Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
“I’ve been struggling for decades, but after five months with Dr. Roberts, I’ve had a dramatic turnaround in my health. Initially, I ended up in the ICU after collapsing in the ER. They finally labeled me with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but none of the treatments ever helped. I had to go to the doctor in a wheelchair or with a cane. Now, I don’t need a scooter anymore at the mall or grocery store, and I can even walk theme parks. My personality was squashed because expression takes energy, but now I feel young again.”
Disclaimer: These testimonials do not represent a guarantee of medical improvement, and results may vary depending on the patient.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder that causes extreme fatigue, much more severe than a tired feeling that goes away after you rest. Instead, it lasts a long time and limits your ability to do ordinary daily activities.
Typical symptoms of CFS include fatigue for 6 months or more and experiencing other problems such as muscle pain, memory problems, headaches, pain in multiple joints, sleep problems, sore throat and tender lymph nodes. The exact cause of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is unknown. Some researchers suspect it may be caused by a virus, such as Epstein-Barr virus or human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6), but no specific virus has been identified as the cause.
CFS is most common in women in their 40s and 50s, but anyone can have the syndrome and it can last for years after the onset. Most medical practitioners are trained to believe that there is no cure for CFS and that the goal of treatment is to improve symptoms. Certain medicines may treat pain, sleep disorders and other problems, but in many cases these just mask the symptoms with little or no real long-term relief from the disability. Our approach to CFS goes far beyond these therapies. Our goal is achieving better quality of life.
We begin by educating our patients so that they have a better understanding about the body’s hormone-producing organs, otherwise known as the endocrine system, and how the brain orchestrates this system in connection to CFS. It is true that there is no exact cause for chronic fatigue syndrome, but there is a correlation to what appears to be reduced hormone production in controlling glands (adrenal glands) as well as reduced cortisol production in CFS patients. In many cases, people with CFS have significant reduction in both blood and urine levels of important adrenal hormones including cortisol, often exhibiting half of the expected adrenal production. The problem may not be with the adrenals themselves, but rather with a problematic interaction between the neuroendocrine system and the immune system. There also appears to be a relationship between hormone imbalance and CFS.
Our treatment protocol is two-fold. First, we test adrenal function by performing a complete saliva and blood spot panel and confirming adrenal hormone insufficiency. Patients with either low hormone production or a low adrenal reserve will be treated with low doses of bio-identical (natural) adrenal hormone. Often these treatments result in significant improvement. Patients should note that our medical therapies are not the same as adrenal glandulars from health food stores. We use actual (therapeutic) cortisol, which is molecule to molecule identical to that of the human body. To further avoid possible side effects, we stay away from high doses and routinely test hormone levels to ensure that they remain in safe ranges.