Interesting commonalities between these recovery stories.
"Emotional stressors activate exactly the same pathways as infectious stressors." -- this is a big statement. Have we heard this before? Maybe I've read it in the past & forgotten -- or is it new?
I completely agree with you . As i noted in a post in my blog (where i talk about worsening of my ME/CFS post-mononucleosis in 1998) at
http://www.fable.it/public/wordpress/andamento-del-grado-di-attivita-dovuto-alla-mecfs/ , after a long period (> 6 months) of great stress at work in year 2008 i dramatically worsened and started a worsening period. More stress, unable to maintain necessary leves at work, more stress, less energy, increased hypersomnia (and secondary hypoadrenalism diagnosed along with HHV-7 and EBV positive PCR). I keep worsening , because of Immunovir (Isoprinosine), which i'm taking for a year , but I feel different. Now I'm aware that ANS disfunction is really part of the perpetuating of the illness , and i'm trying to keep away from people , stress, and also family in some way. I sleep more and i don't mind about saying "no" to my friends....well, the few one i have after ME/CFS .
My ME/CFS doctor sent me to a dietitian who collaborates with her about autoimmune diet and even if in the first weeks the more work to prepare fresh food etc. was a disaster, now i think it's a part of a possible recovery. Possible, not yet existing.
Last but not less important note : oddly, even in my case a dopaminergic drug, modafinil (provigil) is
extremely useful in my ME/CFS , so i'm very interested in the combination of 4 dopaminergic drugs i never tried listed in one rocovery story above !