About This Site

In Part I of this site, I discussed vitamin D and parathyroid problems.  I have had very good success with vitamin D over the last few months.  I am very hopeful that I have finally found the answer, but I have suffered from varying degrees of chronic fatigue for nine years.  Along the way, I have found some things that work and some things that don't.  This section is about that.  

In the best case, vitamin D therapy will take six weeks.  It may take several months if you have to raise the dose slowly as I did.  There are some things in this section which are easy to do and should help within a day or two.  There are others that will take longer.  While waiting for vitamin D to help, you may want to try some of these.

Chronic fatigue is a complicated condition often involving a number of interrelated causes.  People with chronic fatigue usually have allergies that can make the fatigue worse.  Lack of vitamin D can certainly cause allergies.  Addressing these can help with a few days.

I have rated these things based on several factors.  First is safety.  Second is effectiveness.  Third is how difficult it is to do.  Fourth is whether you will need a doctor and how hard it will be to find a doctor who will cooperate.  (Most doctors for example will prescribe antihistamines, but few will be willing to treat you for Wilson's Thyroid Syndrome.)

The last factor is cost.  Fortunately, except for amalgam removal (which is not high on my list of things to do), most of these suggestions are inexpensive or at least reasonable.

Dust mite allergies are discussed first, because addressing them is effective, safe, relatively inexpensive, and does not even require a doctor.  Treatment for Wilson's Thyroid Syndrome is further down the list.  It carries significant risks, and it will be difficult to find a doctor that treats it.

Some Terminology

There are actually different types of fatigue.  There is fatigue that has a recognized cause.  By definition, if the cause is known you do not have "chronic fatigue" or "chronic fatigue syndrome".  This would include such conditions as hepatitis or diabetes.  See a doctor to see if you have a known condition.

The Center for Disease Control has formal definitions of both "chronic fatigue" and "chronic fatigue syndrome".  See their site for more information.   If a person has a specific set of symptoms, they have chronic fatigue syndrome.  If not all the symptoms are present, this is defined as chronic fatigue instead of CFS.

People that have fatigue with no known cause, but who do not qualify as having CFS are said to suffer from chronic fatigue.  There is no evidence that chronic fatigue and CFS have different causes.  CFS may well simply be a more severe form of chronic fatigue and those things that will help one will help the other.

At my worst, I did qualify as CFS except for one detail.  Not all of my CFS symptoms lasted the required six months.  I made changes in diet that caused me to improve before that.  At that point, my symptoms qualified as chronic fatigue.

CFS - A Combination of Causes

I believe that there are one or more root causes of chronic fatigue, but there are also many secondary causes.  Let me explain.

I strongly believe that in my case, the root cause of chronic fatigue is low vitamin D.  See section I for more information on this.

On my site, you will find pages discussing how food allergies, dust mite allergies and infections like Candida Albicans and helicobacter pylori can contribute to fatigue.  I do not believe that any of these things are the root cause of chronic fatigue.  I believe that chronic fatigue weakens the immune system.  This can allow certain bacteria and fungi to set up shop which weaken the body even more.

As I note in Section I, a weakened immune system can also cause allergies and autoimmune illnesses.

Irritable bowel, fibromyalgia, and other problems

Also as I note in Section I, most of the people I have communicated with who have chronic fatigue also have gastrointestinal problems, especially gas and bloating, though some have constipation or diarrhea.  Most have back and neck problems.  Some, but not all have fibromyalgia, a very painful condition affecting the muscles of the back.  Many have acid reflux disease.

This section contains some suggestions on how to deal with these.

Why the Mystery?

Why is CFS such a mystery to the medical profession?  In part it is because it is a difficult condition, but in part it is because researchers have ignored the evidence or refused to take the condition seriously.  The Center for Disease Control was  found to be taking money allocated for the study of CFS and using it for other purposes.  In some cases, it had written off possible causes without doing proper research.  Fortunately it has started working on the condition and it is at least considering possibilities it had previously written off.

There is no doubt that today the medical profession is making incredible progress in some areas while there is appalling neglect in others.  For many years stomach ulcers were blamed on stress.  An Australian doctor finally showed they are caused by bacteria and can be cured with antibiotics.  The mainstream medical profession would not believe him until he intentionally infected himself.  Meanwhile, veterinarians have been curing ulcers in pigs with antibiotics since the 1950s.  (If you have stomach ulcers, see a gastroenterologist for treatment.)

Two to three percent of the population will be diagnosed with parathyroid problems during their lifetimes, but doctor's have been taught that it is rare, so they don't look for it.

Allergists are still dependent on tests and treatments almost a century old.  Endocrinologists are still using adrenal tests of questionable precision.  Dentists are still using fillings which are often both toxic and highly allergenic.  The American Dental Association has statements on their web page about the safety of mercury amalgam fillings that are easily proven false.

All of these are strongly suspected of being factors in chronic fatigue and CFS.

Testing

It is critical to test as much as possible.  It is surprising how many people have simply decided that they have Candida or something else without being tested.  Always see your doctor for a full physical to rule out conventional causes.

Should you get a formal diagnosis?

Some people wonder if they should seek a formal diagnosis of CFS.   This would certainly be useful if you were seeking to qualify for disability.   I never did seek a formal diagnosis since I was not looking to qualify for disability, and I felt this would give doctors an excuse to write me off as "incurable" and not worth their time.  It also might make it difficult to get insurance in the future.

[ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]