Health & ME/CFS

We Know the Enemy, or ME/CFS/FMS Explained Again.

Wee little note – this is out of date. I started this blog in 2010, for my family for the most part. To help them understand my illness, and help me work out my thoughts on it and also other matters. Since 2010 I’ve learned a lot of things about the nature of my illness, which is not always reflected in posts like this. But I am bedbound, and do not have the energy to update this. So, this is what I thought, a decade ago….

My mother said to me the other day that my brother can’t seem to wrap his mind around the concept that I’m really sick and there’s really very little that can be done about it. He seems to still think that “if I only went to better doctors or the right hospital, they could figure out what was wrong, and could fix it and I’d get well”. He has said the same thing to me. I know he means well, but he doesn’t seem to understand some things.

We know what is wrong with me. I have (and have had for over two decades) a diagnosis that is shared with at least one million other people in the US, with an estimated additional 3 million who have it but have yet to find a doctor who can diagnose it. It is poorly understood, although there is more research being done, worldwide. We learn a little bit more, get a few more pieces to the puzzle, every year.

Going to see another doctor would not change anything. I’ve had more than a second opinion – there have been thirds & fourths & even fifth opinions. There have been specialists from every specialty there is to look at my case & weigh in, and everyone is in agreement.

I have been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS, or alternately, ME – Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or ME/CFS), a complicated neuro-immune disease. I also have Fibromyalgia (FMS), and chronic Lyme Disease, diseases that commonly overlap with ME/CFS.

In July of this year, a group of internationally recognized experts came together to develop a new International Consensus Criteria (ICC) for ME/CFS, which was published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. I’m attaching it here in case you’d like to read it – this is the ICC.

First, a note from the ICC about the name issue:

The label “chronic fatigue syndrome” (CFS) has persisted for many years because of lack of knowledge of the etiological agents and of the disease process. In view of more recent research and clinical experience that strongly point to widespread inflammation and multisystemic neuropathology, it is more appropriate and correct to use the term “myalgic encephalomyelitis”(ME) because it indicates an underlying pathophysiology. It is also consistent with the neurological classification of ME in the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD G93.3).

Here’s a taste of what they have to say about it:

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also referred to in the literature as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), is a complex disease involving profound dysregulation of the central nervous system (CNS)  and immune system, dysfunction of cellular energy metabolism and ion transport, and cardiovascular abnormalities. The underlying pathophysiology produces measurable abnormalities in physical and cognitive function and provides a basis for understanding the symptomology.

I more than meet the ICC for ME, which require the patient to have symptoms from several categories, and every possible other cause of my illness has been tested for repeatedly. This is what is wrong, and why I’m still sick & getting sicker all the time. ME/CFS is a progressive illness.

I have seen:

  • Three Primary Care Providers (at least)
  • Two Rheumatologists plus the Rheumatology Department at Ohio University Medical School
  • An Internal Medicine Specialist
  • An Infectious Disease Specialist
  • An Endocrinologist
  • Two Gastrointestinal Specialists
  • Two Neurologists
  • A Cardiologist
  • An Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist
  • And one literally world-renowned Pain Management Specialist

I have had every test, every lab (and as the Labcorp tech put it the other day, my doctor orders tests that don’t exist – they do, but only thru speciality labs), CT’s, MRI’s, EEG’s,  EKG’s, a sleep study, cardiac studies (at none other than NIH), and another cardiac study at Johns Hopkins.

I have over 1,000 pages of medical records & lab results, all of which point to my having as “classic” a case of ME/CFS, FMS, and chronic Lyme, as a person can have. As a result of those, I also have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Migraines, Hypothyroidism, Neurally Mediated Hypotension, Myofascial Pain Syndrome, and Inflammatory Reactive Arthritis.

In other words, I am a “typical” late stage ME/CFS patient.

It is believed there may be a number of different triggers for ME/CFS, which set off a chain of events in the body, similar to a cascading system failure in a computer. Once started, it’s difficult to stop. Very few people recover completely, and if they do, it’s usually within the first few years.

This has also been called “Post Viral Syndrome.” It is fairly common in patients recovering from mono, which is caused by Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) – they simply never get over it. Having ME/CFS is like having a slowly worsening case of mono that never ends, and it expands to affect multiple body systems. Most ME/CFS patients have very high levels of antibodies to infections such as EBV and members of the herpes family, and I am typical in that regard – my EBV, HHV-2, HHV-6, Human Parvovirus B-19, and others are off the charts.

