At 16 months, I was advised to use a heart-rate monitor to help build my tolerance to exercise. Up until that point, I had been doing a lot of walking, but seemed to have symptoms come on randomly, or strike later.

I found a walking speed and heart rate that I could tolerate for 45 minutes, without pcs symptoms. I stayed at that pace for three weeks, and then increased the heart rate a little bit. I kept gently increasing the heart rate about 5 bpm, every three weeks; always staying below the symptom threshold. I have found it has been quite successful, and it has been a huge joy to see progress.

At 19 months, I am getting back into the swimming pool for a reasonably vigorous swim of 20 minutes. This was unimaginable a year ago. That said, I continue to struggle with other symptoms. I should add that I have had physiotherapy on my neck from 16 months onward.