Chronic fatigue syndrome is one of the most misunderstood chronic health conditions. The fact is that unless you or your loved ones suffer from chronic fatigue, most people don’t take the time to learn about every health condition. However, whether you have been diagnosed or you know someone who has it, this article should help you to understand the condition a little better and to learn about a natural form of care that had been providing hope for those with chronic ailments like chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Chronic fatigue is just one aspect of the entire condition. There are more reasons why the conditions is so debilitating. Additional issues include everything from chronic pain to cognitive symptoms (memory problems, lack of attention, etc.).
There’s no genetic or blood marker to look for, so doctors consider all the patient’s symptoms and then start looking for other conditions that match the symptoms that they can test for. It is more about ruling out everything else than it is about determining if the person has chronic fatigue syndrome.
According to the Institute of medicine, only about 1 in 7 people who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome have gotten an official diagnosis. Whether this is because doctors are afraid to make a diagnosis, even after ruling out other possibilities, or people give up due to the long process is unknown.
This is something that really sets chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia apart if it is accurate. Researchers believe that chronic fatigue is related to an uncontrolled inflammation response. In contrast, fibromyalgia patients may feel like they are suffering from inflammation, but those feelings are neurological in nature and not actually related to inflammation in most cases.
Patients go through remission periods between flare-ups. Many things can affect how often remission occurs and how long it lasts. Overdoing it when you feel good is one of the fastest ways to cut a remission period short.
Again, this may be related to why it is so underdiagnosed, but the fact is that most doctors have to go to an office to read about chronic fatigue to know anything about it. Medical journals do not often discuss this. It can take time just to find a doctor who will even consider chronic fatigue as a possible diagnosis.
That doesn’t mean there is nothing you can do. There is just no officially recognized chronic fatigue syndrome treatment. Medications that are prescribed are often used to treat individual symptoms. While most doctors shy away from natural forms of care, there are a number of alternative therapies that people are considering.
This may be the most important thing for chronic fatigue syndrome patients to learn. You have to live at your own pace. Listen to your body so you know what it can and can’t handle. Sometimes you will be tempted to ignore what your body is saying because you really want to do something. The symptom flare-ups that follow will be a lesson to pay more attention next time. You can’t let someone else dictate the pace of your life. Chronic fatigue syndrome isn’t about being sedentary or lazy; it is about conserving energy to accomplish what you need to do and to be there for life’s most important events.
If you are not the sort of person who naturally speaks up for yourself, it’s something that you will gradually learn. You will learn when and how to say no when something is beyond what you can do. You will learn how to ask others for help, especially when it comes to health practitioners who may not understand what you are dealing with.
This is especially so if you have a history of head or neck injuries. But even if you do not, it is still possible that an upper cervical misalignment is playing a role in the condition. Such a misalignment can have far-reaching effects on the body by placing pressure on the brainstem or restricting the amount of blood and oxygen that is reaching the head. Therefore, correcting the misalignment may help provide some relief.
Before you say that chiropractors have not been able to help you in the past, consider a subspecialty called upper cervical chiropractic. This is a precise and gentle form of chiropractic (no popping or twisting of the spine) that targets the top two bones of the neck. The C1 and C2 protect the sensitive area where the brainstem meets the spinal cord, and they also help facilitate blood flow to the brain. As a result, patients often receive long-lasting benefits from having these vertebrae gently coaxed back into place.
If you are suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, this may be the natural help you’ve been searching for. To learn more, contact an upper cervical practice in your area. This website’s search feature can help you to find a doctor near you.
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The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