My first diagnoses with “CFS/FMS” was almost 20 years ago. At the time, the illness was fairly mild, relapsing & remitting episodes of fatigue, severe headaches which lasted days & I initially attributed to recurrent sinus infections, and some sleep issues. I had good weeks & bad weeks, and during the good weeks, it didn’t really seem like much was wrong. I “pushed through” the bad weeks because I had to – something most patients do, but unfortunately for us, those who push through the longest & the hardest are the ones who wind up the sickest.

In late 1998, I seemed to get the flu, except it never left. The headaches were constant, and after three rounds of antibiotics without improvement, with incapacitating exhaustion, I and my doctors realized that something was wrong beyond sinus infections. That is when the formal diagnosis of “CFS/FMS” first shows up in my medical records.

As the years have passed, it has slowly gotten worse. We have tried (and are still trying) every medication possible, as well as alternative therapies. I follow the clinical trials that are ongoing, and my doctor is more than willing to give me my own trial of medications that might help. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t.

I worked too long. I should have stopped in 2004, when my rheumatologist told me to. But I’d just bought this house, and had a thriving business, so with the “help” of stimulant medications, I pushed onward, pushed myself beyond what you would believe, to work a few more years. But we know now that it’s the patients who push the hardest who get hit the hardest, who go downhill the quickest.

Now, I am primarily housebound, if not bedbound. Going out at all is very hard.

I have incredible exhaustion which is beyond your wildest nightmares, and which gets worse after any exertion, whether physical or mental, and can be worse for days, weeks, months, etc. This has it’s own name, and is one of the defining symptoms of ME/CFS: Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM).

As is typical, I have severe headaches, which are accompanied by intense sensitivity to light & sound. There are some patients in whom this gets so bad that they must move to an isolated area, and spend their lives in silence & the dark, not even able to speak above a whisper.

I have pain, in so many places, a generalized ache all over my body, but also knots in the muscles and the fascia (the covering of the muscles), and also osteochondroitis (inflammation & pain in the spaces between my ribs & breastbone). The pain is not helped by tylenol or advil, it takes the strong stuff – opiates – to dent it at all. There is never a time without pain. It’s a matter of degrees.

I have constant gut issues, commonly called Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but it goes beyond that. I have Leaky Gut Syndrome, where particles from food I eat leaks into the bloodstream. Since it doesn’t belong there, my body develops antibodies & sensitivities to it. It has reduced the number of foods I can eat tremendously, and what I do eat often causes bloating & cramps.

There is more, but I don’t think I need to go into it any further. Hopefully, you are finally getting the idea that it’s not a matter of finding the right doctor who will magically get me well.

I will continue to watch the clinical trials that are ongoing, and continue to hope that there will be a breakthru. I’ll also continue to try the complementary therapies my rheumatologist thinks might help.

But seeing another doctor, getting another opinion, that’s really just not needed. Not at all. And besides, I can’t travel anymore. That’s out of reach. I’m glad we traveled and did cruises as long as I was able to.  I will forever cherish the memories of Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean, and the trip to the UK & Wales I did right before it got severe.

We know the enemy, we know it’s many names – CFS, ME, FMS, Lyme.

But what no one, anywhere, knows is how to cure it.

Maybe, one day, they will.

24 thoughts on “We Know the Enemy, or ME/CFS/FMS Explained Again.”

  1. Thank you Ash, this is a great post. I’m still sorry, even though it has been a long time since we’ve been talking now, that you and I, and so many others, have this illness(es). We sure need people to keep on writing though, like you’re doing, so that those who can’t wrap their minds around the concept of CFS/ME/Fibromyalgia as being what it is, which includes what we don’t know yet, may better accept us as we are.

    At least your brother believes a doctor could help you. Mine seems to think that any illness I have, of any kind, is a result of something I think or believe. He blamed my depression on me being concerned about the earth. It runs in my family like blue eyes. He blamed my son’s illness on me raising him in a liberal town. When I was nearly dying before treatment with RMSF, none of my siblings noticed. I don’t think anyone of them has ever said: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. (Now, if they sneak peaks at my blog, or read my comments, I’m sorry. I love ’em, but the truth is so).

