Lifestyle changes
Any healthy adjustments you can make to your daily routines will pay big dividends in how you feel.
Do some moderate exercise if you are able, but don't be overly ambitions, because exercising too strenuously can cause extreme fatigue or a relapse. A limited exercise program supervised by a doctor or physiotherapist may be the best approach. The key is to take it slowly and to very gradually increase your level of exertion, stopping before you become tired. Start off with stretching exercises (one or two minutes a day) and modes aerobic activities (such as walking 10 minutes a day) and modest aerobic activities
(such as walking 10 minutes three times a week, climbing the stairs in your home or lifting groceries). Also do some light weights (1 kg) with only a few reptitions several times a day. Remember, two 10-minute sessions on a treadmill may be better than a single 20-minute one. Always try to breathe deeply, using your diaphragm muscles rather than the upper lungs. NOt only does deep breathing improve exercise tolerance, it also promotes relaxation.
Keep an energy diary to record your ebbs and flows during the day. Schedule activities for times when you tend to have the most stamina. An occupational therapist can help you to maximise your endurance at work and home.
Eat a well-balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables to help assure a proper balance of nutrients.
Practise good 'sleep hygiene'. Choose a regular bedtime, avoid caffeine or exertion several hours before sleep, and use your bed for sleeping or sex only, not reading or watching television. If you awaken during the night, don't toss and turn. Get up and read on the couch for a few minutes before returning to bed.
Buyer Beware
Don't be tempted by the wealth of unproven CFS remedies promising all sorts of enticing results. Although most are harmless, they are usually costly and all too often disappointing. Some may even be dangerous. For example, certain alternative healers recommend hydrogen peroxide injections to kill off any offending germs, but these can cause strokes. Also beware of natural energy boosters that contain the Chinese. herb Ma huang (ephedra) along with caffeine-rich kola nut, a combination that can cause seizures and even death. And be sure to tell your doctor about any natural remedies you are using. Some can interact with conventional medications.
A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY: MONONUCLEOSIS AND CFS
As chronic fatigue syndrome came to be recognised as an illness in the 1980s, doctors at first thought that it might be a lingering form of infectious mononucleosis, the infamous 'kissing disease' that spreads among teenagers. The two maladies have many symptoms in common: muscle aches, headaches, swollen glands, sore throat, extreme exhuastion. And many CFS sufferers had been infected with the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mono, before developing CFS. Later studies, however, found that many healthy people are also infected with the Epstein-Barr virus, with no long-term effects. There is no evidence the two disease are linked.
Some people with mono-nucleosis, including children and adolescents, do go on to develop CFS. Scientist suspect that the incapacitation of mononucleosis keeps people bedridden and inactive, further weakening muscles and setting off a destructive cycle that can lead to chronic fatique. British researchers report in the prestious journal The Lancet that if you do get mono, a simple exercise program may help. After seven months, people with mono who began a gradual exercise program after recovering from the ailment were much less likely to develop CFS than those who remained inactive. The results are consistent with studies of people with CFS: three-quarters of those who engage in exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, report feeling less fatigued and more fit a year later.
Procedures
A number of studies have shown that a type of short-term psychological counselling called cognitive-behavioural therapy can ease your distress, boost confidence and help you better manage the stresses that you are going through. This approach can also help you to set limits, meet challenges and attain goals. A skilled congnitive-behavioural therapist will give you new ways of thinking about your illness so that you can overcome pessimistic thoughts and reactions and regain a sense of control.
Rather than thinking that you'll never be able to play with your kids again, for example the therapist might help you to focus on treatments that help you move ahead one step at a time. A study at London's King's College Hospital found that after six months, 70 percent of people with CFS who had coginitive-behavioural therapy felt better, compared to only percent of patients who had practised relaxation techniques. At follow-up interviews five years later, the researchers found that many patients still felt better and opted to continue this form of therapy on their own.
PROMISING DEVELOPMENtS
Any healthy adjustments you can make to your daily routines will pay big dividends in how you feel.
