u/Teuflisch1999

I heard a common symptom of PEM is intemse feelings of doom and panic. My wife is going through a crash right now and the moment she opens her eyes in the morning she starts hyperventilating and panicking. She describes the whole thing as living in hell and wanting to die. I try to get her to do breathing exercises but she won't.

What do you do to manage your anxiety levels during a crash? The problem is, because she is pregnant, she can't really take anything for it.

Yesterday she started taking loratadine to manage the fatigue symptoms, and it calmed her down immensely because I mentioned some antihistamines have a sedating effect. Later she read that loratadine doesnt though, and now shes freaking out again :/

I've tried to read everything i could online, but she has anxiety problems plus gets panic attacks, both of which dont help recovery, so I thought I would ask here for some personal examples. When she is able to use her phone she uses reddit alot for comfort.

Long story short she got sick from me a month ago, no fever, no bad symptoms, and she was about to get better but then crashed into this condition. She is now basically out of comission, I have to carry her to the bathroom, sometimes spoon feed her and she cant talk much. I know it sounds like cfs, but it has only been like this for a month and it happened overnight.

We did take her to the hospital where she stayed for a few days, but they forced her to walk and stand up, refused to take an antibody test and all other tests showed there is nothing clinically wrong with her.

She was actually getting a little bit better, could sit upright on the sofa and use her phone most of the day, even read a book a little bit.

When she started feeling slightly better she pushed herself trying to do some laundry and now she is crashing really bad. I suppose it wouldnt be so bad if it werent for her stressing out and feeling suicidal over this condition, which dont help her resting.

This is probably long covid and not cfs, but severe fatigue seems to be her steongest symptom.

Any words of comfort for her? She feels like shell never come out of this crash or ever walk again.

She is 4 months pregnant and we have 2yo in the house.

I brought home what seemed to be a very minor cold (neither me or any coworkers had a fever or any severe symptoms) and my 4month pregnant wife seemed fine for a few days, was getting better but then crashed.

Now she has been out of comission for about a month. I had to quit work to be home with her and our 2yo. She went to the hospital where she stayed for a few days and was monitored, had blood work done, thyroid checked, everything, but they said that there is nothing wrong they can find with her. Then they wrote in her file, more or less, that she is mentally ill.

At the hospital they forced her to walk, and she tried to even do laundry at home, all of which caused her to crash really bad for the past few days. Atm she can barely talk, I have to carry her to the toilet, and I dont know how to help her.

We have read about pacing and she is trying to do that right now, just hoping she will get a little bit better and then continue resting instead of trying to get up.

Some more background info, she has also had IBS, panic attacks and anxiety for the past year or year and a half, all of which point to a deregulated nervous system.

She does her best to rest, no phone, no reading, not much talking, but she can't stop freaking out and crying all day, which I suspect does the opposite of resting.

Is there anything else I can do? She eats and drinks fine, but I am not a therapist and I cant help much with her stress.

She said it might be covid, and that cfs doesnt get diagnosed until after 6 months of being bed bound, thats whg i thought of posting here.

Ps - I just read about lithium supplements in this subreddit, would this be something worth trying seeing as she is pregnant?