| Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a widely misunderstood illness. It
has been difficult to diagnose and difficult to detect by
Western medical technology. Sometimes a blood test for Epstein
Barr Virus can help identify it, but the most identifiable
features of the illness are listed below, plus the cyclical
nature of the illness. It is characterized by symptoms such as
extreme fatigue, dizziness, muscle spasms, insomnia, heart
palpitations, joint pain, tender lymph nodes, difficulty
concentrating, poor memory, ringing of the ears, shortness of
breath, depression sometimes, fever and chills, etc.
Most certainly, it
is an immune system disorder. Recent discoveries utilizing
electron microscopy have shown that the red blood cells of
patients with CFS have a characteristic rigid cell membrane,
compared to patients without the illness. When it is
recognized and diagnosed, Western medicine sometimes uses
Acyclovir, and anti-depressant s
to treat the disease.
However, Chinese
Medicine looks at CFS in a very wholistic and individualistic
way. CFS in terms of Chinese Traditional Medicine is usually
characterized by spleen and kidney meridian deficiency, with
liver meridian congestion. There may also be lung chi
deficiency, kidney and heart yin and yang deficiency. The
precise nature or the patient's diagnosis can be ascertained
by taking their 12 pulses which correspond to the 12 meridians
of the body. Some patients may have more kidney or spleen
deficiency, or more liver congestion than other patients. It
is very important to treat patients very specifically for
their particular diagnosis.
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For
example, as the kidney and spleen energy is built up with
acupuncture and herbs, the patient may be able to have a type
of therapy which decongests the liver. In addition, each
particular patient with CFS may have traditional herbal
formulas which center more on spleen, liver or kidney meridian
problems. As the patient's immune system and energy is built
up, his/her system may be able to absorb nutritional therapies
such as fatty acids, vitamins and microflora which normalize
the intestine, and further builds up the immune system. |
Because
CFS is an immune disorder, most CFS patients also have some
type of food, environmental and chemical allergies. Because
Chinese Medicine works on the root cause of the patient's
systemic problem, these allergic disorders gradually get
significantly better also.
Many people with CFS
who go untreated, may have their associated symptoms for
several years. However, it is possible to recover from this
debilitating illness with Chinese and Wholistic Medicine.
After recovery patients can resume their normal work and life,
provided they keep their stress level down, exercise and
maintain a healthy diet.
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