Here is a taste of the book, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: a guide to the homeopathic treatment of CFS/M.E.
Here is the book’s Preface, and scroll down to see the Table of Contents.
PREFACE
With the wealth of available books discussing every possible factor relating to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, you may wonder why I chose to write another one. I have studied this illness in the course of my practice as a nutritionist and homeopath and have information that may help. And, as a fully recovered CFS sufferer (a rare beast), I have a great deal of experience to share, and enormous understanding and compassion for anyone suffering this scourge.
I do not pretend that this is the be-all or end-all book on CFS, with regard to research, orthodox treatment, etc. There are high-quality books that lay out the history, symptomatology, CDC definition and treatment protocols, and possible alternative treatments. I simply put forward an overview of these areas. No need to re-create the wheel! However, few of these books touch on homeopathy in any in-depth way. In my opinion, having practiced for over 20 years, and worked with many CFS sufferers, homoeopathy is vital, even essential, to the treatment plan.
I wrote this book out of a passionate desire to help others afflicted by this syndrome, which stems, of course, from own my painful personal experience: seven devastating years of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Here is a little of that story. I had completed my nutrition degree, in London, in 1986, from the Institute of Optimum Nutrition, and had practiced nutrition for some years, when I, of all people, came down with the dreaded Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, shortened to ME, as it is known in the UK. Imagine my shock, disbelief, and denial when I contracted what I thought was the flu, but never got better. It couldn’t happen to me, I was a nutritionist! I ate organic food, drank very little alcohol, I exercised, I took tons of nutritional supplements. I was happy, having just fallen in love and was planning to move to Los Angeles to be with my fiancé.
But, I had a history of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and I needed to be very careful with wheat and dairy, due to food intolerances to both. Add to that the occasional migraine headache, inherited from my mother, and I certainly wasn’t able to lay claim to perfect health.
Stress had a great deal to do with it, too. I was selling my home in London, moving to California, planning my wedding, buying a home in Santa Monica, and my father was dying of pancreatic cancer. I flew from London to Los Angeles 22 times in 24 months, as well as making several trips to Massachusetts to see Dad. By the time he passed away, I was an exhausted wreck. Nutritional adrenal support helped a bit, then failed. Other energy nutrients and herbs didn’t work. Rest didn’t work. Exercise was impossible. Sleep was elusive. I’d come down with the flu but didn’t stop doing all the things that needed to be done. I worked and traveled right through it, out of sheer will power, and from a sense, however misguided, that it was absolute necessity that I do so. The Super Woman diagnosis definitely applied. I thought I could do anything.
Over the next seven years, I tried every possible modality. First, of course, were the orthodox physicians. Three of them. I heard “You’re hyperventilating, breathe out of a brown paper bag and you’ll be fine.” This from an MD in England. “Try to get some more rest; here is a prescription for tranquilizers and sleeping pills.” This advice from another general MD, this one in Los Angeles.
And then there was the MD at Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles who spent a great deal of the appointment time trying to persuade me to schedule a mammogram. (What did that have to do with the price of tomatoes that day?) I was there, desperate for help, with symptoms of systemic exhaustion, inflammation, swollen glands, sore throat, shaky feeling, weakness, foggy mental processes such of lack of concentration, and inability to sleep – all the symptoms of CFS. When I researched his clinic, I found that he part owned the laboratory where would have sent me. Of course, this practitioner had nothing helpful to offer; he actually confessed he had no idea what was wrong with me. But he did present a large bill.
I also tried, oh, so many alternative practitioners, who, while more caring people, couldn’t seem to help, either. I would find a bit of improvement from herbs, a chiropractic adjustment, acupuncture, or whatever, but it would not hold, and I’d sink right back down. I sought out naturopaths, acupuncturists, Chinese herbalists, chiropractors, a DO, massage therapy. I even tried hypnotherapy, in case I had somehow brought this all on myself and therefore my mind could undo it. I felt guilty contemplating that I had somehow done this to myself. But nothing I tried was of much use, certainly nothing lasting. I spent a fortune, was unable to work at the time, and was terrified. And very depressed about it.
The nutshell: years of bed-ridden misery. Sometimes I couldn’t walk across the room unaided. I couldn’t find the energy to answer the telephone. I couldn’t sleep, so I never felt better in the morning. My first waking thought was “Oh my God, another day. How on earth do I get through it?” There was no reprieve from the never-ending headaches, body and muscle aches, and the inexplicable, all-consuming fatigue. Imagine you flew from L.A. to Bangkok (16 hours or so), with the flu, and a hangover, and then add the sensation that you’ve drunk five cups of coffee so you can’t sleep. When you do sleep, it is a light, floating, semi-sleep full of horrible dreams, and you wake up over and over and over again. So the nights go on forever, but you feel no better in the morning. You just hurt all over like someone has hit you with a baseball bat about 40 times, and you honestly wish you were dead. That’s Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
It truly felt like a lifetime, these years of suffering, and thoughts of suicide haunted me. I know it was cowardice that prevented it, not any sense of hope. That was long gone.
