I recently heard from a client who believed she suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I say “believed,” because she had been suffering symptoms for years, diagnosed with several diseases, treated with several medications and referred to more than one psychiatrist - all with varying opinions as to her condition.
Finally, she found a physician who listened to her symptoms, read the misdiagnoses in her medical history and was current on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research. Since she had already tried the medicine her current physician prescribed for CFS (the medicines were prescribed to treat other misdiagnosed conditions), she wrote to me asking if my program could help.
What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Also known as CFS, this is an extremely complex disorder which has been described as fatigue lasting longer than 24 hours that is not improved from bed rest and which can also be worsened by physical or mental activity.
While accepted in 1988 as a legitimate disease, health care professionals are often hesitant to diagnose CFS because of the fact that there is: 1. No known cause so treatment options appear to be limited. 2. The symptoms are so many and so varied that they can either mask another disease or accompany it. 3. Even within the medical community that has accepted this illness, there is a split in opinion as to whether this is a physiological issue or a psychological issue.
In order to give this elusive disease the attention it deserves, I’ve decided to break this up into two posts. This post will focus on the theory that CFS is a physiological illness, while my next CFS posting will focus on the theory that CFS is a psychological illness.
In order to be considered as suffering from CFS, one must meet two criteria: 1. One must have had severe chronic fatigue for at least six consecutive months, unexplained by other illnesses. 2. One must have at least 4 of the following accompanying symptoms to the fatigue: tender lymph nodes, sore throat, short-term memory loss, lack of concentration, joint pain without swelling or redness, headaches (new or a new pattern), unrefreshing sleep, muscle pain/weakness, and insomnia.
Other accompanying symptoms can include: night sweats, chills, dizziness, bloating, chronic cough, nausea, diarrhea, shortness of breath, chronic cough, visual disturbances, allergies or sensitivities to foods, irregular heartbeat or palpitations and jaw, eye, or mouth pain and unexplained weight loss or gain.
Physiological conditions which have similar symptoms and therefore make CFS diagnosis difficult include: fibromyalgia, myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic mononucleosis, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, cancer, obesity, Lyme disease or an adverse reaction to certain drugs prescribed to treat the above illnesses.
While there is no known cause, some theories suggest that it could be caused by an inflammation of the pathways of the nervous system but with nothing measureable in the blood like one would see with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
It is also theorized that CFS may be caused by an unknown viral illness, low blood pressure or even high blood pressure.
Based on the belief that CFS is a physiological disease, treatments include: Various high or low pressure medications (these have major side effects and their effects should be strictly monitored), moderating daily activity and regular exercise (but MODERATION is to be stressed, as symptoms can worsen with overexertion).
While improvement with medication proved beneficial for some, most did not find relief enough to justify the harmful side effects and equal improvement has been shown using alternative therapies such as deep breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, massage, acupuncture and yoga.
While a “cure” at this point is unknown, if you or your doctor feel high or low blood pressure is a cause or contributor, I encourage you to try my all natural High Blood Pressure program. It’s been proven to be extremely beneficial for those suffering from both high and low blood pressure.
I would also encourage you to try my Fibromyalgia program if your symptoms seem to mimic those of fibromyalgia, even though diagnosed as CFS.
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