People with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are so run down that it can often interfere with their lives and can make it hard to function at all. Some people with chronic fatigue syndrome say they have trouble staying on top of their responsibilities at home and on the job, while others are severely disabled and even bedridden. Furthermore, they are not just dealing with extreme fatigue but with a wide range of other symptoms, including flu-like symptoms and chronic pain.
Chronic fatigue syndrome affects more than one million people in the United States. There are tens of millions of people who also have fatigue-related illnesses, but they do not fully meet the strict research definition of chronic fatigue syndrome, and so this statistic excludes many people who actually suffer from this disorder.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a malfunction of the pituitary, a pea-sized gland at the base of the skull, which regulates all our hormones. The pituitary and hypothalamus work together and whether one or both are malfunctioning, CFS and Fibromyalgia share the same underlying problems. Although each situation is unique, patients improve when these common factors are checked for and addressed as needed. Aside from malfunctioning mitochondria, hormonal deficiencies, and infections, other contributing conditions associated with CFS and Fibromyalgia can include an immune reaction in response to a chronic infection. As a result, the immune system can cause a special type of clotting disorder called “coagulation.” Instead of producing blood clots, it generates a coating on the insides of blood vessels. This coating interferes with delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body, contributing to chronic fatigue. It can be treated with anticoagulants.
In order to diagnose this disorder, four or more of the following symptoms should occur, all of which must have persisted or recurred during six or more consecutive months of illness and must not have predated the fatigue:
- Self-reported impairment in short term memory
- Sore throat
- Tender cervical or axillary lymph nodes
- Muscle pain
- Multi-joint pain without joint swelling or redness
- Headaches of a new type, pattern, or severity
- Non-refreshing sleep
- Post-exertional malaise lasting more that twenty-four hours
When faced with patients suffering from CFS most doctors are at loss. In a poorly-informed attempt to relieve symptoms, they might prescribe antidepressants, muscle relaxants, pain pills or sleep medications. None of these will resolve the condition and side effects may make you feel worse. Lack of standardized testing for CFS and unidirectional approaches are often the factors that contribute to failure in treating this illness.
Symptoms can be very similar to the ones experienced by fibromyalgia sufferers and up to 70% of patients actually suffer from both conditions. Symptoms include fatigue that doesn’t go away with sleep, difficulty getting restful sleep, pain, stiffness and tender spots in muscles and/or joints. Also one may suffer from headaches, sore throat, flu-like feeling, weight gain, digestive problems, mental fog and poor concentration.
Unfortunately, many individuals and physicians continue to deny that this syndrome is a legitimate disease. The medical literature is, however, very clear in proving the opposite; individuals with this disorder have measurable hypothalamic, pituitary, immune and coagulation dysfunction. These abnormalities then result in a cascade of further abnormalities, in which stress plays a role by suppressing immunity and hypothalamic-pituitary function. This results in multiple hormonal deficiencies and opportunistic infections like yeast overgrowth, which contribute to the worsening of symptoms.
Patients treated at the Holtorf Medical Group for CFS have seen an average of 7.2 different physicians prior to their visit at our center, without experiencing significant improvement. After following Holtorf Medical Group’s multi-system treatment, 94% of patients have overall improvement by the fourth visit, and the energy level and sense of well-being doubled as well.
The effectiveness of this multi-system treatment was further confirmed through the analysis of the cumulative findings of over 40 independent physicians and over 5,000 patients.
Holtorf Medical Group providers will check for malfunctioning mitochondria, hormonal deficiencies, infections, and other potential contributing conditions. Every aspect of our multi-system approach is supported by clinical research. And, thousands of patients have experienced the results. Doctors who are trained in our CFS and fibromyalgia protocol look for and treat all the factors underlying these diseases. This approach relieves symptoms while enabling healing.
