My first Journal Entry
I was so excited to read energylosts’s post about the breathing exercise and how it helped her eradicate her symptoms, that I did it 5 times that evening and shared it with friends who might benefit. I’m on my third day of doing the exercise, oh wait, I better do it right now while I’m thinking about it. I was feeling better this week up until today when I crashed and burned. So I can’t say that the breathing exercise has helped yet, but I’ll give it some time. . I’ve been trying to figure out patterns, causes (as always). I’ve noticed a couple things . . . my bowels don’t seem to empty very well all the time, but when they do and I feel “cleaned out”, I automatically feel better. My energy improves, my mood improves and if I have a headache, it usually goes away after a good movement. Sorry for such a gross topic, but I think what I eat and digestion are keys parts to my health. The other weird thing I’ve noticed: I’ve been going through peri-menopause for about 5 years now and found a silver lining to my hot flashes. When I have a bad headache or body pain and then I have a hot flash, the pain goes away for a substantial period of time (sorry guys – you won’t get to have those therapeutic hot flashes!). So, I guess the hormones that get released during a hot flash have some pain-reliever effect. I’ve mentioned this to several doctors/health care providers and they just look at me quizzically.
Thanks to this group of wonderful souls, I’ve realized that I do have CFS. So now I’m going to seek an official diagnosis from a doctor who has experience in this field. Thanks to all of you for being here and participating.
Love Renee
Thanks to this group of wonderful souls, I’ve realized that I do have CFS. So now I’m going to seek an official diagnosis from a doctor who has experience in this field. Thanks to all of you for being here and participating.
Love Renee
Replies
(i love the name renee) Hi!
not so gross, i have bowels that move too. ;-)
hugs
jack
: )
I don\'t know if you know this, but if your Electrolytes are low, they will cause lethargy.
I have been relentlessly dealing with the CF symptoms for a year so for me, I\'ve used natural remedies. I used Natural Calm which has magnesium for restless leg syndrome, for constipation, for sleep. I discovered by eating Cream of Wheat that I was probably low on Iron since this has iron -- I felt pretty good after eating it so I added 1/8 t to avoid constipation. Then I discovered the breathing so the rest is history.
I went thru 7 MDs and 1 Endo, NO ONE ever suspected Chronic Fatigue was the problem; they just kept treating me for thyroid problems even though the hormones NEVER worked. I had to tell them to look at my OTHER hormones -- there was the problem. I took the hormones but only felt better for a short time then the CF symptoms re-surfaced. Hormones can only do so much.
Check your iron, a metabolic panel which has the electrolytes, vitamin B12, Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy, magnesium serum tests.
O.J. Simpson had a Dream Team and won; you want a Dream Team of doctors so you can win too. A Naturopathic doctor could help you.
I was seeing an Endo, M.D, and a Pharmacists so here is where she pointed out to me that I had CFS. The pharmacist is the one who restored me to 97% feeling good then the breathing brought me to 100%.
If you can read some books on natural supplements that may help.
I tried an SSRI, it never helped me at all. I think our bodies are like a car, cars are designed to run on oil/gas so when the car runs low, we put back those fluids so out body is designed to run on vitamins, enzymes, hormones so we need to put those back in when we are low; it\'s a matter of finding what we\'re low in to replace that.
I hope you begin to feel better soon.
Energy lost, I\'m so happy for you that you\'ve found things that have helped you recover from CFS. I\'ve has this for 18 years or so and I\'ve tried so many things. That cocktail of supplements - my cabinets are full of bottles! Like you I\'ve gone to all kinds of doctors and other health care providers (acupuncturists, DO, homepathics, naturalists, etc.) I\'ve tried the hormones, and the thyroid meds. I do think that it might be a matter of finding the right combination of these things and truthfully right now I\'m tired of trying. I\'m doing the breathing exercise at least twice a day if not more.
What I have found is that supplements or hormones seem to help for a week or two, maybe even a month, but then I\'m right back where I started. This tells me that I\'m only treating a symptom rather than the basic problem. All this being said, I\'m very grateful for all the wonderful things in my life - a supportive, loving boyfriend, a flexible part-time job, the ability to rest when I need to.
Thank you for the reminder about the electrolytes and other supplements.I Even though it has sugar in it (and I don\'t eat sugar) I find that EmergenC works wonders sometimes!!
You are giving the rest of us hope!
Hugs and hugs
Renee