Then I tried homeopathy – goodness knows why I did not find it sooner. A Los Angeles-based homeopath/Chinese herbalist recommended I take a nosode of Coxsackie B4 virus. (I know this may not mean much to you at this point – more later!) I took three doses over 24 hours and then promptly experienced a full-blown, terrifying relapse. Any tenuous balance or coping I was holding on to vanished with this remedy. I fell into bed – boy, did it ever make me sick! I was much worse, for about a week and a half as if I had the full-blown flu. It scared me, I can tell you.
But then it was over. At about the ten-day mark, I just woke up. Everything felt different. There was no pain, no foggy feeling in the head, much less exhaustion, no swollen glands, no sore throat, no sore muscle points. I was still tired, weak, still had some mild IBS and gut problems, and the occasional inherited tendency to migraines that I had experienced for years before the CFS. But the majority of the symptoms were gone, and I was a consistent 80-85% better. No relapse. It took a while to clean up the gut, restore full adrenal function, and I was allergic to every food under the sun, it seemed, by this time.
There was more to do to be 100%. But, I felt like the black and white movie of my life had suddenly been re-mastered in gorgeous color. Like the curtains were raised. Like everything was in focus again. The fog and misery and aches and pains never returned. I was terrified that they might, for the next few years, but they never did.
Our belief, as homeopaths, is that in this case, my immune system had been deeply challenged by the remedy of this virus (perhaps the virus of the original flu I had contracted seven years previously) and had kicked it out at last. The truth is, no one in the world of homeopathy knows exactly how this works, but that is my best guess.
I have since helped many people with CFS to recover some or most of their health with a remedy similar to Coxsackie. It might be another virus, such as Influenza or Cytomegalovirus, or even the Mononucleosis EBV virus. This is not to say that I think everyone with CFS will recover this dramatically with the use of a viral nosode, but it certainly can be a part of the picture needing to be addressed. Or, at least viral involvement must be eliminated as a cause.
That is a little of my story. I have been fully recovered now for over 20 years. I exercise, garden, hike, and ride my bicycle. I am back to normal, with a lingering mild problem with food allergies that I work on. Homeopathic desensitization techniques help, but have not completely eliminated the problem. And of course, I still have the occasional mild migraine. I have undergone constitutional treatment as well, and can honestly say I am healthier now than at any time of my life.
However, not a day passes that I don’t feel truly blessed to have survived those dreadful years. When I get a cold or an occasional stress headache, I tell myself, “It’s only a cold, it’s not CFS,” or “It’s only a headache, it’s not CFS.” So it feels like nothing at all. Nothing could be that bad again, so this rebirth is just wonderful, miraculous fun. A true gift!
I look at things differently now, I suppose not unlike those who approach death, yet escape. I am truly grateful that I didn’t have the courage, all those years, to do the unthinkable. I am truly grateful that I am still here to enjoy my life, and that I might be able to help others who are lost and in pain.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE 9
INTRODUCTION 16
OVERVIEW 21
CFS: The CDC Definition 22
The CFS effect on lives 25
CFS as a legitimate illness 26
A Few Facts and Figures 28
ORTHODOX TREATMENT 39
THE HOLISTIC APPROACH: OVERVIEW 44
HOMEOPATHY & CFS 48
Homeopathy: 49
Description and Background 49
Classical Homeopathy & Homotoxicology 55
Drainage and Support 61
EAV / Voll Testing 64
Controversy 67
Complex Homeopathy 69
Phases Of Illness 71
Viral or Bacterial Nosode Treatment 75
Bowel Nosodes 78
Candida Albicans and Other Yeasts 80
Focus 83
Head Foci 86
Mercury fillings 86
Root Canals 89
Other Head Foci 91
Abdominal foci 92
Parasites 93
Treatment of Allergies 99
Heavy Metal Toxicity 101
Sleep Disorders 103
Muscle Pain 104
CONSTITUTIONAL OR CLASSICAL HOMEOPATHY 107
Repertorization 108
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Remedies 110
HOMEOPATHIC RESEARCH: CFS 124
NUTRITIONAL AND HERBAL SUPPORT 132
Nutrition and Diet 132
Magnesium 134
Malic Acid 136
Krebs Cycle Nutrients 137
Vitamin C 137
Trace Minerals (Chromium and Manganese) 138
Essential Fatty Acids 140
Bioflavinoids 140
Amino Acids (Phenylalanine and Tyrosine) 141
NADH 141
Ginseng 142
Handling the Case 142
SUMMARY 144
APPENDIX: INFORMATION & RESOURCES 146
Theories and Research 146
Viruses 147
Vagus Nerve Infection Hypothesis (VNIH) 153
Autoimmunity 156
A New Infectious Agent? 159
Mycoplasmas 159
Hypotension 163
Psychological Factors 164
Stress Factor 167
Endocrinology and CNS Involvement 171
Mitochondrial Dysfunction 176
Environmental Toxins 178
CFS, Mult. Chem. Sensitivity, & Fibromyalgia 182
The Gut Factor 185
Multi-Factorial Causes 191
Rituximab Trials 193
Exercise 196
RESOURCES 200
Homeopathic remedies 200
Useful Websites 201
CFS Treatment Centers and Clinics 202
CFS/M.E. Associations: 202
Training 202
BIBLIOGRAPHY 204
Articles or Studies 204
Books 210
RECOMMENDED READING 214
Sources for Homeopathic Books 215
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 217