Do some moderate exercise if you are able, but don't be overly ambitions, because exercising too strenuously can cause extreme fatigue or a relapse. A limited exercise program supervised by a doctor or physiotherapist may be the best approach. The key is to take it slowly and to very gradually increase your level of exertion, stopping before you become tired. Start off with stretching exercises (one or two minutes a day) and modes aerobic activities (such as walking 10 minutes a day) and modest aerobic activities
(such as walking 10 minutes three times a week, climbing the stairs in your home or lifting groceries). Also do some light weights (1 kg) with only a few reptitions several times a day. Remember, two 10-minute sessions on a treadmill may be better than a single 20-minute one. Always try to breathe deeply, using your diaphragm muscles rather than the upper lungs. NOt only does deep breathing improve exercise tolerance, it also promotes relaxation.
Keep an energy diary to record your ebbs and flows during the day. Schedule activities for times when you tend to have the most stamina. An occupational therapist can help you to maximise your endurance at work and home.
Eat a well-balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables to help assure a proper balance of nutrients.
Practise good 'sleep hygiene'. Choose a regular bedtime, avoid caffeine or exertion several hours before sleep, and use your bed for sleeping or sex only, not reading or watching television. If you awaken during the night, don't toss and turn. Get up and read on the couch for a few minutes before returning to bed.
Buyer Beware
Don't be tempted by the wealth of unproven CFS remedies promising all sorts of enticing results. Although most are harmless, they are usually costly and all too often disappointing. Some may even be dangerous. For example, certain alternative healers recommend hydrogen peroxide injections to kill off any offending germs, but these can cause strokes. Also beware of natural energy boosters that contain the Chinese. herb Ma huang (ephedra) along with caffeine-rich kola nut, a combination that can cause seizures and even death. And be sure to tell your doctor about any natural remedies you are using. Some can interact with conventional medications.
A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY: MONONUCLEOSIS AND CFS
As chronic fatigue syndrome came to be recognised as an illness in the 1980s, doctors at first thought that it might be a lingering form of infectious mononucleosis, the infamous 'kissing disease' that spreads among teenagers. The two maladies have many symptoms in common: muscle aches, headaches, swollen glands, sore throat, extreme exhuastion. And many CFS sufferers had been infected with the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mono, before developing CFS. Later studies, however, found that many healthy people are also infected with the Epstein-Barr virus, with no long-term effects. There is no evidence the two disease are linked.
Some people with mono-nucleosis, including children and adolescents, do go on to develop CFS. Scientist suspect that the incapacitation of mononucleosis keeps people bedridden and inactive, further weakening muscles and setting off a destructive cycle that can lead to chronic fatique. British researchers report in the prestious journal The Lancet that if you do get mono, a simple exercise program may help. After seven months, people with mono who began a gradual exercise program after recovering from the ailment were much less likely to develop CFS than those who remained inactive. The results are consistent with studies of people with CFS: three-quarters of those who engage in exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, report feeling less fatigued and more fit a year later.
Procedures
A number of studies have shown that a type of short-term psychological counselling called cognitive-behavioural therapy can ease your distress, boost confidence and help you better manage the stresses that you are going through. This approach can also help you to set limits, meet challenges and attain goals. A skilled congnitive-behavioural therapist will give you new ways of thinking about your illness so that you can overcome pessimistic thoughts and reactions and regain a sense of control.
Rather than thinking that you'll never be able to play with your kids again, for example the therapist might help you to focus on treatments that help you move ahead one step at a time. A study at London's King's College Hospital found that after six months, 70 percent of people with CFS who had coginitive-behavioural therapy felt better, compared to only percent of patients who had practised relaxation techniques. At follow-up interviews five years later, the researchers found that many patients still felt better and opted to continue this form of therapy on their own.
PROMISING DEVELOPMENtS
- A nutritional supplement called ENADA may aid somemen and women with CFS, according to results from a small pilot study at George-town University Medical Center in Washington, DC. The supplement, not yet available in Australia, contains an active ingredient called NADH that is related to the B vitamin niacin. Patients too 10 mg of ENADA on an empty stomach every morning for four weeks. symptoms eased in 8 of 26 people who took the supplement, compared to only 2 people on a dummy pill. The researchers are expanding the study to evaluate more test subjects.
