> [!waypoints] [[IRL Blog Home]] | [[IRL - Exercise Intolerance]] # What I Did to Reduce My Exercise Intolerance Published: 10 July 2025 Tags: #strategies, #IRL > [!summary]- TLDR (click to read) > While my GP was investigating what happened to my energy, I was using these strategies to continue living life as best I could: > - Resting at every opportunity before & after physical activity > - Pacing myself so I had time to rest > - Exercising and maintaining physical activities with modifications to make things easier > >I was also paying attention to what I was eating and reducing stress by being mindful of how my exercise intolerance was affecting me. > >I could've asked for more help with daily chores & looked for support from a group with similar experiences. > >(Remember to talk to your GP about the strategies that would work best for your circumstances.) For readers who are curious, I did go see my [[GP]] to find out what was going on with my energy and sudden lack of stamina. The exercise intolerance was like nothing that I'd experienced before and I was a little worried it might be a sign of something serious (cancer was the first thing that came to mind). My GP ordered blood tests, ultrasounds & x-rays. Results: Nothing wrong, except an iron deficiency that was easily corrected with an iron supplement. When my iron levels tested normal again, I was still tired. My GP commented and asked further questions. Was I sleeping well? (not too badly) Did I have chest pains? (maybe, not really sure) Breathlessness? (a little bit) When I mentioned my heart beat seemed really loud and fast in my ear whenever I was lying down, she referred me to a cardiologist who ordered more tests & scans. Results: Nothing wrong, except an slightly elevated cholesterol level that means I should reduce unhealthy fats in my diet. My exercise intolerance continued. But over the 5 months of assessments that started in January, it was improving. By the end of June/ early July, I was almost at my normal physical activity levels. Looking back at what helped reduce my symptoms, I think the following three strategies had the biggest impact. ### Rest - I scheduled in time to [[Rest]] and I rested at every opportunity in between. *Resting wasn't an option anymore*. I *had to rest* if I wanted to do anything physical. I started doing this as soon as symptoms started, months before I knew there was a name for it. - Knowing that being on my phone, worrying or daydreaming uses up [[mental energy]], I would do meditative breathing until I felt normal again. And anyway, I knew meditation helps to reduce stress. In addition, I figured extra breathing would help increase oxygen levels in my blood if that was a cause of my exercise intolerance while my iron levels were low. - On top of resting after doing anything physical, I would schedule brief naps into my day before any tasks that I knew would trigger [[Exercise Intolerance|the symptoms]]. ### Pacing - I was able to [[Pacing|pace myself]] and spread out physical activity throughout the day( or sometimes the week) to fit appointments & household chores in. - I had to change my [[Adjusting Expectations|expectations]] about what I could realistically get done within the timeframes I had. - I also had to really think about [[What's Essential|what was essential]]. I had to trust that I would get to the other tasks eventually. - I would schedule long naps after physically demanding activities, so I didn't have to worry if I fell asleep. ### Exercising & physical activity - I knew that I had to maintain [[The Importance of Circulation|circulation]] to promote healing, so I modified my [[Qigong|qigong]] movements to be less physical & also focussed on the movements that helped the most for increasing qi flow to the whole body. - I experimented with different combinations of standing, sitting & floor movements to see what worked. - On my GP's advice, I maintained my usual activities as best I could, including going out to dinner with friends. I did as much light physical work as I could around the house, stopping to rest as often as I needed to *before I had to*. I felt it was important not to over exert myself, even if it seemed like I was being too soft on myself. I need to also mention the following two strategies, as they do have effects on energy. ### Increasing nutrition - Because my blood tests showed I was [[Iron deficiency anaemia|low on iron]], the doctor suggested that I increase the amount of red meat and dark green vegetables in the foods I was eating. She also suggested increasing the amount of fruit I was eating too, since Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron. I also started taking the iron supplement she recommended. - I also ate more [[Anti-Inflammatory Foods|anti-inflammatory foods]] because I knew from past experience that my body easily gets inflamed from the kinds of foods I'd eaten over the Christmas/ New Year period. Even though I didn't think it was causing my exercise intolerance, I believed it wouldn't hurt to calm my immune system down and free up resources for my body to recover. - Overall, I was aiming to eat food that contained as many different nutrients as possible. That meant making sure fruit and vegetables were different colours, and adding nuts and seeds whenever possible. ### Reduced stress - It was hard to not think about what I was going through and what was potentially causing it. As a psychologist, I knew that stressing over my health wasn't helpful, so whenever I noticed I was doing that, I practised mindfulness techniques to bring myself out of worrying. - I reminded myself that there was no point wasting energy on worrying or imagining worse case scenarios. It was already enough work to manage what was my new reality. - I practised [[Acceptance|accepting]] that I had not enough energy for the things I wanted to do and started asking myself: "What do I have the energy to do right now?" - I cut back on commitments that I didn't have the energy for and that included projects that I wanted to do. - Whenever I couldn't avoid commitments to others, I let them know what to expect in terms of realistic timeframes and how much I would be doing. ### What I could have also done - Looking back, I could've [[Ask for help|asked for more help]]. Even though I did ask family members to help with shopping, cooking & cleaning, etc, there were still times when I pushed on by myself because I didn't want to inconvenience them or be a burden. - I could have looked up support groups for exercise intolerance to learn from other people's experiences and share mine. --- >[!note] Before you click off this page, a couple of notes: >The article above describes one of my personal experiences recovering from Long COVID. It's not intended to imply or prescribe a treatment for it. > >My intention in sharing my experience is let readers with similar symptoms know that recovery is possible and maybe inspire them to look at what they can personally do to reduce their own symptoms. > >Remember to check with your GP before starting anything new that affects your health. > >--- > >If you'd like to share your personal experiences of Long COVID, either with me or with other readers on this site, click on the link to <a data-tooltip-position="top" aria-label="mailto:[email protected] subject=My Long COVID experience" rel="noopener nofollow" class="external-link" href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=My%20Long%20COVID%20Experience" target="_blank">email me</a>. I'll keep the conversation [[Privacy Policy|confidential]] unless you let me know that I can share it publicly. --- ## Read next [[IRL - Losing My Senses]] See [[IRL Blog Home]] for more stories of living with Long COVID.