    Bravo to you for another fine blog post!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Michelle! The sad truth is that almost every patient has multiple family members who just don’t get it, that this is a real illness, and that we’re not just lazy or depressed, and that there is very little that can be done to help. Almost every friend of mine with ME or FMS has become alienated from some or even all of their family members over it. It’s in part because it’s such an “invisible illness” – you don’t look sick, so you must not be. It’s only the caregivers who seem to be able to see the tiredness creeping into your eyes, or notices the slight weaving in your walk that signals the “crash” is coming, or notices the increase in the depth of the crease in your forehead that signals the increase in headache pain. You really have to either have this/these illnesses, or live with someone who does, to see the toll it takes.
      All we as patients can do is keep trying to educate our families & friends, sharing not only our own writings but also news articles that explore how it’s affecting someone. There were a number of good articles about Laura Hillibrand (sp?) that helped spread the message.
      At least we have this wonderful online community of friends who share the same pain, the same overwhelming exhaustion, and can be there to support & encourage each other. I don’t know what i’d do without the caring friends I’ve made online.
      Much love to you, and hopes that maybe someday your brother will understand just a little (or a lot) better. Gentle hugs!

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  2. Ash some people will never understand.As you know there is an old Native Americian saying Paraphrased .Unless you walked a mile in my shoes dont critize.Might be blunt but it makes people stop to think.

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    1. Yes, I’m familiar with that saying. I think the difficulty that any of us with the so-called “invisible illnesses” have is that if you don’t look sick, people don’t believe you really are. I don’t see my brother often, and he gets a lot of info relayed thru my mom, so that’s also added to the confusion.
      He did email me last night that he read this blog post as requested, and he understands a lot better now, which was the goal, so I’m happy with the outcome!

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  3. Wow, thank you all. I’ve been trying to explain this illness to my brother for many years, and finally decided I needed to stop telling him quite so much about how it feels, and a bit more in the “this is *really* a known illness” department. I greatly appreciate your validation & sharing, just as I value the patient community online, esp on facebook. It’s helped a lot to get to know others as sick or even more sick than myself, considering how isolating this illness is. *gentle hugs* to all – Ash

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  4. Ash, thank you! I needed this. I have had the same health issues for 55 yrs. & have been ill since childhood. I do believe I have Lyme that hasn’t been diagnosed because I had a tick in my scalp when all of my health issues started. Theory has it that FMS/CFIDS truly IS Lyme, & that you don’t need to be bitten by a tick to get it. It is carried in the blood & can be born with it. Anyway, just been dealing with major fatigue & the fact of feeling alone with this, despite knowing better. Like you, I progress yrly. & hard to deal with it emotionally. Have you tried the Guai. Protocol from Dr. R. Paul St.Amand? He wrote the bk. What Your Dr. May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia, with Claudia Craig Marek. I have friends who have followed this protocol & have regained their lives back with it. I have the bk. & need to apply myself.

    Just wanted to share this info to see if you’ve tried it or anything else like the Marshall Protocol? There are alternative therapies out there, but without a dr. guiding me, I am being very cautious about trying anything that can be dangerous, like long term anti-biotics etc. etc. Even mixing a certain bleach with water that I have read about to kill all that ails us. I thank you again, because I read my life story in yours. I wish you comfort however you can find it with this terrible condition. My best to you. Dale.

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    1. Wow, Dale, that’s so incredibly long to be dealing with this! You must be very strong hearted to keep going on.
      I have heard from many who got ME/CFS after getting Lyme, but there was a study that came out, last summer I think, where they tested the spinal fluid of people with chronic Lyme, CFS, and controls (healthy). They found foreign proteins in the spinal fluid of chronic Lyme patients, a different bunch in the CFS patients, and then the patients with both CFS & chronic Lyme had all the foreign proteins (I think it was proteins…). So they are definitely different, but you can have both.
      I have a good LLMD who is very into alternative and complementary treatments. She put me on long term oral antibiotics, then when I got a positive Lyme test back, I did the 1 year of IV antibiotics daily. However, I failed the treatment – got sicker when I was supposed to get better. She thinks now {as she puts it, she’s alwaays learning} that I was too toxic & have parasites from having lived 3 years without running water – liver flukes & more – and from organic farming.
      During the time I had the PICC line & was doing the IV antibiotics I did get infusions from her of the protocal nutrients. Not a ton of them since insurance wouldn’t cover them.
      I’ve heard of the guai protocal & knew someone who did it. I’ve read a lot about it. I tend to think that’s better for you in the early years, but who knows? I just got really tired of trying this & trying that & never getting anywhere.
      I’ve been doing the Gerson therapy’s coffee enemas for detoxing for a year, and that has definitely helped the GI issues a LOT! I thought my LLMD had lost her mind when she suggested it, but then I read the book.
      About to start an herbal parasite regimen followed by rx’s for parasites. Tested positive for cysticcirrchosis (gross!).

