Is CFS a "real" disease?
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Actually Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome isn't a real disease as such, but rather an umbrella diagnosis. Thats not to say that people who claim to have Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome are "faking it" - far from it. Rather that there are several chronic diseases whose main symptom is fatigue.
The trick with Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome is to move out of the general catch-all diagnosis and to find a specific underlying medical reason for your fatigue - i.e. a specific diagnosis.
The label of CFS only tells you what your main symptom is, not what is causing your fatigue or how to cure it.
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All Johnny Vegas's Answers
CFS is a name, a lable given to people having a specific set of symptoms.
If you compare Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome with Infuenza, there is a difference. We know that you can't get Infuenza without Infuenza virus, but we don't have such "simple" explanation for CFS.
I believe that Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome is just a set of symptoms telling a person that his/her body has been overloaded with toxins. If you choose to accept this kind of diagnosis, you will be more likely to look for the real cause and find the real cure.
It could be chronic mercury poisoning from Amalgam filings. It could be parasites. It could be congested liver. It could be chronic intoxication caused by vaccinations. It could be exposure to pesticides. It could be diet. It could be black mold. It could candidiasis. It could be nutritional deficiency. It could be an infection.
It could be all or just some of the above.
Whatever it is, there is a way to find out.
In order to cure yourself, you will have to eiminate unalikely causes, and then work on those causes that relate to you.
Read next pages, just to understand why doctors have problems finding the cause.
Why lab tests almost always come back negative in mercury toxic people? Here are some citations of interest:
Levine P; et al. "CFS: Current Concepts" (proceedings of the Oct. 1992 Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome medical conference), Vol. 18 Suppl. 1, January 1994, Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Klimas N; Salvato F; Morgan R; Fletcher M; "Immunologic abnormalities in chronic fatigue syndrome". J of Clinical Microbiology 28:1403-1410 (June 90) [Study showing that NK cells (a kind of immune cell) malfunction in CFS patients; other abnormalities]
Buchwald D; Komaroff A; Cheney P; et al.; "A chronic illness characterized by fatigue, neurologic and immunologic disorders and HHV-6 infection". Ann Int Med 116:103-112 (Jan 1992) [Study showing many CFS patients have HHV-6 infections]
Demitrack M; Dale J; Straus S; et al.; "Evidence for Impaired Activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". J of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 73:1224-34 (Dec 1991) [shows chemical abnormalities in the brains of CFS patients]
Straus S; Strober W; Dale J; Fritz S; Gould B; "Lymphocyte Phenotype and Function in the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". J of Clinical Immunology 13:30-40 (Jan 93) [Study showing T4 cell (a type of immune cell) abnormalities in CFS patients]
Lusso P; Malnati M; Garzino-Demo; Crowley; Long; Gallo; "Infection of natural killer cells by human herpesvirus 6". Nature 362:458-462 (April 1 1993) [HHV-6 -- previously found in CFS patients -- now shown to kill NK cells (a type of immune cell) -- a small but important advance in research]
Schwartz R, Komaroff A, Garada B, Gleit M, Doolittle T, Bates D, Vasile R, Holman B. "SPECT Imaging of the Brain: Comparison of Findings in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, AIDS Dementia Complex, and Major Unipolar Depression" AJR 1994:162:943-951.
Schwartz R, Garada B, Komaroff A, Tice H, Gleit M, Jolesz F, Holman B. "Detection of Intercranial Abnormalities in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Comparison of MR Imaging and SPECT" AJR 1994:162:935-941.
Rowe, P; Bou-Holaigah, I; Kan, J; Calkins, H;. "Is Neurally Mediated Hypotension an Unrecognized Cause of Chronic Fatigue?". Lancet 345:623-624 (March 11, 1995).
Bou-Holaigah, I; Rowe, P; Kan, J; Calkins, H. "The Relationship Between Neurally Mediated Hypotension and the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". JAMA, Sept. 27, 1995 274:12:961-7.
Suhadolnik RJ, Peterson DL, O'Brien K, Cheney PR, et al. Biochemical Evidence for a Novel Low Molecular Weight 2-5A-Dependent RNase L in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research, July 1997, 17:377-385.
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