CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS):

Most of us, after a good nights sleep, or even a siesta we feel ready to go again.

But there is a small percentage of the population (0.2 to 0.7%) for whom no amount of rest is invigorating. The slightest amount of work or physical activity can leave them extremely tired for days or weeks.

They suffer from a condition commonly known as Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) Also known as Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Epstein virus disease.

There is a tendency for people to dismiss this condition as psychosomatic or malingering, but in fact it  is very real. Myalgic encephalomyelitis means pain in the muscles and inflammation in the brain and Spinal cord. Onset of ME/CFS may be sudden or slow and may follow viral infections, toxic exposure, trauma or other events.

Cause:

It is not clear what the cause of it might be and there is no general agreement that it is a separate disease at all.  Some research indicates problems in several areas that could be related to this condition:

·         Viral or other infections,

·         Blood pressure, circulatory and Cardiac abnormalities.

·         Immune and hormonal responses.

·         Genetic factors.

Without a known cause, prevention is impossible.

Symptoms:
The main symptoms of CFS are pronounced muscle fatigue and ache, poor memory and lack of concentration, severe tiredness and intermittent flu-like feeling. Some suffer from insomnia while others sleep too long. Most wake up in the morning feeling worse than when they went to bed.

Other symptoms include:

• Joint pain without redness or swelling
• Drop in blood pressure upon standing
• Increased heart rate upon standing and palpitations.
• Shortness of breath with exertion.
• Gastrointestinal  and urinary problems.
• Marked weight changes, losses or gains.

Testing for CFS:

There is no specific test for CFS. Your  doctor may order blood and urine tests to make sure there is not some other serious disorder.

Diagnosis is made by excluding many other ailments with similar symptoms like  exhaustion through exercise or work, anaemia, hypothyroidism, depression etc.

Western treatment for CFS:

At the moment there is no western medication available to treat CFS but some may help with some of the symptoms. For example sleeping tablets for a better sleep and Paracetamol for muscle pains.

Chinese medicine and CFS:

Chinese medical texts have, since very early times, described the cause, diagnosis and treatment of conditions very similar to CFS.

The three main conditions with which CFS can manifest according to Chinese Medicine are:

-          Residual pathogenic factor

-          Latent heat

-          Lesser Yang pattern

The earliest text on Chinese Medicine, the Yellow Emperor’s classic of internal medicine,  says. ’’If cold enters the body in wintertime, it comes out as heat in springtime.’’ They talk about common cold and flu that  has not been fully resolved and lingers in the body until the following season or perhaps for many years.

The residual effects of a cold or flu, once in the interior of the body, will transform into patterns we call Damp, Heat and phlegm who then produce specific clinical symptoms like muscle aches, poor memory and concentration, difficulty sleeping and extreme fatigue.

In modern times, antibiotics are one of the most common causes of residual pathogenic factor. Whilst they do destroy bacteria, from the point of Chinese Medicine they tend to lock the pathogenic factor in the interior.

A possible cause for Latent heat can also be immunizations, when inert forms of certain pathogenic organisms are injected into the body, by-passing the body’s first line of  resistance. From a Chinese medical perspective it is as if an external pathogenic factor invades the body’s interior directly.

In the Lesser Yang pattern one can have alternating shivers and heat, when the pathogenic factor is trapped between the Interior and exterior. This pattern tends to be more common among teenagers and young adults.

In my experience, every case of CFS is in part a deficiency and excess condition, but one tends to dominate. From the point of view of symptoms, the more muscle ache, the more the condition is of the full type.

Full conditions tend to respond better to treatment than deficiency ones. In general, my treatments  are a combination of Acupuncture and Chinese herbs.