Conventional Medical Treatments Doctors Use To Treat Chronic Fatigue
People who receive an early diagnosis and early treatment enjoy better health outcomes. Support from family and friends, people at school and work, and health workers who understand the potential seriousness of CFS, can make a significant difference to recovery. Find a good doctor you trust a doctor who is sympathetic to CFS and knows how to treat the problem.
The treatment goal should be enhancement towards and preservation of an individuals best functional capacity. The lifestyle restrictions associated with CFS can lead to isolation, frustration, and in turn secondary depression. Low doses of an antidepressant drug can treat depression, improve sleep quality, and relieve pain.
No one treatment has been shown to cure CFS and so symptoms are treated as needed. The most effective treatment for CFA can be an energy-management strategy called pacing knowing when enough is enough and not overdoing mental or physical exertion.
A doctor will usually treat the most disruptive symptoms first, which usually includes:
- Fatigue and sleep problems
The most commonly used medications and supplements are:
Many people with CFS report an increased susceptibility to drug side effects, so any new medications should start with a small dose to assess tolerance. Start just one new treatment at a time to assess effectiveness. CFS symptoms reoccur so keep medications and supplement in case they are needed later on, just check the expiry date before reuse.
How Does Me/cfs Affect People
ME/CFS affects different people in different ways, some more severely than others. There are four levels of severity of ME/CFS, which give an indication of the level of disability ME/CFS can create:
- mild: 50% reduction in pre-illness activity
- moderate: mostly housebound
- severe: mostly bedridden
- very severe: totally bedridden and need help with basic activities including nutrition and hydration.
The severity of ME/CFS can vary over time. A person living with ME/CFS could be at one level of severity now, then their disease could either improve or deteriorate over time. For some patients, their disease can worsen significantly with no known cause. Other patients have a fluctuating illness where they have better and worse periods, which last for months or years. It is unclear why this happens.
For most people, ME/CFS is a lifelong disease. Full recovery is rare and estimated at less than 10%. For some people with ME/CFS, as time passes and their disease improves, they will find they can do more, but it is a slow and gradual process. However, this is not the case for everyone. Some people find their disease worsens over time, others may remain somewhat stable. With support and pacing, people can often improve their quality of life.
Get The Right Help Naturally
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a collection of symptoms with no single identifiable cause. Therefore, there is no single drug that can be used as a cure for this illness. My belief is, that had I started taking any form of pharmaceutical medication to alleviate my symptoms it could have potentially created even further stress on my already weakened system.
It did take me quite some time to find the fantastically caring and knowledgeable naturopath who finally got me well. There were a couple of wrong turns I took along the way.
I previously tried a couple of naturopaths who unfortunately couldnt offer any lasting help. Whilst I followed their protocols to the letter, they simply werent the right protocols for me.
In simple terms, the naturopaths lacking experience in treating this illness, failed to carry out adequate testing to get to the root cause of my chronic fatigue syndrome.
Finding a naturopath/functional medicine practitioner who has experience treating chronic fatigue syndrome is VERY important.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is tricky to treat as there can be so many different causes of the illness. There is no specific chronic fatigue syndrome test. Each person with chronic fatigue syndrome has their own individual form of the illness. And it takes someone with special knowledge to know what to look for and which tests to perform for each patient.
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Tips For Exercising Safely With Me/cfs
If you feel you can tolerate some exercise, be guided by your doctor or specialist, but general suggestions include:
- Experiment to find the type of exercise that works best for you. Choose from a range of gentle activities such as stretching, yoga, tai chi, walking and light weight training. Often, people find exercises lying down use less energy.
- Keep an activity diary so you have a long-term picture of your performance levels and factors that might impact on your symptoms. Some people with ME/CFS find they feel good straight after exercise, but then crash later on, so make sure you monitor how you feel, hours to days after exercise.
- Stop the physical activity well before you feel any symptom flare. Pacing yourself is very important.
- Remember that the amount of exercise you can do will change from one day to the next.
- Listen to your body if you dont feel up to exercising on a particular day, dont.
- Find out as much as you can about your ME/CFS. Make sure you consult with health professionals who fully understand ME/CFS as a biomedical disease
Pacing Activity For People With Me/cfs
Pacing, or keeping within your available energy, is a self-management strategy to help people with ME/CFS make sure that they dont overdo activity or exercise. It reduces the likelihood of triggering PEM and can help reduce symptoms. Pacing is not a cure for ME/CFS and does not treat the underlying, physical cause of the disease.
The goal of pacing is for activity to be sustainable, so that the person can have some stability in their symptoms and what they can do each day. Pacing should be used in conjunction with rest.
