Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or ME/CFS
New research published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology suggests that chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalitis (ME), is linked to a stomach virus. More than 80 percent of the biopsy specimens from patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome tested positive for enteroviral particles, compared to 20 percent of specimens from healthy people.
Enteroviruses infect your bowel, causing severe but short lasting respiratory and gut infections. There are more than 70 different types of enteroviruses, and they can spread to the central nervous system, heart, and muscles.In a significant portion of patients, the initial infection had occurred years earlier, but they were still showing evidence of mild, long-term inflammation.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), or as it is more recently called: Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), has only been recognized by the CDC since 1988. Fortunately, most doctors have now abandoned their view that CFS is just something “in your head,” and no longer view it as a psychological disorder.
The CFIDS Association estimates that some 800,000 Americans suffer from this debilitating condition, with a mere 16 percent having been diagnosed. The characteristics of CFS include:
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Viral infections, such as Epstein Barr, cytomegalovirus, and parvovirus, have also been seen to produce many of the symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, so it seems quite plausible that a mild, long-term gut infection could play a role.
The Yeast Connection
A close cousin of CFS, fibromyalgia , is a similar condition that shares many of the same symptoms. They are often spoken of in the same breath and may indeed be connected. Certainly their similarities, beginning with a shared feeling of profound fatigue make it easy to find a connection between the two.
Both of these conditions appear to be connected to yeast overgrowth, as a significant number of sufferers from these two syndromes find relief when they follow an anti-candida diet and other protocols to address Candida albicans yeast overgrowth.
Dr. William Crook is the single most influential physician that motivated my transition to “alternative” or natural medicine. He was a friend who passed away some five years ago now and was the author of the classic book, “The Yeast Connection.” His great legacy is being carried on at http://www.yeastconnection.com/, where you can find out all the latest insights on how Candida yeast causes problems in your body, and how to alleviate them.
Used dietary changes in addition to antifungals when needed and saw far better results.
So, Exactly What Help is There for CFS?
Some useful strategies include:
- Proper diet according to your nutritional type, to maximize your overall health and physical energy
- Supplements for digestive problems and nausea, including probiotics, digestive enzymes, and ginger
- Effective use of energy psychology tools, such as EFT
- Gentle exercise, such as yoga
- Sleep and rest management
Many people with CFS are highly sensitive to conventional drug therapy and find much more relief taking natural nutrients and from non-invasive therapies.
The Emotional Connection
Eventually the primary reasons that this disease occurred was due to a suppressed immune system from untreated emotional traumas. When using technologies like energy psychology, It is noted entirely different level of improvement.Chronic fatigue is related to emotional challenges incurred in early childhood, typically below the age of five. Although clearly there are also other factors involved (as not everyone with childhood trauma develops these problems),it is vital to address the emotional system together with the physical.
Journal of Clinical Pathology September 14, 2007
Fibromyalgia Pain is Real--What You Can Do to Relieve it
Brain scans of people with fibromyalgia offer the first hard evidence of what patients already know: Their pain is real and their threshold for tolerating it is substantially lower than that of most individuals. Fibromyalgia affects an estimated 2% to 4% of the population. Nine in 10 fibromyalgia patients are female. Patients commonly report feeling tenderness, stiffness and sometimes unbearable pain in various areas of the body. They also may suffer from fatigue, depression and gastrointestinal problems.
Some doctors without expertise in fibromyalgia have dismissed patients' complaints because there have been no documented physical signs of the disorder. In the new report fibromyalgia patients underwent a type of detailed brain scan known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while an instrument intermittently applied different levels of pressure to their left thumbnail. When all study participants received the same level of mild pressure, blood flow increased much more in the brains of patients with fibromyalgia than among those in the control group.
The increased blood flow -- which is a "surrogate measure" for nerve activity -- occurred in areas of the brain known to be associated with pain. In addition, when study participants were subjected to different levels of pressure, fibromyalgia patients reported pain at half the level of pressure that caused the same feelings of pain among the healthy controls. Something appears awry with the way the central nervous system processes painful stimuli in fibromyalgia patients.
Arthritis & Rheumatism 2002;46:1333-1343
While the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, researchers have found pain-processing abnormalities in the spines and brain stems of some people with fibromyalgia. People with fibromyalgia may experience reductions in their symptoms by eliminating one or more foods from their diet. Following the eating plan seems to help, however, it is quite clear that most people with this disease will not completely relieve their symptoms, even if the follow they it perfectly. This is because nearly every person seen with fibromyalgia suffers from an underlying emotional component.
There are many different techniques that can be used here. EFT manual can be used by itself as effective technique. For serious emotional issues, it is best to consult one of the many trained EFT therapists who can offer you more extensive assistance.
