Posted by KaraS on August 21, 2004, at 18:55:13
In reply to Re: Treatments for CFS or fibro, posted by dazedandconfused on August 21, 2004, at 17:56:13
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> > > > I think that in Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum's book, "From Fatigued to Fantastic", he has a section where he lists doctors who treat CFS and Fibromyalgia. (I don't know if you're familiar with his work or not. He does list a ton of medications and supplements to take.) I'm assuming that there would be at least one doctor listed in San Francisco. It might be a good place to start looking anyway.
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> > > My previous doctor said he had treated some of Teitelbaum's patients, and it took a long time to get them healthy again. I think he's in it for the money. He has seminars for health care providers that cost quite a bit.
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> > Really? That's quite disheartening even to a cynic like me. Yet the profits from many, if not all, of his supplements go to charity (or so he claims).
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> > I also wanted to add that I have symptoms that are a lot like yours. (The flu-like symptoms that come and go. One that you didn't mention that is prevalent for me is nausea.) I am convinced that my CFS is viral. There was a definite viral onset. I was diagnosed almost 20 years ago as well. The CFS comes and goes for me also. I get it if I'm particularly run down - usually when I haven't had enough sleep, don't take my vitamins or if I'm exposed to some other kind of viral illness. (It's as if my immune system jumps to protect me from that and the CFS virus exploits the opening.) It's no where near as severe or as frequent or as long lasting per episode as when I was diagnosed 20 years ago. It's just something I've learned to live with now. It was so bad 20 years ago that I thought my life was over. I guess it was for a while there.
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> > -Kara
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> Kara,
> I am so glad and encouraged to hear you are doing better. I am really concerned if I have CFS becuase if I do have it, its been misdiagnosed as depression for the last 2-3 years. My sickness / fatigue definitely began with a burnout - major depression, body just stopped. I don't remember a viral infection, but up until that time I got frequent sinus infections so that would not have been out of the ordinary for me.
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> If you don't mind my asking, were you depresed before, during, ater the CFS diagnosis? How were you diagnosed?
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> Thanks,
> dazed
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Dazed,
I would not say that I'm doing well now but I do feel one hundred times better in terms of the CFS flu-like symptoms. I had depression before, and now during, CFS. Of course they feed on each other and make each other worse (probably both physically and psychologically). The depression is really the reason that I got CFS to begin with. I was severely depressed and I decided to stop taking the 25 mg. of doxepin I was on (which allowed me to sleep) so that I wouldn't be groggy ever day until dinnertime. BIG MISTAKE!!! I stopped sleeping and got a horrible cold. Still I wasn't sleeping. Once the cold ended, I immediately got this flu (the CFS) which has never completely gone away. My body is better at keeping it at bay than it was 20 years ago but I know that it's there lying in wait for the minute my defenses are down.Forunately, I found a wonderful doctor in my HMO (believe that? after dealing with a couple of total idiots first though), and he diagnosed it, then sent me to a virologist (I think that's how you say a virus specialist) and he concurred. I had very obvious viral symptoms in the beginning like a throat sore throat that looked like it might be strep but was tested and turned out negative. I also had swollen glands, digestive problems, diahhrea etc. This doctor was incredible - so supportive at a time when others in the medical community weren't even accepting this as a real illness. If I hadn't found him then, I shudder to think what might have happened to me. (This doctor went to Harvard Medical School and in his spare time he donated his services for free to the homeless. Truly a saint!)
Unfortunately, the CFS, depression and other stressors have led to adrenal fatigue. I differentiate this from the CFS because there aren't the obvious viral symptoms involved with it. Actually, Larry is the one who mentioned adrenal fatigue to me recently and helped me to see the connection to my other health issues. Once I did some research, it all started making a lot of sense to me.
You mentioned above that you had a lot of sinus infections. I also developed a lot of sinus problems for a few years (after my CFS diagnosis though) but that seems to have gone away. Thank goodness. Again, these things are all so interrelated. The doctors often see multiple complaints and decide that you're a hypochondriac when the truth is that these conditions are all so interrelated. You get one of them and they can easily lead to so many other problems. (That's why I now favor holistic doctors for these types of issues. They're more apt to understand this on an intuitive level.) Anyway, fortunately, one can recognize all of this and proceed from there for treatment.
Hope that all helps.
Kara
poster:KaraS
thread:379959
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20040729/msgs/380540.html