The most challenging aspect of pacing is that PEM is very often delayed by as much as 24-48 hours, which can make it difficult to recognise when youve done too much. Using tools like an activity diary or heart rate monitor help you learn about your body and how much activity you can safely tolerate.
Suggestions on how to pace yourself include:
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What We Know Now
As I discussed in a recent article in the journal JAMA, research has documented underlying biological abnormalities involving many organ systems in people with ME/CFS, compared with healthy controls. Heres an overview of what the current science suggests.
The brain. Tests of brain hormones, formal tests of thinking, magnetic resonance imaging , and positron emission tomography scans of the brain are abnormal in a substantial fraction of patients with ME/CFS. Tests of the autonomic nervous system, which controls vital functions including body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and movement of the intestines and bladder, also are abnormal. Not all of these abnormalities of the brain are present in every person with ME/CFS, and they appear to come and go.
Energy metabolism. We are alive because the cells of our body are alive. And theyre alive because they can make energy, and use that energy to do their jobs and remain alive. Our cells make energy out of the oxygen in the air we breathe, and out of the sugars, fats, and proteins we eat. In ME/CFS, research has shown that the cells have trouble both making and using energy. That is, people with ME/CFS feel they dont have enough energy because their cells are not making enough, nor using what they make efficiently. The ability of cells to extract oxygen from the blood and use it to make energy appears particularly defective after physical and mental exertion.
Treatment Plans For Me/cfs
There’s no single way of managing ME/CFS that works for everyone, but there are a number of treatment options.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says you should be offered a treatment plan tailored to your symptoms.
Your doctor should discuss all of the options with you, and explain the benefits and risks of any treatment.
They should work with you to develop a treatment plan that suits you and takes into account your circumstances and preferences.
You may need advice about making lifestyle changes, specialist treatments, or a combination of both.
If your symptoms are severe, your doctor should ask a specialist for advice.
Your treatment plan should be reviewed regularly.
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Home Remedies And Lifestyle Changes
Making some lifestyle changes may help reduce your symptoms.
Limiting or eliminating your caffeine intake can help you sleep better and ease your insomnia. You should limit or avoid nicotine and alcohol too.
Try to avoid napping during the day if its hurting your ability to sleep at night.
Create a sleep routine. Go to bed at the same time every night and aim to wake up around the same time every day.
Are There Any Known Risk Factors
As the cause of CFS is unknown, it is somewhat difficult to identify specific risk factors for the condition however, research has identified a few commonly linked factors. Women between the ages of 30 and 50 are in the group of people most often affected by the condition, so age and gender present a potential risk. Likewise, individuals who are overweight and are relatively inactive are more likely to develop fatigue. Addition factors that may increase your risk of developing CFS include genetic predisposition, allergies, stress, and some environmental factors.
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Identify Treatments Youve Tried
In addition to tracking the symptoms you have experienced, keep a list of treatments you have tried. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a medications and supplements list you can use to track your medications, their dosage, how well they help, and if you experienced side effects. Write a separate list of other treatments you have tried beyond medications and supplements, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, exercise, acupuncture, or meditation.
Who Is At Risk For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Because the cause of CFS is not known, its hard to know what might put someone at risk for getting the condition. However, certain factors are seen more often in people with CFS. These factors include:
- Gender. CFS happens up to 4 times more often in women than in men.
- Age. CFS commonly affects middle-aged people, but people of any age can get it.
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Continued Research Should Lead To Better Understanding And Treatments
A great deal more is known about ME/CFS today than 35 years ago. With continued and expanded support from the NIH, CDC, and private foundations dedicated to ME/CFS, I expect a lot of progress in the coming decade. Instead of doctors saying, The tests came back normal, there is nothing wrong, they will say, Tests showed us what was wrong, and we have treatments to fix it.
And doctors will recognize the wisdom of the wise advice we all learned in medical school: Listen to your patient. The patient is telling you the diagnosis.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms
While the term chronic fatigue is fairly descriptive of this crippling illness, it doesnt tell the entire story. Chronic fatigue often starts suddenly, with flu-like symptoms. But unlike the flu, it can last a lifetime.
In addition to the profound fatigue experienced, other serious symptoms often accompany CFS, such as:
- joint pain that moves from one spot to another
- muscle pain
- night sweats
- digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome .
Sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome also experience significant alterations in levels of irritability, mood swings, panic attacks, anxiety and depression. According to a study published in Family Practice, 36 percent of individuals with CFS were clinically depressed and 22 percent had seriously considered suicide in the past year.
Simply, the emotional and mental side effects of CFS cannot be overlooked, and treatment must include the mind, body and spirit.
