I’ve had ME for around 16+ years and fibro for maybe 12 or so (my space / time recollection is really poor, a def symptom!)
I’ve recently tried doing a small amount of work, allowed under the permitted work rule for benefits, but even 15 hours was too much. Am starting a new one currently of only 12 hours over 3 days, and even that is enough to mean I can’t manage anything else really on those 3 days, and can only cope as it’s working from home so I don’t have to use limited energy up in getting up, washed and dressed and out and travelling, also been staying with parents since lockdown and they keep me fed and house stuff done etc, otherwise probably wouldn’t manage even those 12 hours.
I need to rest / sleep far more than I manage, insomnia is a big issue and the more tired I become, the more the insomnia kicks in, not unusual with either ME or fibro. Be VERY careful with suggestions for graded exercise, it’s still one of few things offered as treatment, but much research by those who know / understand ME / fibro shows that not only does it not work in very many cases, it can also have hugely detrimental effects and cause for worse and longer lasting issues.
I take quite a combination of meds to manage at even the reduced level I do, and unfortunately they do start to creep up in dosage over time, abs there is a lack of understanding as to how to medicate it seems, just keep adding other things to the cocktail and hope it doesn’t all crash down on you at any point!
I found naproxen useless, they switched me from diclofenac to naproxen a number of years ago because it was much cheaper, but so ineffective that I ended up self medicating with meds obtained illegally from a friend, so got it switched back and does at least help reduce the pain now, even if nothing ever really stops it.
Rest, rest and more rest is the most important thing especially in the early days. If you push things, then it can last far longer / become far more severe. Don’t push to the point of exhaustion, look at what you think you can manage at any given time, and then do just a fraction of it. People who are driven / no good at sitting around when there are things to do are the people most likely to end up with ME / fibro, one of most important things I took too long to learn was that sometimes things just have to be left u til a later time. Make you own life easier by buying things ready prepared - sometimes even just having ready grated cheese rather than having to do it yourself, can make the difference between making a meal you can then enjoy v being too wrecked to face eating food that took your last ounce of energy to produce.
Think how carefully you’d treat someone you love who has the illness, and then treat yourself like that, as generally we are way too hard on ourselves.
If you can afford it, complementary therapies, especially acupuncture/ reflexology can be really helpful.