      I’m glad my writing touched you & helped you feel not quite so alone. There’s a strong patient community online on Facebook. I’m there at facebook.com/wolfdreams if you’d like to connect. You will be my new inspiration as I don’t know anyone else who’s had this crap so long!
      Sending gentle hugs & blessings!
      Ash

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  5. Thank you for an excellent rendering of the symptoms and problems of this disease. I recently saw Dr. Jamie Deckoff-Jones, and while it is not a cure, I got real help for my real problems from someone who really knows what they are because she has them, too. I’ve gotten a lot of relief from my symptoms and have been able to reduce my medication intake by 50%. And we’ve only just gotten started. The two biggest – oxygen at 10L two times a day for an hour through a non-rebreather mask and neurofeedback. I am now sleeping again at night and my mood is much improved. I hope to be healing up my stomach using the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

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    1. Hi Patricia, and thank you for reading & commenting!
      I follow Jamie’s blog and have wished that I could consult with her, but money is a huge issue. I’ve been unable to work since I had to close my business in 2006, and am still fighting for disability.

      I have an excellent PCP who knows a lot about ME/CFS, and is learning more as we work in collaboration – for instance, I read about Dr Montoya’s study with Valcyte, and brought my doc the info & she agreed to start me on it. That’s helped some with the post exertional malaise, but the steady downward spiral continues, albeit slowly. Best of all is she is covered by my insurance, and sees me monthly.

      My rheumatologist is my LLMD, and is very well versed in all things ME/CFS/Lyme as her practice is centered around it. She’s starting me on a protocal for parasites & toxins, as she thinks those are why I “failed” a year with a PICC line for IV antibiotics for the Lyme. She is very much into all things alternative & complimentary, and I’ll ask her about the oxygen – i’d read about that on Jamie’s blog. My doc is pretty good – she even has a cameo in “Under Our Skin,” the film about Lyme.

      I had not heard of that diet, and started reading up on it today. I had given a start to a very similar diet, the GAPS diet, a month or so ago. They seem very much to take the same approach and both have been around a long time.

      You might check into the Gerson Therapy while you’re working on your gut – it’s also been around for over 50 years, and uses coffee enemas to detox you. It’s not nearly as crazy as it sounds, and grounded in science. I had to read the whole book to convince myself to do it, but it’s been over a year now & really has helped tremendously.

      I’m glad you’re getting benefit from your care under Dr Jamie – maybe one day I can see her, too. Wishing you all the best!

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    2. Hi for your stomach issues you can buy a book from the Royal Prince Alfred Elimination Diet and their receipe book called Friendly Foods – about $80. You follow the diet protocol etc in order to determine what you are intolerant too. In my daughters case she has severe M.E. and we found that she is intolerant to salicilyates – it’s not a cure for the M.E. but if she sticks to the low chemical foods she doesn’t have gastric reflux or stomach pain.

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      1. Thank you, Adi, I’ll look into that. I’ve done elimination diets looking for the culprits, and gluten & dairy are off limits, and there’s a question mark about oats & soy. I keep getting new things I’m intolerant of, so it’s a struggle to find anything to eat some days. I think that’s from the leaky gut syndrome.
        There are two diets that are supposed to help actually heal leaky gut, the GAPS diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I’m thinking of giving them a shot.
        Thank you for commenting & reading my blog – I appreciate it! Best of luck to you & your daughter ~
        Ash

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  6. Hi Ash! Wow! What a powerful post. I have been there and felt just like you. Have you ever considered that maybe your doctors are useless and you need to research this for yourself? I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia but after reading Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum’s book, “From Fatigued to Fantastic”; I learned that the symptoms of fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism are identical. Even though I had a partial thyroidectomy previously, no one told me that this could cause the other half of my thyroid to fail. What if you tried some NDT (Natural Dessicated Thyroid) hormone and it made you feel better? It certainly gave me my life back. You can order it online. Try googling it. Also, have you considered LDN (Low Dose Naltroxene)? It is being used to improve many auto-immune diseases. It has it’s own website at http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/. My philosophy now is that you have to be your own health advocate. You cannot depend on the medical establishment to make you well. I hope you find your way back to good health again. I think it is possible.

