While there is no cure, you should be treated for chronic fatigue syndrome to minimize the symptoms, if left untreated, could leave you with decreased function or homebound. By treating the symptoms, you can improve your physical condition, return to normal activities and enhance your quality of life. According to a 2005 CDC study, 40 percent of CFS patients improved their symptoms.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Treatment
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) can be difficult to treat and there is currently no cure. Effective treatment may include cognitive-behavioral therapy, healthy diet and dietary supplements, clean sleep habits and medication to treat depression, allergies and joint pain. You may also find alternative treatments like acupuncture, meditation, yoga and massage to be helpful.
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Riverside Health System answeredSee All 3 AnswersRight now, there is no cure for CFS. But there are things you can do to feel better. Talk to your doctor about ways to ease your symptoms and deal with your tiredness. You might also try these:
Lifestyle changes:
Try to stop or do less of the things that seem to trigger your tiredness. For a week or two write down what you do each day. Note when you feel really tired. Then, look over this list to find out which activities tend to tire you out. An occupational therapist can help you by looking at your daily habits and suggesting changes to help you save energy. Your doctor can help you find an occupational therapist near where you live. At the end of the day, try thinking about how much energy you think you had that day, and how much energy you actually used that day. If you keep these two amounts of energy similar over time, you may slowly gain more strength and energy. Think about which activities are most important to you, and which activities you do not need to do as often. Make sure to tell other people in your life how much energy you can actually use each day. They can help make sure you don't do too much. It is important to remember that energy can mean mental, emotional, or physical energy.
Medications:
Over-the-counter pain relievers such as Advil, Motrin, or Aleve can help with body aches, headaches, and muscle and joint pain. Nondrowsy antihistamines can help with allergy symptoms, such as runny nose and itchy eyes. Prescription medications like doxepin or amitriptyline can help improve sleep.
Some people say their CFS symptoms get better with complementary or alternative treatments, such as massage, acupuncture, chiropractic care, yoga, stretching, or self-hypnosis. Keep in mind that many alternative treatments, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies claim to cure CFS, but they might do more harm than good. Talk to your doctor before seeing someone else for treatment or before trying alternative therapies.
Also, keep in mind that your doctor may need to learn more about CFS to better help you. If you feel your doctor doesn't know a lot about CFS nor has doubts about it being a "real" illness, see another doctor for a second opinion. Contact a local university medical school or research center for help finding a doctor who treats people with CFS.
This answer is based on source information from the National Women's Health Information Center. -
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Sigma Nursing answeredSee All 2 AnswersThere is no known cure for chronic fatigue syndrome. Instead, your doctor will treat your symptoms to alleviate your pain and discomfort and help you regain your energy. A series of therapies, including medication and physical therapy will be developed to improve function. You also may be asked to make some lifestyle changes such as altering your sleep patterns, improving your eating habits, stretching and exercising or taking supplements to help treat sleep and pain. -
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Reston Hospital Center answeredOverall, medication has not been found effective in controlled trials, though some medications can help individual cases. The most common medications used to treat chronic fatigue syndrome are those used to treat depression, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) or tricyclic antidepressants. These medications can help you fall asleep or treat current pain. Other drugs include allergy medication such as antihistamines or pseudoephedrine, which can help relieve the cold-like symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome. Medication can also help control conditions such as anxiety, low blood pressure, viral infections, or balance difficulties.
Depending on the severity of your sleep loss, your doctor may even prescribe medication to help you sleep, though this treatment is not usually recommended because prolonged use of sleep medication risks dependence. Sleep medication can cause side effects such as allergic reactions, agitation, or performing daytime activities in your sleep.
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Reston Hospital Center answered
Over the counter medication may be helpful to treat chronic fatigue syndrome, depending on the specific symptoms you experience. For instance, if you experience aching muscles or joints, pain relieving medication including acetaminophen and anti-inflammatory drugs can help ease pain or mild fever symptoms. If you experience cold- or allergy-like symptoms such as a runny nose or congestion, over the counter allergy medication may be helpful. For example, you can take antihistamines (Allegra or Zyrtec) to treat a runny nose and decongestants (Sudafed) to treat breathing trouble.
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Reston Hospital Center answered
One suggestion for an alternative medication for chronic fatigue syndrome is supplements of D-ribose. D-ribose (also known as simply ribose) is a type of sugar that cells use to create energy. If cells are experiencing difficulties in metabolizing food to make energy, D-ribose can sharpen their functioning and reduce the effects of fatigue. Another alternative method of treatment consists of inserting small needles into pressure points in the body to stimulate energy flow, a process called acupuncture. If acupuncture is performed by a trained professional, it has been known to relieve pain associated with anxiety or muscle soreness in some people.
Other alternative treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome include daily activities that involve stretching to promote blood flow and deep breathing. Examples of these activities include: yoga, meditation, massage therapy, or even daily stretching.
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HealthyWomen answeredFatigue is a state of overwhelming, sustained exhaustion and a reduced capacity for physical and mental work that rest doesn't improve. Fatigue can be a symptom of an underlying medical or psychiatric disorder. Some options to manage fatigue include lifestyle adjustments, such as energy conservation adjustments. This technique encourages you to review which activities and/or responsibilities during the day require more (or less) energy and then to plan for them by conserving energy where you can, so expending it where it's really needed won't be so exhausting. Aerobic exercise (such as brisk walking) and making sure you get enough refreshing sleep can help with fatigue management as well. -
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Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum , Integrative Medicine, answeredSometimes spinal manipulation (especially in the neck) can flare autonomic dysfunction if the space in the spinal cord is tight.
This is not a big deal and simply requires a tune up. Begin with taking (or continuing) a nutritional supplementation program that targets CFS. Include Ribose and add natural remedies or medications (Ambien, Desyrel, Klonopin) as needed to get your eight hours sleep a night. Ask your doctor to increase your thyroid dose to see if it helps and if spastic colon or nasal congestion symptoms are present, consider treating for candida. Add in vitamin B6 each day for 6-12 weeks as it can help recovery from the chiropractic manipulation.
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Reston Hospital Center answeredSee All 2 Answers
Cognitive behavioral therapy has been known to help relieve symptoms in some people with chronic fatigue syndrome. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that aims to alter someone's distorted beliefs and actions that can cause a more serious condition. This can apply to possible causes of chronic fatigue syndrome including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and stress management. While cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in replacing unhealthy ideas with positive ones, it is usually used in addition to other treatment methods such as moderate exercise, emotional counseling, and sometimes medication.
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Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum , Integrative Medicine, answered
Although the coping skills taught in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be very helpful for any illness, in chronic fatigue syndrome some practitioners make the severe mistake of trying to convince people that their illness is not real. This is as inappropriate as saying multiple sclerosis, diabetes, or quadriplegia is not real.
This is especially important because very effective treatment for CFS is actually available.
As the CFS represents an energy crisis in your body, it is important to eliminate things that drain your energy such as infections, nutritional or hormonal deficiencies, or certain toxic exposures that people or certain jobs may be exposed to. Basically, if you're feeling like an "emotional toxic waste dump," learning to say “no” to things and people that don't feel good can be an important part of the healing process.