Basic Questions About CFS and Fibromyalgia

It has been forty-five years since I first began to treat patients for what is now called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and/or Fibromyalgia. Over the years I have written extensively on this subject and helped many thousands to again find the health and peace they thought they had lost forever.

Throughout these years, many changes have occurred in this condition, but I feel the basic underlying causes and requirements for a correction have not changed. The same basic principles I taught my patients over four decades ago are still valid today. However, I must admit that due to the ever-increasing complexity of this condition its present treatment requires a much more intensive effort on the part of both patient and physician than in the past.

Then, as now, every patient with this condition wants to know the answers to several questions. The most common of these are:

In this paper I shall do my best to answer these questions and thus help to build a foundation of information that all CFS patients need to overcome their condition. For many years I attempted to write a course on Life Mastery for my CFS patients, but never seemed to have the time since most of my energy was spent in treating patients at our Centers, or by phone and E-mail. However, after much thought I now realize that what is needed most is not a long extensive course of study, but rather a succinct paper explaining in as few words as possible the nature of CFS and the specific things all patients must do to ensure a satisfactory recovery. This paper constitutes my effort to fulfill this need.

Question: What is the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or Fibromyalgia?

Answer: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia are caused by a series of stresses that finally overwhelm an individual who was born with (or has developed) less than perfect adrenal gland integrity. Sometimes it is triggered by one big stress (such as a severe infection not treated correctly) but more commonly it is caused by a series of stresses over a period of time that gradually weaken the adrenal glands and the immune system so that they are not able to accomplish their normal function.

Question: Why did it happen to me? Some of my friends had the same stresses and they are fine.

Answer: The inherited integrity of the endocrine gland system varies from individual to individual. Some have a gland system so strong that they would not develop Chronic Fatigue Syndrome no matter what stresses they encountered. Other individuals are almost certain to develop this condition as they reach adult life (or even before) no matter what they do. The greater part of humanity lies somewhere in between these two extremes. Most of us living in this world today have a "breaking-point" somewhere. If we are fortunate we will never have enough unremitting stress in our lives to reach this point. Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have already reached that point and may be well beyond it. The stage or phase of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that they exhibit defines the degree to which they have exceeded this crossover point.

Question: This condition seems to be becoming more common. Is this true and if so why?

Answer: Not only is the condition becoming more common, but its general severity and complexity are increasing as well. When I first began to treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, almost all my patients were in the early, easily treated phases. Gradually as the years passed, we found that we were treating an increasing number of patients in the later more serious phases. We also find that the overall number of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients is beginning to expand exponentially.

The cause for this alarming situation I believe is due to several causes:

(1) The continuing adverse effects of various poisons in our environment (food, water, air).

(2) The ever accelerating chemical additives present in almost all food stuffs.

(3) The subtle (and not so subtle) effects of immunizations on the immune systems of our nation (particularly the effects of multiple vaccines).

(4) The adverse effects on the immune and glandular systems of both prescription and nonprescription drugs.

(5) The long-term effects of denatured foods and devitalized soil.

Question: Can you help me?

Answer: Yes, if you will give me a chance to do so. What do I mean by that? Just this: In the treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome the patient must do at least half the work, and those patients we handle by phone or E-mail must do more than half the work. If they are not willing to do this, my help, although of important benefit, is limited. To realistically expect a "cure," we must have this dedicated patient cooperation.

Question: What do you mean in your books and monographs by "dedicated patient cooperation"?

Answer: Most patients develop Chronic Fatigue Syndrome because of the life-style they were "enjoying" prior to the development of this condition. If they expect a "cure" they must change this previous life-style. In some instances the required change is non-traumatic, but in many others it is very difficult because it entails necessary changes in aspects that they have come to consider important in their life. This may not only includes physical changes, but mental and emotional changes as well. It can often take some time to convince patients that they must permanently change their outlook on life and their attitude toward others. But, where this is needed to reduce their stress to below the "kindling temperature," no other treatment will surffice. This is what we refer to as Life Mastery. (See the new Life Mastery monograph on this Web Site.)

Therefore, "dedicated patient cooperation" means much more than just taking one's remedies on time. It encompasses every factor that might influence the patient's ability to control the stress in his life.

Question: What are the basic principles of your treatment?

Answer: Our treatment is fourfold:

(1) We first do everything we can to reduce the short-term stresses on our patients. This includes (when necessary) bringing them into our Sanctuary so that we can reduce their immediate physical stress. If necessary, while here, we perform extensive tests to discover if they have any hidden medical stresses such as mercury toxicity, low-grade viral infections, etc.

(2) We then help them to reduce long-term life-style stresses (see above) and to gain Life Mastery.

(3) We supply them with needed nutritional elements to replace those diminished by the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and also carefully administer to them those substances found to be essential to re-establish their chemical and glandular balance (as ascertained by their ASI test).

(4) For our local patients, and those who come to stay at our Sanctuary, we have a variety of passive therapies (Magnatherm, Myoflex, Variable Frequency Generator, etc.) that can be essential to the recovery of the more severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients. In many CFS patients, their adaptive mechanism is so depressed that it is difficult for them to absorb and metabolize the remedies their condition demands. For these patients our passive therapies which make no demands on the body's adaptation mechanism are essential for improvement. On the whole, these therapies are able to help us jump-start any Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patient and are one of the main reasons we are able to succeed with the CFS patient after others have failed.

Question: What can I do to help myself?

Answer: Follow instructions as carefully as possible and (for phone and E-mail patients) report as requested. Always let me know exactly what is going on. Each Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patient has to be handled individually and what will help one (even one in the same phase) may not help another. All of our treatments are individualized and a patients's program may change rapidly if his symptoms show such change is required for his continued improvement.

Question: Will I ever be "normal" again?

Answer: This depends on what you consider as normal. If patients will cooperate, we can usually bring them to a state where they are able to function effectively and productively-to have a real life once again. If there is a strong hereditary weakness of the gland system we cannot, at this stage of medical art and knowledge, change them so that they do not have to be careful of their future stresses. But if they will take care and learn to know their own bodies, they can live a useful, happy life.

Question: How long will it take to reach optimum improvement?

Answer: This depends on three major factors:

(1) The phase of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that the patient is experiencing.

(2) The amount of stress that the patient is able to overcome in his own environment(see "dedicated patient cooperation").

(3) Whether or not we are treating him as a phone/E-mail patient or as a Sanctuary patient.

Recovery is like putting money into a bank account. Once a patient has built up a reliable reserve of vitality in the adrenal gland, he will feel like his old self once again. However, to build such a supply he must create more energy each day than he expends. This is not easy to do. Usually once a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patient begins to feel better he quickly uses up that new energy and none goes into his bank account. This may ebb and flow pattern may continue for months, or even years, if the patient does not understand the requirements for his full recovery. While we can help him to "make more money" each day (increase his adrenal vitality), if he spends it (overdoes) as fast as he makes it, none goes into his back account and real recovery will not occur. To make a real recovery the patient must learn to spend less energy each day than he creates. Only in this way is his recovery possible. If the patient can do this, he will reach optimum improvement in a relatively short time. If he can't or won't do this, recovery will be very slow in coming, if ever.

Question: How much is treatment going to cost?

Answer: There is one good thing about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: It is relatively inexpensive to treat. In most instances the remedies needed for a months treatment cost less than a single course of antibiotics. Since our Healing Research Centers are nonprofit, our charges are far below the going rates in the profession. Many of the special tests that may be required are covered by most insurances.

Question: Can you treat me at home or must I come to your Centers?

Answer: We treat the majority of our CFS patients over the phone or by E-mail. Our rate of recovery is remarkable considering the restrictions of this method of treatment. However, if a patient's condition is very complex or he wants to jump-start his recovery, our Sanctuary is available and often necessary.

Question: How can I be certain that I do not have a serious life-threatening disease instead of CFS?

Answer: Most of our patients have had one or more complete medical work-ups to exclude such serious conditions before we see them. Such a work-up can be given at our Medical Center if required.

Question: Am I likely to get worse before I get better?

Answer: In phases 2 and 3 of CFS the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis mechanism (HPA) is overstimulating the adrenal gland. This is like attempting to whip an old tired horse. You may force a little extra work out of him by this procedure, but in the long run you weaken him and eventually he will collapse. This same scenario is true of the adrenal. It will finally stop responding to the over stimulation and the patient will advance into CFS stages 4 or 5.

In order to prevent this worsening of the condition, we attempt to "convince" the HPA to stop overstimulating the adrenals, thereby allowing them to rest and regenerate. When this is done, the patient will feel calmer and more relaxed than before, but may miss the false energy that was created by the overstimulation of the HPA. Gradually, however, the adrenal will regenerate, and the patient will then have the best of both worlds-both relaxation and vitality.

Question: Once I have improved, what are the chances that the CFS will return?

Answer: This depends on the patient. If he returns to a life-style similar to the one that caused the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in the first place, the chances of a return are high. On the other hand, if he learns to follow the Life Mastery pattern and lives within his body's vitality, CFS need never darken his door again.

Question: Is there any value in drug treatment for this condition?

Answer: Many patients come to us who are taking drugs prescribed by their previous physicians. The most common of these are antidepressants and sedatives. In our experience, most of these do little to help the underlying condition, although they may be of service until we are able help the patient to function without them.

Conclusion

The diagnosis and treatment of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patient is an ongoing project. We always attempt to become wiser today than we were yesterday. However, this paper represents the most succinct answers I have today for the many questions Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients ask me. I trust that you will find them of some help. If you have more questions that you would like to have addressed, please let me know.

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