Naturopath Perth: Homeopathy and Naturopathic Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), is a troubling and little understood complaint.

With the homeopathic approach there are many answers to CFS. They are always tailored to the individual patient and their spectrum of symptoms, because the underlying factors are many. 

As orthodox medicine has little to offer, and in many cases has refused to acknowledge its existence, people have consistently sought our help over 27 years in practice. We are very happy with our results and it is one of the most common things we treat.

At this Perth clinic, holistic treatment with the primary modality of homeopathy has considerable success in managing symptoms, increasing energy levels and hastening recovery. Naturopathic principles assist the process: a healthy lifestyle and diet is of vital importance in restoring the CFS patient to full health and we have established important foods to include in the diet and what is best to be avoided.

Depending on the severity, intensity and duration of illness, it is not unusual for the chronic fatigue patient to have somewhere between a thirty to fifty percent improvement in symptoms within the first month of treatment. Children respond more quickly, especially in post-viral cases, and most are completely back in a normal routine within a few short months.

Monthly visits allow us to fine-tune the progress. Those patients who have been profoundly ill with CFS/ME for many years may take a year or more to restore to complete health.  All we ask for is two or three months to show what we can do in your case, and we are confident that your patience will be rewarded. The intensity and severity of symptoms is a fair indicator of the time that will be needed.

We must stress that all cases are individually prescribed for on their full pattern of symptoms. There is no one medicine that works in all cases; but there will always be a remedy that works in your case, and it is our job to identify it and the series of remedies that will be needed over time. This is one condition where we find a number of remedies are usually needed to cover different aspects of the case.

That is the difference between a consultation with us and going to a health food store or pharmacy and asking for treatment for CFS over the counter. Of course there is no such thing. They may try to sell you something for some superficial symptom. But we will spend up to an hour in private consultation, employing our many years of training and experience to discover your solution, taking into account all your symptoms: mental, emotional and physical.  

So what is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? It is not simple tiredness or fatigue, and it must be differentiated from other causes, such as adrenal fatigue and anaemia.

Adrenal fatigue is the result of continual stress and the inability of the body to produce enough cortisol from the adrenal glands. Stress may play a part in triggering the problem in some individuals, but other factors are at play and the symptom pattern is significantly different from Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome.

Adrenal fatigue is far more common and affects most people at some stage of their life. As well as fatigue (especially on waking and in the mid-afternoon), symptoms include dizziness and vertigo,  blood sugar irregularities, hair loss, nausea, depression, sleeping problems, increase in weight around the waist, menstrual irregularities and many others. Unlike CFS, when the difficulties of life recede the patient often returns to a more normal state of health. This will not happen in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Another common cause of fatigue is iron deficiency anaemia. This occurs when the number of red blood cells or their haemoglobin is lower than normal, which deprives the body of oxygen. Symptoms include fatigue, pale skin, weakness, breathlessness, palpitations, drop in blood pressure when standing, headaches and difficulty concentrating. Depending on the type of anaemia, it can usually be remedied by fixing the cause.

CFS/ME is a more serious, chronic and debilitating condition than other causes of simple fatigue. The symptoms include:

• FATIGUE: The lack of energy experienced by the CFS patient is not normal fatigue that is improved with rest. The exhaustion, weakness, heaviness, light-headedness and sleepiness are not relieved by rest. Their ability to function is reduced by at least 50% and some are bedridden.

• POST-EXERTIONAL WEAKNESS AND/OR FATIGUE: The patient does not easily recover from physical or mental exhaustion. They experience muscle fatigue, weakness and loss of mental functioning. In the patient who also has fibromyalgia, muscle pain may be extreme. Recovery can take from a day or two to several weeks.

• SLEEP DYSFUNCTION: Difficulties with the onset of sleep, fragmented sleep, non-restorative sleep, vivid and disturbing dreams, and morning exhaustion are common. Many CFS patients also experience restless leg syndrome and sleep apnoea.

• PAIN: Inappropriate pain symptoms are sent to and from the brain and body. Generalised muscle pain, spasms, headaches and migraines are common. Many CFS/ME patients are also diagnosed with fibromyalgia and/or myofascial pain syndrome.

• NEUROLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE PROBLEMS: Investigations have show there are many abnormalities in the brain and nervous system of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This results in mental fog and confusion and difficulties in concentration and memory. They also are often hypersensitive to noise, bright lights, temperature changes and strong odours.

• IMMUNE DISORDER: Many cases of CFS appear to have been triggered by various infections including cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr (glandular fever) human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6). This suggests that immune dysfunction plays a large part in producing the symptoms of CFS/ME. Many patients have tender lymph nodes and recurrent sore throats.

• COMMON CO-EXISTING PROBLEMS: Although these may occur in patients without Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, CFS/ME patients may also have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), irritable bladder syndrome or interstitial cystitis (IC), fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome or restless leg syndrome.

Our approach to Chronic Fatigue syndrome at this Perth naturopathic clinic is multi-factorial, taking into account the unique pattern of symptoms of the patient.

Naturopathy is employed to modify the diet and lifestyle to detoxify and prepare the pathway. A high antioxidant and low GI diet with a healthy balance of fats is essential. But our primary therapy is homeopathy, which can assist the CFS/ME patient in many ways.

The classical approach is to establish the constitutional remedy; that is, the medicine that encompasses all aspects of the person: mental, emotional and physical. It is the remedy that covers the individual’s personality and psychology, past medical history and life experiences to the present, particularly those which could have triggered the complaint.  Symptoms of all areas of the physical body are included. All of these things need to be established in much more detail than in a medical diagnosis. It is the patient themself who needs to be treated, not the complaint as such, if health is to be restored.

The constitutional may need to be supported by other homeopathic approaches. Where specific viruses have been identified, a remedy specific to that virus, known as a nosode may be employed.  Some medicines that work specifically to restore normal function to the immune system may be prescribed, to support the more holistic action of the constitutional, along with remedies that aid mental functioning and others that assist sleeping patterns.

All together, these things help manage the debilitating condition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In our many years of experience we have seen most cases improve and have assisted many in restoring full health.    

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