Natural methods
A number of mind-body techniques, as well as certain herbs and vitamins, can be useful in easing specific CFS symptoms.
Relaxation techniques, such as yoga or meditation, can reduce stress levels and help regain a sense of control over your illness. Relaxation also reduces muscle soreness. Tai chi, a Chinese form of exercise that combines movement, breathing and mental concentration, may also be beneficial, Biofeedback, which uses a special machine to train your body to control involunatary responses such as heart rate, can also help to manage recurring pain.
Acupuncture, in which very thin needles are inserted at specific points of the body, benefits some patients. Practitioners of this ancient Chinese therapy believe that it helps to 'unblock' the flow of the body, benefits some patients. Practitioners of this ancient Chinese therapy believe that it helps to 'unblock' the flow of the body's natural energy. Four or five sessions may be needed before you notice any results; if you don't feel better after this time, acupuncture may not be right for you.
Nutritional supplements such as melatonin ( 1 to 3 mg before bedtime) or the herb valerian (250 to 500 mg at bedtime) may help reset your body's natural circadin rhythms and improve sleep patterns. Some CFS patients have also reported benefits using herbal products: the antidepressant herb St. John's wort (300 mg three times a day), the aspirin-like herb white willow bark (one or two pills three times a day), the pineapple-derived anti-inflammatory bromelain (500 mg three times a day) or capsaicin cream (apply to painful areas three times daily). A high-potency multivitamin, including vitamin C (100 mg) and Vitamin E (400 IU), also helps to ensure you're gettig a good dialy balance of nutrients.
Outlook
While researchers struggle to find a cause and a cure for CFS, you can get considerable relief from a combination of therapies with the supervision of knowledgeable physicians and skilled practitioners. Often people with CFS feel they've turned a corner after several months, although temporary setbacks should be expected. In one study, nearly all patients who used a variety of treatments improved significantly, and most felt better for at least a year afterwards.
A number of mind-body techniques, as well as certain herbs and vitamins, can be useful in easing specific CFS symptoms.
Relaxation techniques, such as yoga or meditation, can reduce stress levels and help regain a sense of control over your illness. Relaxation also reduces muscle soreness. Tai chi, a Chinese form of exercise that combines movement, breathing and mental concentration, may also be beneficial, Biofeedback, which uses a special machine to train your body to control involunatary responses such as heart rate, can also help to manage recurring pain.
Acupuncture, in which very thin needles are inserted at specific points of the body, benefits some patients. Practitioners of this ancient Chinese therapy believe that it helps to 'unblock' the flow of the body, benefits some patients. Practitioners of this ancient Chinese therapy believe that it helps to 'unblock' the flow of the body's natural energy. Four or five sessions may be needed before you notice any results; if you don't feel better after this time, acupuncture may not be right for you.
Nutritional supplements such as melatonin ( 1 to 3 mg before bedtime) or the herb valerian (250 to 500 mg at bedtime) may help reset your body's natural circadin rhythms and improve sleep patterns. Some CFS patients have also reported benefits using herbal products: the antidepressant herb St. John's wort (300 mg three times a day), the aspirin-like herb white willow bark (one or two pills three times a day), the pineapple-derived anti-inflammatory bromelain (500 mg three times a day) or capsaicin cream (apply to painful areas three times daily). A high-potency multivitamin, including vitamin C (100 mg) and Vitamin E (400 IU), also helps to ensure you're gettig a good dialy balance of nutrients.
Outlook
While researchers struggle to find a cause and a cure for CFS, you can get considerable relief from a combination of therapies with the supervision of knowledgeable physicians and skilled practitioners. Often people with CFS feel they've turned a corner after several months, although temporary setbacks should be expected. In one study, nearly all patients who used a variety of treatments improved significantly, and most felt better for at least a year afterwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment