From The Rock

Chronic fatigue, and its more severe counterpart, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), are not new diseases. These conditions have been known under a multitude of other names for many centuries.

During the latter part of the 1800′s the condition of fatigue was named “neurasthenia.” This was the main descriptive term. The condition was associated with numerous symptoms which defied providing an easy classification.

By the first World War, chronic fatigue was a common complaint in Europe and North America. Medical concepts have evolved since that time in an effort to understand the underlying causes of these conditions.

The late 1800′s name of neurasthenia encompassed many diverse symptoms. That gradually gave way to attempts to define the condition more narrowly and provide specific names:

* Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

* Fibromyalgia

* Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

* Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

There is no known effective treatment available for millions of sufferers of the fatigue syndrome. Sadly, the Medical Establishment hasn’t been able to understand the specific causes of fatigue.

The symptom picture in all types of chronic fatigue is very similar and consists of a large bag of many different complaints:

* fatigue

* muscle weakness

* inability to cope with stress

* gastrointestinal disturbances

* gastrointestinal disturbances

* inflammation

* pain

* inflammation

* inability to cope with stress

* and many other debilitating symptoms

Chronic fatigue presents a complex symptom picture. Physicians are unable to make a diagnosis based only on symptoms. All of the tests that doctors use to understand why people are so tired fail to turn anything up.

The Specific Causes of All Forms of Fatigue Remain a Mystery to Modern Medicine

The noted microbiologist, Rene DuBois, stated that most diseases arise because of multiple agents acting at the same time. This philosophy counters the prevailing medical idea of “one cause/one disease.” Since it’s that idea that directs the attempt of medical diagnosis for fatigue, the failure lies with the inability to contemplate the complex and interacting array of symptoms that are the result of the actual causes.

Since the medical community has no solutions for dealing with fatigue, many people are turning to alternative therapies and ideas. Medicine shouts not to do that because, they argue, these therapies are unproven. The alternative arena has treatments that work but it is also populated by marketers who don’t provide effective solutions.

I believe the alternative choices that are available provide effective and useful therapies. You need to make sound choices and you cannot expert support from your doctor. Workable solutions include:

* appropriate exercise

* the judicious use of diet

* the most appropriate diet is low-carbohydrate

* yet this diet is maligned by the medical community

* the use of selected vitamins, minerals, and herbs

* unfortunately, the public is not trained in choosing these

* of course, medicine knows nothing of this due to its reliance on drugs

By using effective alternative therapies, many people have overcome their chronic fatigue and eliminated the symptoms from which they suffered. The medical community is clear that they have been unable to define the causes of chronic fatigue and, therefore, admit to having no effective therapies.

Medicine does not like competition either in business or in philosophy. As such, it argues against alternative therapies are useless, ineffective, and unproven. But the only hope for the public who suffers from chronic fatigue lies in the alternatives to modern medicine. Effective therapies are out there but you need to be careful whose advice you follow.