Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia
A “syndrome.” What is a syndrome? By definition it is “a group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality.” But there is no definable cause in this situation. So we have a name to describe this group of people that feel lousy, tired and hurt, but no one seems to know what to do about it. I feel for you; it is a terrible, hopeless place to be if you fall in this category. Do you want the good news now? These are real problems caused by a real imbalance that CAN be corrected.
This is why it seems so difficult: In medical research, they take a group of people with a problem, and apply a therapy to see if it helps. Ideally, they have a hypothesis that they are testing. But what if you are testing something that has no clear cause, like CFS/FMS? They create a hypothesis… “well, these people have pain, so lets try pain relievers” …and no good result. Some actually did feel better but not statistically significant. So they try magnesium, and thyroxine (thyroid hormone), and smoke marijuana, and try fish oils, and on and on. And none of them have statistically significant results. WHY?
If the problem is not caused by “one thing,” why would you ever think that one thing could work? There are some CFS/FMS patients that have high levels of inflammatory prostaglandins, which is what most pain relievers and fish oils treat. Some have thyroid problems, some have liver issues, or gut issues, some have stress issues, some have calcium metabolism issues, some have sugar metabolism issues, some are anemic, and most are a combination of 2 or more of the above!
You can have fleas and lice! Yuck, what does that have to do with anything? Let’s say your skin itches, and you are diagnosed with fleas. You buy the best flea powder money can buy, use it exactly as it says, and…you still itch. The treatment may have been completely appropriate but not complete.
That is where lab testing is of value. In one sweeping blow, you can test all these things and pick out the one, two, or more that you have to fix. (OPTICHEM Blood and Urine Analysis).
Don’t forget your nervous system in addition to all these chemical issues. They have also done studies examining the effect of chiropractic and muscle work on CFS/FMS. With the same limitations of using one therapy to treat a problem with more than one cause, it did show improvements in pain levels and sleep patterns.
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