Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia & Other Chronic Exhaustive conditions

What is CFS?

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is debilitating condition affecting both mental and physical function. CFS appears to affect more women than men, and it’s thought to occur in about 2.6% of the UK population.

Diagnosis of CFS is by exclusion. There is no specific diagnostic test for CFS/ME, as it causes no specific changes in the body that can be measured or detected consistently in the current medical / allopathic system.  Despite extensive research, the cause of CFS/ME has not been found, but it appears to be multifactorial, including a genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. Some authorities speculate that could be due a problem with the person’s immune system.

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a condition that is also not very well understood. Fibromyalgia symptoms are varied but always includes chronic pain around the body, muscle stiffness, areas of tenderness as well as fatigue.  Fibromyalgia is considered a long-term or chronic disorder by the NHS and other medical authorities.  As with CFS there is no specific diagnostic test for fibromyalgia, so again you are told you have this condition after all other medical conditions (such as arthritis) are excluded.

Fibromyalgia seems to affect people of all ages, but mostly those aged between 30 to 50 years old, and women are much more likely to develop the condition compared to men. It is thought to be more common that statistics report, since many people do not seek medical help, or are misdiagnosed. There may be around 1.5-2 million people in the UK with fibromyalgia.

Are CFS and Fibromyalgia the same thing?

There are wide differences of opinions on the two conditions, even among medical experts. Most would agree that fibromyalgia and CFS are similar conditions. One faction in the fibromyalgia/CFS debate believes these are simply two names for the same thing, while others say they are completely different.

A pragmatic approach to differentiate the disorders is that pain is the predominant problem in people with fibromyalgia, whereas fatigue is the major complaint in people with CFS.

The pain of fibromyalgia is typically chronic and widespread, and is often associated with stiffness. On examination, many patients have specific sites (called tender points) that are extremely tender to touch. The detection of these tender points is helpful in making a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

The fatigue seen in people with CFS is generally profound, and can be completely incapacitating. Criteria for CFS established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; in USA) are fatigue that has been present for more than six months and is accompanied by the following:

  • a sore throat
  • enlarged or tender lymph nodes
  • muscle or joint pain
  • other signs of systemic illness

Signs and symptoms that are commonly present in both fibromyalgia and CFS include the following:

  • sleep disturbances
  • headaches
  • impaired memory or concentration
  • dizziness
  • bowel complaints (such as bloating, diarrhoea and/or constipation);
  • anxiety or depression.

Despite the differences between fibromyalgia and CFS, the approaches to treatment of the two disorders are, in fact, quite similar.  Most of the management of these conditions is with the use of pharmaceutical drugs to manage the pain, anxiety and depression.  In addition, the NHS may offer graded exercise therapy (GET) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) along with treating the specific symptoms individually. The NICE guideline on CFS/ME that was published in 2007 is very outdated and is currently being reviewed. It is expected that the new guideline will be published in 2020.

If you are suffering from long-term pain and exhaustion, as well as the side-effects from the medication, and feel that you are not getting the answers you need then addressing your nutrition and lifestyle put you back in control of your own health.

How can Nutritional Therapy help?

I work with patients who have a variety of pain and fatigue conditions, for which allopathic (standard Western medicine) doesn’t have a complete solution.  I work alongside your medical management programme.  So, if you are suffering from fatigue, pain or another unexplained / undiagnosed illness I believe nutritional and lifestyle interventions can make all the difference to your day-to-day health and wellbeing.

My approach is to understand the root-cause issue to enable us to use a personal, individualised approach to healing.  This will involve exploring your medical / health history in depth, reviewing your current diet, and what you have tried before and developing a road map going forward with a personalised plan of action involving changes to your diet and lifestyle.

In my experience of working with patients with chronic exhaustive conditions, we need to consider the following areas:

  • energy production  & energy metabolism
  • adrenal and thyroid function
  • other hormones – such as sex hormones (oestrogens, progesterone and testosterone), as these are often impacted by your thyroid and adrenal health
  • nutritional status / micronutrient needs
  • gut & liver health – a great diet is no good at all if you can’t digest and absorb the nutrients and your liver is over worked by toxins

I also believe that we need to address all areas of your life in order for you to heal – so emotional wellbeing, sleep, movement all play a part.

I work with the Chrysalis Effect to support patients to recover from these “cinderella” conditions – I am a trained specialist practitioner and have a network of other practitioners that I can refer patients for other supportive therapies e.g. Clinical Hypnotherapy, Trauma Counselling and The Perrin Technique.

I nearly always recommend further testing to better understand what is going on, and to enable me to make specific recommendations for appropriate supplements.  These tests may include simple, at home tests or in-depth functional testing.  This gives us “more tools in the tool box” to find avenues to create a healing pathway.

I offer appointment packages which gives you the support that you need to reach your goals.  Please call me to discuss further – I offer a free 15-minute discovery call to help you understand how nutritional therapy make the difference to you – to help you achieve true well-being and vitality.