Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Hi Lisa. I can tell you about my own experience with CFS. I was diagnosed in January of 2001. I took B12 injections for 9 months. I had been exposed to epstein barr at work, but didn't get mono. CFS doesn't go away as the virus never does. I have lived quite normally. I am alot more aware of when I'm getting run down and I pay attention to what my body is telling me. If I feel like I need to nap, I do it! As for the anti-depressants... personally I am avoiding them. One of the side affects of antidepressants is depression!I was diagnosed last year with Fibromyalgia and that is what they want to put you on for the fibro. I am holding out as long as I can. Did she go off of them with her doctor?? If not, she needs to get back into her doctor and let him/her know what's going on. 5 years is a long time. I hope this helps you. L.

Hi Lisa,

I just wanted to give some quick feedback, I do the t-tapp exercise program - check out t-tapp.com and the 15minute basic workout that she talks about at the beginning of the dvd she always says that she created this workout for anyone with CFS, autoimmune disease or anyone just looking for a quick workout to do daily. I do the workout because I need to do something and have a 4 month old so I don't have much time. Anyway, this workout gives me a crazy amount of energy and that's what keeps me doing it - not to mention it helped me loose the baby weight. I'm not sure about the physical health of your MIL but this is all low impact - no jumping - exercise. I don't know if this will help and I don't get any kickback if you decide to buy it, I just practically have the DVD memorized by now so I know she specifically says CFS at the beginning of the DVD so I thought I would mention it. Good luck to you and your MIL.

There are several supplements and vitamins that have shown to be effect with CFS (such as B complex). She can talk to your chiropractor or alternative health care provider about which is right for her. Also - it sounds like her symptoms have a lot of mental/emotional correlation. I would recommend talking to someone. If she is not comfortable with a therapist a life coach can be a great alternative. There is a good one (Maria) at DiscoverBeWell.com in Birmingham.
Hope this helps!

Hello,

I was recently diagnosed with CFS. I am currently having tests done in order to see the cause. I had mono several years ago and the doctor said sometimes with having mono it shows up in your blood work. I won't be getting my results back for another two weeks but I can let you know what the doctor says. I also have anxiety issues due to stress.

Hang in there. Your mother in law is very lucky that she has a shoulder to lean on.

My father has struggled with CFS for many many years. He felt most doctors did not know how to treat CFS and he was extremely discouraged. We found a treatment center in Beverly Hills (14 Mile and Southfield) which specializes in CFS (http://www.cfsviraltreatment.com/). My father has been a patient of Dr Lerner for about 2 years. Based on blood tests, my father no longer has the virus which causes CFS. In my father's case, he has several other health problems (fibromyalgia, depression, weight) which still impact his quality of life. But we look at it as one step at a time. I would strongly recommend your Mother-in-law meet with Dr Lerner (warning - he is a bit odd) and get his opinion.

I thought that EBV and mono were the same?

Lisa, Wow, that is a lot for your MIL and you to be dealing with. It is good that she has your support.

I have a very good CD made by a Dr that both you and your MIL are welcome to. May I send it to you?

How much does your MIL want to do to manage this?

warmly,
M.

What helped me was sleep whenever I needed it (which was a lot - 12 hrs at night and 2 hrs during the day in the beginning), exercise daily even though it was difficult (I walked 2 mi/day), eating healthier food (I had to avoid processed breads and sugars), backing out of unneccesary commitments that take energy and getting good, regular chiropractic care.

I hope the best for you and your mom-in-law,
C.

lisa; well its not good that she stopped her anti depressants, it could bring on depression and therefore sleep more, eating a healthy diet and lots of water helps,also it may help to increase brain activity, do some studying, not just reading, studying, ahhaah i study the bible with the help of a small book called what does the bible really teach , it offers questions and gives you scriptures to look up, so it helps you STUDY. and its beneficial, when the mind is active usually it can help one stay awake and even sleep better, however sometimes things are just the way they are, when i was younger my parents slept all the time, they surely would of been diagnosed with CFS today , therefore i found that i was sleeping all the time too, even in church, i said to myself when i was a teen why am i sleeping and in church it was like get up get dressed go to church sit down and sleep, get up and go home and sleep, i was like i should not be sleeping, so i forced myself to stay awake at church you know it took me about two years before i could do it, but i found working towards a goal helped, i still get tired , from time to time as do we all, but it seems the older i get the harder it is for me to stay awake, especially in a car or when i am sitting for longer times like church, am i turning into my parents, or do i again have CFS? dont know but i keep my goals in front of me, and i study , and i try to get a good night sleep , sometimes i think its just the world we live in and we cant change things, we can learn to deal with them a bit more, just hang in there, and be supportive of her and help where you can, she might just need sleep, but as we all know too much sleep is not good, so life goes on, but i would deg get her back on her meds, take care i dont know if this helped, sorry , D. s

If she is not willing to take her anti-depressants, nothing is going to work for her. That would be the firs step.

