PEM is the unique and pathognomonic symptom of ME/CFS, meaning that if a person has PEM they have ME/CFS and vice versa. Some but not all long Covid patients experience PEM; these patients should be investigated for ME/CFS. (Long Covid and ME/CFS are not mutually exclusive; a person can have both.)
PEM is frequently misunderstood, even by healthcare professionals. It is a symptom that is also a collection of symptoms and a specific type of relapse. It is often confused with fatigue or normal post-exertional aches and strains, but PEM is completely unlike anything experienced by healthy people, or even by people with other serious medical conditions.
This video series Post-Exertional Malaise: Defining PEM/PESE, from the Bateman Horne Center, is packed with insights into PEM drawn from the BHC’s years of research and clinical work on the condition. It covers PEM’s definition, what we know about its pathophysiology, how it may be experienced by patients, and its use in research.
Watch the video series on Youtube.
ME/CFS Medical Education Campaign 