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We all feel tired, even exhausted, some of the time. But for some people, the exhaustion never lets up, and it comes along with physical discomfort, sleep issues, and trouble with memory and concentration. Anywhere from about 800,000 to 2.5 million Americans may have myalgic encephalomyelitis more commonly called chronic fatigue syndrome .
Medical experts once told people these symptoms were all in their headâ but they have come to accept that the suffering is real.
As one patient put it, having ME/CFS feels like permanently having the flu, a hangover, and jet lag while being continually electrocutedâ ME/CFS results in nerve pain as much as it does fatigue.
Though little understood and currently without a known cure, certain natural remedies may provide some relief from the discomfort and constant fatigue.
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Anayas Recovery From Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
When I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome /Myalgic Encephalomyelitis two and a half years ago, the doctor told me surely the most famous of all CFS one-liners: 95% of people do not recover, so dont get your hopes up. My response internally was Fuck that! and externally Well, I am one of the 5% and I will recover!
I walked out of the office leaving my slightly stunned husband to follow. Deep down in my soul, I was committed to healing. The mindset that I was never sick with CFSI was always in recoveryplus the fact that I never took CFS on and made it part of my identity and who I was served me very well indeed.
Everyone has their own experience with the diagnosis and the journey that is CFS/ME. My greatest desire is that in writing about my own experienceand my total recoveryI can offer some hope and insight that will encourage you and support you in your journey. If I can recover to become a better version of myselfcalmer, stronger, more resilient, more grounded, more aware, more capable, more loving and more self-loving, more energetic, more connected, and more of everything good and wholesomethen so can you!
I had pushed it relentlessly, I had nourished it poorly on many levels, and worst of all I had consciously chosen to ignore it. YepI had decided that I was going to ignore being tired on the weekends and do what my mind wanted to do, which at the time was train for an adventure race.
You are good enough!
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Articles On Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
There are lots of alternative treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome â also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease . These range from acupuncture to nutritional supplements, and people get different degrees of relief from them.
Thereâs much less research about the risks and benefits from alternative treatments. That doesnât necessarily mean that these approaches donât work. It just means that there isnât a lot of evidence one way or the other. But they help some people and are generally safe to try.
Just like with any other type of treatment, itâs best to talk with your doctor first, so they know all the strategies youâre trying. They can help you research what could work and watch out for any side effects.
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G Emf And Chronic Fatigue
There is a definite link between 5G EMF and chronic fatigue. EMF frequencies interfere with your brain waves and heart waves. People with pacemakers have to stay away from microwave EMF radiation because it can cause a sudden heart attack. Your brain waves extend 10 feet and your heart waves extend up to 25 feet. And EMF radiation, particularly 5G because of its ability to penetrate your body can zap your immune system, which is a major cause of CFS.
Your bodys energy goes two places primarily, your brain and nervous system or your immune system. If your immune system is under attack, you will have limited energy because your body is trying to fight off something that can be fatal. EMF waves damage your immune system. Using EMF protection crystals can help protect your body from absorbing these harmful waves. Microwave radiation cooks, and that is the frequency range of EMF waves emitted by cell phones and cell phone towers, WiFi and Smart Meters. Having protection is a good natural preventative treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome.
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Testing To Determine The Root Cause Of Your Fatigue
In order to figure out what was causing her symptoms, in addition to regular conventional blood testing, we ordered Josie more extensive blood work, salivary hormone testing, digestive testing consisting of a stool and breath tests, and genetic testing. She was found to have yeast overgrowth in her intestines, positive autoimmune inflammatory tests, hormonal imbalance, and nutrient deficiencies.
Children Young People And Me/cfs
ME/CFS can affect people of all ages, including the very young. Young people with ME/CFS, especially children under the age of ten, might have trouble knowing or articulating that something is wrong. They may not realise that their loss of stamina, or other symptoms they are experiencing, are not normal. Alternatively, they may not have the words to describe what they are feeling.
For both younger children and teenagers, schooling can be affected but ME/CFS is not school refusal. While school refusal can often be accompanied by physical complaints , and these complaints may tend to disappear when the young person stays home, the pattern is different with ME/CFS. In a young person with ME/CFS, some symptoms never ease and symptom exacerbation is triggered by activity. In ME/CFS, symptoms are likely to be worse after school attendance, and can reduce with pacing and rest, which includes time away from school or during holidays.
Some young people with ME/CFS can continue to attend school, and others may be too unwell for regular classroom attendance. Parents, healthcare providers, schools and the child or teenager need to work together to come up with a plan for the young persons continued education. This plan needs to take into account the energy limits of ME/CFS. Being creative and flexible is key and might include things like fewer subjects or school from home.
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