Why isn't she sleeping at night? When she was taking her anti-depressant was she taking it at night? That can cause restlessness and as a result not sleep well. Also, what is her diet like and is she active? When a person eats well and is active, the body knows it's tired, and a person will sleep well at night.

There are so many other things too, but it boils down to her choices and what she wants to do with her health. I know it is frustrating! I am dealing with my 85 year old dad, who really is one of my kids now.

Good luck and God Bless.

M.

she might want to consider being tested for Lyme. I can recommend a specilist if you'd like

Bummer. If she is open to natural solutions, I can make some suggestions that will positively impact her health. Let me know!

In the meantime, hang in there yourself. It is awesome that you care enough to inquire on her behalf!

S.
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Hi Lisa! I may have something that will help your Mother-in-law! I am a representative for a company called USANA HEALTH SCIENCES. The founder of the company, Dr. Myron Wentz is the microbiologist/immunologist who invented the Epstein Barr Virus Test Kit that is used in hospitals world wide today. He is also the inventor of about 30 other infectuous disease test kits used today. In 1992, he sold Gull Laboratories and Began USANA. He changed his whole focus from detecting diseases to preventing/reversing diseases. He is a world renowned scientist and just received the Albert Einstein Award for expertise in the Life Sciences. He developed a Nutritional Supplement that is rated the #1 supplement in North America for potency and purity. It is listed in the Physicians Desk Refernce so your Dr. can look it up in his book. One of the Drs. on Dr. Wentz's medical advisory team is Dr. Ray Strand. His wife suffered greatly from CFS. He had tried all different kinds of meds for his wife and he was not a fan of nutritional supplements at the time until a friend of his, told him to let his wife try these USANA supplements. To make a long story short, his wife is doing wonderful today!! Dr. Strand was amazed at this and started studying all he could about nutritionals. The body has a natural tendancy to heal itself, but it doesn't always have all it needs to heal. He says, medications can put a bandaid over it but they don't get to the root problem. Most often, the cells in our bodies need the nutrition and antioxidants that we just don't eat enough of every day, therefore we need to supplement. He says he has helped more people today through these nutritionals than through medications. He has a book called WHAT YOUR DR. DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT NUTRITIONAL MEDICINE. Its very good and talks all about his wife and many other of his patients. I have to tell you, these vitamins/minerals are NOT just another vitamin. There are SO MANY vitamin companies out there but you really need to do your research. There is a book you can get called THE COMPARATIVE GUIDE TO NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS by Lyle MacWilliam. It is a very extensive study on nutritionals and out of 1,500 different brands, USANA comes out on top!! Many olympic and professional athletes use these as well. You can check them out on my website if you would like too. I am so happy someone told me about them 6 years ago!! I did not have CFS, but was very anemic and pretty much slept all day. I feel like I have my life back again!! I hope this helps you. I wish you and your mom-in-law all the best! Take care!

B. Hooyer
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website - bhooyer.usana.com

CFS often has psychological elements. Why has she gone off the antidepressant? I'd want her to get a good psychiatric workup with a doctor who can see her history along with these recent physical findings. She may need some combination of medications to deal with depression, anxiety, and the insomnia. Sometimes patients just get an antidepressant from their health care provider but that's only partially helpful. Someone like this definitely needs to be under the care of a psychiatrist as well as a physician who's treating the CFS/Epstein-Barr. She should be told this is a necessity. It would be good for her to also have a therapist, but the medication is a higher priority.

I am a retired therapist. I saw a man with this diagnosis who had a very sad history. I heard from him recently, and he has something he's involved in now that is keeping him busy and giving him purpose, so he's got energy he sure didn't have back when I saw him, he's doing a lot to help others, and he's happy!

I'm sure there are support groups for this too and for family members. I'd look for that as well. They can be such a big help!

After a severe case of mono, I developed CFS back in the early 90's. I've had mono at least 3 times and will always test positive for both EBV and CMV as a result. While it was hard for a couple of years, it did get better. Anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medicine do help because stress/anxiety can trigger a CFS episode. Happily, the CFS has been "in remission" for several years. Taking care of myself and not getting run down is the key. Your MIL has to pay attention to what her body is telling her. B12 shots did help me. My doctor also put me on pre-natal vitamins for a couple of years and they helped. I've figured out that I get a strange rash on my neck when the CFS is starting to flair up. That's my clue to slow down, get more rest and eat better. For the past 10 years, I've been able to avoid a full blown CFS episode by watching for the signs and stopping it before it gets worse. I would strongly recommend that she reconsider the anti-depressants. With CFS, it's really easy to get depressed and that only makes the CFS worse. Good luck to her! It's not easy but it can get better if she takes care of herself.