Myalgic encephalomyelitits, aka Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Acupuncture

Currently, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is considered a highly complex disease with many contributing factors and is for now incurable.  There was recently a medical summit held with a panel of experts that included neurologists, rheumatologists, infectious disease experts, primary care docs, immunologists, and endocrinologists to see how to tackle the problem that is increasingly common.

Chronic fatigues syndrome can has symptoms that sometimes makes it hard to diagnose, and currently there is no cure for it. Good news is that acupuncture can address the underlying symptoms quite well and clear up this mysterious disorder which robs people of their ability to live a comfortable and productive lives. Simple chores become exhaustive, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, conventional allopathic medicine looked at the symptoms accompanying this condition as a disease of imagination since the pieces of the puzzle did not match known (at the time) diseases!  Personally, I think in addition to all the different system involvement, the immune system is playing a major role and CFS has an auto-immune component to it.  The prevalence of females affected up to 80% is also another clue that the immune system is involved.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is defined as an ongoing condition of unexplained fatigue, postexertional malaise (even going to the mail box is tough), sleep that is un refreshing, and an overall interruption of daily routine. For a CFS diagnosis, the fatigue has to be severe to moderate, ongoing for about 6 months, and pretty much present all the time (50% of the time or more).   Sometimes there is neuro-cognitive symptoms such as head ache or brain fog.

The usual blood tests are not that helpful: Thyroid level, complete CBC and metabolite profile, lipid profile, rheumatoid factor, auto nuclear antibodies, c-reactive protein, other known inflammatory markers, and Nk cell activity profile, each and everyone of which can be off in a particular patient, in themselves do not make the diagnosis as none of the above tests are definitive.

Some patients have their condition precipitated due to a recent infection such as with Epstein-Barr virus, another Herpes family of viruses, even a bacterial overgrowth in the intestines.  In general, the consensus in allopathic medicine is to treat the symptoms.  For example if there is a high viral load due to EBV, then drugs to lower the viral load should help with the symptoms.

Now lets look at a typical presentation in view of Far East medicine and acupuncture and herbal formulas:

first we look at for a pattern for differentiation of symptoms in order to get a picture of what organ system or energetic system is the root of the problem so I can then start addressing them one by one:  patient comes in with the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome and chief complaint of having pain all over, foggy thinking, and no energy to do the things she usually used to enjoy, and continuously tired.  Upon closer examination of this 66 year old lady, I find that the patient drinks only 3 cups of water per day!  She has very poor sleep, long before pain symptoms showed up, but nothing remarkable in her family or present history that jumps out.  Chronic lack of sleep we know brings with it lots of problems.

Water is the roof of all life and we need to be properly hydrated in order for our various bodily functions to work correctly.  Increasing water intake by drinking m0re water, and tonifying different meridians as indicated by her physical exam lead to better energy and less fogginess by the second treatment.  Treatments continued on weekly basis and once sleep started to get better, she started to smile once again and was back to her old self.  There wasn’t one particular thing or behavior at the root of the problem.  There were many patterns in her presentation that needed to be corrected, including drinking more water (was central to her CFS).  Once the balance of qi and blood, yin and yang, is restored along with unhindered flow thru the meridians, improvements begin right away.

Acupuncture can successfully treat a number of ailments that maybe hard for allopathic medicine to treat such as CFS.

If you or someone you know is suffering with CFS, let me help you get your life back.  I have been helping with people with various issues live their fullest potential.  CFS responds well to my treatments.  Call for a consult