The author of this article, Dr. Dean, is a key health advisor to www.yeastconnection.com, a Web site highly recommend to women based on the pioneering work of Dr. William Crook. the author of the classic book, The Yeast Connection, and many other bestsellers that helped millions of women. He was instrumental in helping to recognize that there was a wide network of physicians who understood the importance of nutrition. This network will guide you in this area as that was really the beginning of the journey into high-level natural health. His great legacy is being carried on at http://null/www.yeastconnection.com, where you will find out all the latest insights on how Candida yeast causes problems in your body, and how to alleviate them.
By Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.
Health advisor, yeastconnection.com
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia are similar conditions, with long lists of symptoms for which there are few real remedies. While they are called different disorders, CFS and fibromyalgia are close cousins, sharing many of the same symptoms. They are often spoken of in the same breath.
In fact, they may be connected. Certainly their similarities, beginning with a shared feeling of profound fatigue make it easy to find a connection between the two.Only recognized by the CDC since 1988, CFS, now called Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), is characterized by the following factors:
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Not until 1990 did the American College of Rheumatology establish diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia that included incapacitating fatigue, muscle and joint pain, neuralgia, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, cognitive confusion and digestive problems.It appears that CFIDS and fibromyalgia may also be connected to yeast overgrowth for the simple reason that a significant number of sufferers from these two syndromes find relief when they follow an anti-candida diet and other protocols to address Candida albicans yeast overgrowth, including prescription antifungal medications when necessary. The decided lack of interest by the scientific establishment in studying candidiasis alone or as it affects people with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia leaves a distinct gap in our ability to treat these conditions.
However, Carol Jessup, M.D., who treated 1,000 CFIDS patients with anti-fungal medication, found that up to 75 percent of patients with CFS also had candidiasis. She is convinced that if candida is treated, the majority of CFIDS patients will recover.
Disputed studies
A study by Dismukes in 1990 on only 42 patients given a double-blind trial of therapy with the prescription antifungal medication, Nystatin, claimed to "prove" that chronic candidiasis did not exist because neither Nystatin or placebo benefited the patients. Dismukes also declared that since chronic candidiasis was not reproducible in an animal model, it was not verifiable.
However, the country's foremost authority on yeast infections, the late Dr. William Crook said that Dismukes got it all wrong. Dr. Crook said Dismukes' study was, in fact, successful. It was successful in proving that Nystatin alone is not the treatment for chronic candidiasis. Dr. Crook's approach to candidiasis involved a combination of diet, probiotics and antifungal supplements and antifungal medication when necessary.
In spite of Dr. Crook's decades of dedicated work on the yeast connection, conventional medicine has not given chronic candidiasis sufferers any support. Perhaps, it's because conventional medicine only seems to investigate drug treatments and only uses one drug at a time in research. By continuing this one-sided approach, they may never catch up with Dr. Crook and the benefits he gave many thousands of people affected with candida. Patients, however, for the most part, are left struggling to find answers themselves.
The complaint of being "tired, so tired" and "sick all over" is a common link between sufferers of CFIDS, fibromyalgia and yeast overgrowth. So is the litany of multiple visits to numerous physicians without relief, and the laundry list of symptoms in common.
Even though they are so similar, CFIDS and fibromyalgia have some defining differences.
CFIDS
The CFIDS Association estimates that 800,000 Americans suffer from this condition, but no more than 16 percent have been diagnosed. In addition to muscle pain, multi-joint pain without swelling or redness, and lack of refreshing sleep, CFIDS sufferers complain of:
- Deep fatigue lasting more than 24 hours after exercise
- Impairment of short-term memory or concentration
- Sore throat
- Tender lymph nodes
- Headaches of a new type, pattern or severity
The association adds, "CFIDS brings with it a constellation of debilitating symptoms... It is characterized by incapacitating fatigue experienced as a profound exhaustion and extremely poor stamina." Although many doctors tell patients suffering from these symptoms that "it's all in your head," it is not a psychological disorder.Unfortunately, there are no specific diagnostic tests for CFIDS, and no cure has been found. There are a number of treatments that can be helpful, along with yeast-related treatments. Many people with CFIDS are highly sensitive to drug therapy and find much more relief taking natural nutrients and non-invasive therapies.
Some of these include:
- Supplements for digestive problems and nausea that often accompany CFIDS, including probiotics, digestive enzymes and ginger
- Supplements for depression and anxiety, including St. John's wort, tryptophan, and 5-HTP
- Supplements for muscle and joint pain, including magnesium malate, glucosamine sulphate
- Counseling, to help develop coping skills necessary to live with a debilitating chronic disease (not overdoing it is the most difficult skill to acquire)
- Gentle exercise (yoga is great!)
- Sleep and rest management (St. John's wort, tryptophan, and 5-HTP are also very useful for sleep)
For more about these solutions, visit Web store.Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D., is health advisor to Woman's Health Connection at http://www.yeastconnection.com/ and is featured on the website's "Ask A Pro" page. Her latest books are The Miracle of Magnesium and Natural Prescriptions for Common Ailments.
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