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    1. Hi Pat! Nice to meet you!
      Yes, most of the doctors I’ve seen have been pretty useless. But I have two who are definitely “keepers!”
      I’ve written a blog post on my philosophy about doctors & needing to be active in researching:
      https://wolfdreams.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/ashs-advice-part-2/

      I’ve read the book you mentioned a long time ago, and some of the ideas expressed were helpful, but I’m a lot more complicated than that. My hypothyroidism is “well treated” I guess you would say – my TSH is very suppressed by the mainstream medical opinion, but my Free/Total T3 & T4 are in the high-normal range, and I take both synthroid & cytomel. I’ve also taken a lot of the dessicated thyroid over the years but never found it to make much of a difference.

      The LDN has caught my eye lately and is something I’ve considered giving a trial run. Right now we’re just starting a parasite & toxin protocal, and I don’t like to make too many changes at once.

      I’ve been very surprised at how many people related to this blog post, as it’s really something I wrote for my brother, trying to get him to understand what I’ve been telling him for years. I’m glad you liked it, and thank you for commenting!

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  7. Good to meet you Ash. One of my clients sent this to me. I am a physician by training- had my own moderate case of this since I caught Mono as a freshman in college. I slept through medical school-couldn’t stay awake more than 5-10 min. in any class. I kept passing all the tests so I figured God must want me there. I never did a full residency because I didn’t have the stamina. Practiced outpatient adult allopathic medicine for 13 years (half time) before letting it go. Long story- short story is that I found meditation and alternative medicine to be very powerful and it wasn’t supported by my work place. Plus, I didn’t have the stamina to work even part time, finish raising my children, and take care of myself, let alone continue my study of alternative therapies.
    I have symptoms of the disorder very rarely now as long as I don’t push myself. I have few clients and I work with a combination of subtle energy medicine and holistic counseling and functional medicine consultation. Some of the energy work has been very powerful for me personally (which is why I use it) and I encourage you to look for different practitioners and to try different things. Some day I hope to do a little research in it, and the efficacy in this illness and others. But the condition, as you know, requires that we pace ourselves. So God only knows when and if this research will be done.
    I’m sure there are environmental influences on this condition with all the EMF and toxins that keep increasing. Some of us are very sensitive. And there is more.
    The plus for this condition for me has been to guide my life into a very spiritually aligned place. Blessings on your journey and ability to find your healing power, even in this crazy, and for many of us, toxic environmental soup in which we live.
    All the best, Dr. Harriet Cooke

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    1. Thank you for your wonderful comments, Dr Cooke. What a ride you’ve had, but it sounds like you’ve found the path you were most needed on! I’m a big fan of energy work, having been the channel thru which it flowed to several of my animals in the Before Times (when I was a horse riding organic farmer), and truly been party to miracles.
      I am also very spiritual, where my path is shamanic journeying, and have seen ways in which my practice has become much deeper because of my illness. Everything happens for a reason, I think.
      I hope that one day you are able to do the research you mentioned. I have a close friend who is in a Buddhist chaplaincy program, and getting her phd. She is doing research into teaching Buddhist Tonglen practice in patients, and her first small trial went well, with a bigger one coming in the Spring.
      Thank you for commenting – it means a lot to me, really, as I’ve never had a blog post to get this kind of attention. Maybe this will be the encouragement I need to write that book everyone’s been trying to get me to write!
      Take care,
      Ash

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  8. Hey Ash,

    You have a very fantastic site. I really enjoyed reading it. Please keep up the fantastic work. I have mentioned my facebook friends to surf this website without much delay. Also, you are a very talented blogger. I have joined your feed and sit up for seeking more of your excellent information. Additionally, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks! Thanks a lot. Ash.

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  9. Ash, thank you for your sweet response. Well, I guess I am living proof that this really doesn’t kill us, although, wellllll, lol, no more needs to be said about how we feel at times & the desperation we feel. I figured if anyone had tried many alternative therapies, it would be you.

