Feeling very exhausted lately, no matter how much sleep you get? Do you wake feeling un-refreshed no matter how many hours of sleep you get? Are you having trouble thinking clearly, exercising or feel like you just don’t have energy for the life you wish to lead?

Have you seen loads of medical professionals, but still you do not have a clear diagnosis for what you are feeling? Are you feeling frustrated, hopeless and helpless. Well please know that your symptoms are real, and may well be those of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic condition that presents itself with a wide range of symptoms that can even vary from one person to another, making it very difficult to diagnose.

Symptoms

People with CFS might find the activities that they once enjoyed start taking a toll on their bodies. Exercise, taking a walk, or even going out with family and friends can be followed by exhaustion that takes longer than usual to recover from. They can feel extremely tired, all the time, with some still even feeling tired after resting or sleeping. Muscle and joint pain, headaches, flu-like symptoms, nausea, and palpitations. The severity of such symptoms can vary from person to person, day to day. It can feel very confusing.

These feelings negatively impact sleep, which only makes things way worse. Problems with thinking, memory, and concentration can also occur.

Causes

The cause of CFS is unknown, but there are theories.

Suggested causes or triggers of CFS include viral or bacterial infections (EBV/Lyme), compromised immune system, hormonal imbalance, and genetic connections.

Recent observations have identified two etiological subgroups for people suffering from CFS. One group consists of those with early, often undiagnosed, Parkinson’s disease and could possibly have further degenerative brain diseases. The other subgroup consists of those with various low-grade chronic diseases or inflammation, including infections with herpesvirus-6, Epstein-Barr virus and various other enteroviruses.

CFS can also occur from traumatic events both physical and emotional.

Lifestyle Changes

CFS affects multiple systems, and is very complex. The symptoms and exhaustion can all stack on top of one another. Lifestyle changes are a must, and should be thought of as a very long marathon to continually overcome, rather than a sprint that will only result in disappointing outcomes.

Energy management is one of the most important things for a person with CFS to maintain. Talk with your family, friends and important people about the condition, especially about any changes to your daily routine. It is recommended that planning ahead can be extremely useful, and being able to adapt to symptoms readily helps with the emotional aspect of CFS.

Attending an occasion should be planned ahead of schedule.

Pacing, or keeping the daily activities within your limits will help you establish a pattern.

If exercising, do not move to a next level of difficulty or intensity until you know that you have enough energy reserve not to cause a flare up. Try using a pedometers to log and assess the activity level to which you are comfortable in.

Mental and emotional balance must come with the preparations. Aim to make improvements, and know that a bad day within the preparation period doesn’t mean that you have failed. Reward yourself with any improvements. Slow and steady wins the CFS race.

Diet Improvements

This is a piece of good news – a study has shown that chocolates that are high in cocoa polyphenols reduced the overall burden of symptoms in CFS patients. This does not mean that you can over dose on chocolate eat in moderation only.

CFS as a condition, is very similar to Fibromyalgia and they could be classed as cousins. It does not respond well to red meat, refined sugars and alcohol.

It does however, respond extremely well to an anti-inflammatory dietary regime. Food intoleraces are also commonly seen in CFS patients. So omitting gluten, dairy and animal proteins is often the best diet. At Flourish we recommend patients using the anti-inflammatory blend 1 – 2 x per day. The Daily Detox blend 1 x per day at night after dinner and the daily greens blend either after breakfast or at lunchtime. Both these blends help with energy and help lift the daily ‘fog’ that so many CFS patients complain about.

Miscellaneous

Feeling like you have just run a marathon? Every muscle in your body aches? Your body is sore to the touch? Are you feeling fatigued all the time with a brain that feels like it is covered in cotton wool? Have you been getting random sharp or burning pain that comes and goes?

Have you had it checked with different doctors, but the results come back unclear, and no one can really tell you what is going on? Feel frustrated? Well perhaps you have fibromyalgia.

