairs and then realized this is a very bad day. All my symptoms are back full blast. I guess it would have to be a much smaller adrenalin dose to not trigger PEM.)

 

I would be very wary of using adrenaline or epinephrine this way.

I know some of us find that sometimes a period of stress may seem to cause a brief window of feeling well. Then the PEM hits.

I think of it in terms of using a high performance fuel in a vehicle that isn't "tuned" to run on it. It may perform gloriously ...... for a very brief period. Underneath that though, damage is being done and you'll grind to a halt sooner rather than later.

Some of us feel there is a cumulative effect of multiple layers of PEM hitting at the same time. Artificially boosting energy levels will make it more likely to have this multiple payback effect, I think.

There's also the question of whether repeatedly pushing into PEM - serial PEM? - may cause some long term cumulative effect or damage.

Likely to be a very slippery slope.

 

For sure some worries were alleviated, but I now have important decisions to make, which exacerbated my anxiety.

My feeling also, but I was hoping I had found something that would help. :-(

 

Given how spectacular the temporary improvement is when I am 'adrenalined-up' due to anxiety or whatever, people regularly suggest to me that perhaps taking a low dose of it might help me. But they rarely see the price I have to pay for the extra I inevitably do when I am in that state. It's not improvement, it's illusory (in my experience). I mean it's quite pleasant physically because of less pain & lovely to be more alert, but the problem is that because it's natural to do a little more when you feel you can & usually situations that produce adrenaline require more effort... it only leads to worse PEM later.
Am grateful to have the 'adrenaline effect' for emergencies, but it's a double edged sword.

 

My daughter terms it " false energy" .
Payback is awful.

 

My experience has been that adrenaline provides a temporary "boost" (as it is designed to do e.g. during fight or flight) but that in the long run it's very detrimental to ME.

This is just from personal experience. I haven't taken adrenaline, but during a long period when I had to hold down a job when I wasn't well enough I would run on adrenaline to get through each shift. I would feel wired for a few hours after getting home and then crash.

I did this repeatedly for a few years, and in the long run the impact on my ME was very detrimental - it's what put me in a wheelchair.

I had to take beta blockers during the last year in my job to calm the adrenaline because the rushes and subsequent crashes were ruining my health.

Based on my own experience I would therefore encourage caution!

 

I did meet someone who had been prescribed speed by their ME doctor.

She was mildly affected at the time and still working.

She crashed very badly.

 

Very interesting stories, thank you ! I won’t pursue that road for sure.