    I hope you have much success with your new treatments! Perhaps this will finally be an answer. I have never actually been seen by anyone who understands this condition, other than being diagosed by a Communicable Disease Specialist/Internist who shortly thereafter got me on my way towards disability at 46 y/o. I truly hope you will get it soon so that you can hopefully be able to afford other modalities if necessary. This all just seems so expensive after trying any & all herbs/vits/minerals suggested, all to no avail. What we need is not to keep putting band-aides on these conditions, but to find cures, so here’s to a new yr. & hopefully finding more comfort for each & every one of us.

    I will be researching some things you’ve mentioned that I’ve never heard of before. I know quite a few who have had success many yrs. after being ill following the Guai Protocol, so since I have the bk., probably will try that & know that getting junk food & sugar out of my life is important no matter what. I am dealing with. It has all certainly become comfort food to me having to deal with this energy crisis, & have been dealing with Metabolic Syndrome on top of the rest, so “being good” is something I will have to do once again & get some wt. off. That has been another issue of being overwt. & being unable to get the wt. off like a “normal” person. All the best to you, & to everyone else sharing our frustrations. I enjoyed reading all the posts. Thank you! Hugs, Dale

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    1. You’re so sweet, Dale! I hope that perhaps some day you can find one of the few docs out there who really “get it” and perhaps offer something more than the band-aid approach. But lacking that, I’m confident you will keep looking into the studies & research & will one day hit on the combination that works for you. As you said, it gets so expensive with all the supplements & stuff. I am working on a new supplement order now. I like vitacost.com as they seem to have great prices.
      On the weight issue, I was overweight, fluctuating between 150 & 200# after developing hypothyroidism, and even though it was well-treated, struggled to stay in the 150 – 160# range. But I started losing weight, just 4 or so pounds a month, about a year and a half ago. I’m not at about 120, after going as low as 114. It’s not been healthy weight loss – lots of muscle mass lost, too. That’s why my doc thinks there’s parasites at play, and after living rough, and caring for just about every farm animal imaginable, I’ve had lots of opportunities for exposure. My doc says she’s finding the patients with Lyme who don’t respond to the iv antibiotics are usually ones with parasites & a toxic load. Makes sense.
      Here’s another thought for you – I’m 48, only 2 years older than you, and I’ve noticed that the vast majority of ME/CFS patients are within 3 years of my age, or our kids (have one daughter of 17 with mild ME/CFS). There’s a theory about there having been retroviruses in vaccines we were given as children…
      *gentle hugs*
      ~Ash

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  10. Hi Ash, Just came back for a second read, and enjoyed the comments. Thanks again for this post!

    ‘Tis also timely, personally, as I may need to communicate to family about what I can or rather, can’t do regarding who will help with my mother’s care after an upcoming surgery, and am dreading even touching upon the subject.

    Also, to Dale’s comment above, “probably will try that & know that getting junk food & sugar out of my life is important no matter what. I am dealing with. It has all certainly become comfort food to me having to deal with this energy crisis, & have been dealing with Metabolic Syndrome on top of the rest, so “being good” is something I will have to do once again & get some wt. off. That has been another issue of being overwt. & being unable to get the wt. off like a “normal” person.”

    As you know, my son and I have been working with a holistic practitioner who uses different modalities of treatment. For my son, who had gained a lot of weight from medication and also acquired metabolic syndrome, he has since lost weight consistently over the past four to five months (without beginning an exercise routine) –solely through the intake of whole food and mega-vitamins and supplements. Also, and importantly, he has been using a super-green tonic. This literally took away his food cravings and they were severe. It is true, sugar and junk foods aren’t good for us.

    Being good and not eating junk food may not be related 😉 I wanted to share that sometimes, giving our bodies what they need can make our goodness shine without much effort. Adding more whole nutrition has surely helped my son and I be “good” about eating.

    I never wanted to eat, so was on the other end of the spectrum. Was consistently losing, and was very thin. I’ve developed a good appetite. I gained ten pounds. All from using the tonic and supplements. The more whole foods we eat, the less we need the tonic, and can reduce the dosage of vitamins as well.

    The first tonic we used was from Dragon Herbs. My son loved it, but the holistic nurse is recommending “Rejuvenate” at this time for both of us. My son loses weight and I gain it! Both are good results.

    I believe the tonic also helps with my fatigue, and the brain fog. Alas. I admit. I’m not good about drinking the tonic every day. One day at a time…

    Peace and Blessings,
    Michelle.

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