If you have already been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, then this page will help you to know what foods heal and what food harm.

Symptoms

Fibromyalgia’s main symptom is widespread pain, your entire body hurts.

The pain could feel like a burning sensation, dull ache or even sharp stabbing pain. Some areas of your body could feel worse, especially around the neck, top of the shoulders, around the forearm, top of the buttocks, knees and back. The pain is constant or remitting, only to return after exercise or stenuous activity. Along with the diffuse pain comes a hypersensitivity to all pain, even the pain from a pinch can last longer then it normally should. And many people report that even the slightest touch of their body can feel painful.

This sensitivity is known as hyperalgesia which is – extremely sensitivity to pain, while allodynia is when you feel pain from something that is not normally painful, for instance a hug from another person. Both are present in fibromyalgia.

Other symptoms are: depression, stiffness, foggy brain, hypersensitivity syndrome to chemicals, medications and odours. Fatigue and general malaise is common with fibromyalgia. Irritable Bowel Syndrome goes hand in hand with fibromyalgia, along with food sensitivities.

Causes

The direct cause of Fibromyalgia is unknown and it is often seen in family’s. However people with no genetic predisposition can still get it.

Whilst not thought to be an inflammatory condition, anti-inflammatory drugs are often used and can make a significant difference. At Flourish we use an anti-inflammatory diet along with our anti-inflammatory blend, and the results are a significant reduction in pain. The issue appears to be in the way the brain processes pain. The signalling is up the spout. Brain imaging has shown altered signalling in neural pathways to pain. 

Studies have revealed that one cause of the condition, could be from lack of good quality sleep. If you wake a person every hour or so, then you can induce fibromyalgia symptoms. Sleep is extremely important for a fibromyalgia sufferer. Along with the reduction in stress.

The symptoms often arise after a traumatic event, nasty virus – Epstein-Barr Virus or Lyme Disease, post a major operation, severe emotional trauma or even a car accident.

Lifestyle Changes

As a chronic disease without a cure, lifestyle changes will always involve symptom prevention and management.

Studies in Europe show that a plant-based diet, has the greatest ability to pop fibromyalgia back into remission. The very best results come from fasting, then staying on a low calorie plant-based dietary regime.

Despite the pain and fatigue, low impact exercises are still very important for fibromyalgia patients. Research shows that regular exercise is one of the most useful ways to combat fibromyalgia. It is important to keep as physically active as possible.  Exercise also helps with the mental condition of a person by boosting the levels of natural endorphins, which helps reduce anxiety, and stress. Exercise will also boost serotonin levels, which can calm the person and create an overall positive mood.

Again, develop good sleeping habits. Go to bed and wake up at the same time to create a good sleep rhythm. Practice good sleep hygiene – keep the lights low around your house after dinner, reduce or avoid caffeined beverages, keep your room cool, turn off all technology at least 1 hour before bed, avoid alcohol. Good sleep is one of the primary treatments for those with fibromyalgia.

Diet Improvements

Nutritional deficiencies commonly found among fibromyalgia patients include vitamin B, vitamin D, magnesium, iodine, iron, melatonin, selenium, and branched amino acids.

Fibromyalgia as a condition responds badly to – red meat, refined sugar, alcohol, confectionary and gluten. These foods are best avoided.

Fibromyalgia as a condition responds well to – fruits, vegetables, legumes, avocado, small amounts of rice, herbs, spices and spuds.

At Flourish, we recommend all our fibromyalgia patients begin with our anti-inflammatory blend, taking it 2 – 3 times per day for the first 2 weeks. If pain reduction is seen after 2 weeks you can begin to reduce the dose. We also recommend doing this along side our 21-Day Cleanse program. Both these treatments, have shown a significant reduction in symptoms.

Miscellaneous

Women are more likely to get fibromyalgia than men, and can affect any age group, but it usually begins in the middle age, with the chances getting higher as you age. Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis patients are more likely to develop Fibromyalgia than everyone else.