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Role of overstress in CFS

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
This may actually be the case. If I remember correctly, Nigeria has one of the highest rates of ME/CFS in the world, and higher rates of ME/CFS are present in populations with lower socio-economic status. I think it was Leonard Jason that studied this.

Of course, we can't be certain of this due to nonexistent research into ME in most countries. I think many countries do not recognise it. So the reporting of rates of ME are unreliable.

Overall, I think stress plays some role, in the sense that it weakens the body and leaves it open for attack. This makes it more likely that we pick up infections etc., some of which may trigger autoimmunity.

But I agree that stress alone cannot explain ME/CFS onset. There are many very stressed people who never come down with this illness. As you say, there are probably other factors involved.
We discussed this in another thread, and I found the study you may be referring to here.

plus a couple of others

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-007-0196-x (India)

and this one for Brazil.

(Seek and ye shall find? :))
 

Gijs

Senior Member
Messages
690
Hi Skippa,
I often thought as cortisol influence as a major part of this enigma. When you live with something for so long you see all the small traits it throws at you and certain patterns emerge.
My reasoning for a circadian/cortisol influence was based on many small perceptions.
I think its a cortisol spike that is most dangerous to us for a crash....but its the constant cortisol is creating the constant autoimmune stress.
1. PWME mostly wake up worse and better at night - follow cortisol pattern.
2. Overnight flights etc help me....someone else here noticed that....a disrupted cortisol pattern is beneficial.
3. I improve more dramatically when i eat high carbs.....dropping cortisol via insulin release.
4. Women tend to suffer from stress more than men....possible link for the unbalanced male/female cfs ratio.
5. I can provoke a crash "on purpose" by forcing a stress surge on my body.

I think we ride close to the line all the time....and takes a little cortisol spike to tip us over.
I guess there is no real definitive way to test our theory....bar removing our adrenal glands :)

I Always had the idea that cortisol is a key player in this disease. ME is very similair to Addison disease for a subgroup of patiënts. Addison patiënts can't tolerate stress either. Dr Amolak Bansal believes this also and have some prove for cortisol resistance/intolerance in ME patiënts.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
Sorry im late in reading this thread and haven't read the entire thread but the subject of stress being a part of my mecfs has crossed my mind many times .

A couple of years Leading up to the initiating infections that caused cfs or broke the camels back as well as other stresses after onset of cfs were present with me.

Many things i have listed in my head such as shift work, burn out from work, starting a young family so interrupted nights sleep every night of the week went great with shift work. We moved and built a house in a rural area where my workload wasnt as busy but would work 9 days in a row and oncall requiring immediate responses 9 nights than have 5 days off. I was a type A gym junkie but would cycle my training intensity to avoid overtraining but i loved training, so it was a big stress relief in one respect maybe not physically .

About 2 yrs after cfs onset my condition was very up and down. But then the death of my father which we saw coming but still far from easy , this left all my family with that deep sadness one experiences when a very closed love one like a parent dies. 12 months later my mother passed away , again we saw it coming many years ago but i think when dad died she had nothing to live for and probably almost willed herself to death. Very highly emotional times and something i deal with daily at work but have built in coping mechanisms for that but when its your own parents , its just deeply sad that no built in coping mechanisms would cover.

As stressful as those years in my life were , i have met many others who have had to deal with long term stress worse than what i went through but no cfsme.

The only difference i can see was 3 herpes infections several months apart, cmv, vzv and ebv. After these came symptoms of intense fatigue, pain and awful insomnia and pem. It was relapsing and remitting .

The difference i think was the infections . The others who had been under just as much stress improved with exercising while reducing negative stresses and working on general health etc and over come these issues. I was already a health nut taking antioxidants to try and reduce oxidative stress of exercise etc

The arse just fell out of the boat and been bailing water ever since. I see people older than me with other more recognized illnesses being alot more active.

I dont think the extra stress helped but i have seen so many people recover and get through these stressful periods. It was the infections i had, catching the second and third virus while still in a post viral state from the previous infection.

Ive done alot to minimize stresses in my live and this helps but its really a management tool, definitely no cure.
 

gregh286

Senior Member
Messages
976
Location
Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Hi.
Yes but the outcome of these cortisol/stress induced crashes is a vast decline in cell glucose, nutrients and o2 uptake..in the same.way newton at newcastle discovered in cell culture from cfs patients.
The cortisol response seems to trigger cell receptors to avoid glucose uptake....then we get that brutal lactic cycle of anaerobic energy production.
Lack of ampk activation is also mentioned.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0122982
 

Skippa

Anti-BS
Messages
841
Hi.
Yes but the outcome of these cortisol/stress induced crashes is a vast decline in cell glucose, nutrients and o2 uptake..in the same.way newton at newcastle discovered in cell culture from cfs patients.
The cortisol response seems to trigger cell receptors to avoid glucose uptake....then we get that brutal lactic cycle of anaerobic energy production.
Lack of ampk activation is also mentioned.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0122982

Just been reading the B12 thread, and went on a little quest for more infos...

Cortisol promotes insulin resistance. Hmmm.

Also, low plasma B12 is linked to insulin resistence.
 

gregh286

Senior Member
Messages
976
Location
Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Just been reading the B12 thread, and went on a little quest for more infos...

Cortisol promotes insulin resistance. Hmmm.

Also, low plasma B12 is linked to insulin resistence.

Fascinating.....cortisol promotes insulin resistance.....didnt know that....is it medical fact?
Bizarrely when the general diet consensus in cfs is stone age diet...my symptoms subside hugely when i feast on high carbs daily.

Are they doing more harm than good with stone man diets?
 

Skippa

Anti-BS
Messages
841
Fascinating.....cortisol promotes insulin resistance.....didnt know that....is it medical fact?
Bizarrely when the general diet consensus in cfs is stone age diet...my symptoms subside hugely when i feast on high carbs daily.

Are they doing more harm than good with stone man diets?

Hey, today's medical fact is tomorrow's medical myth.

Plenty of 'healthy lifestyle' (pinch of salt) websites mention this, and bunch of papers on google scholar show this, and the wikipedia page mentions it too.

Just reportin' what I've read ma'am :redface:
 

gregh286

Senior Member
Messages
976
Location
Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Hey, today's medical fact is tomorrow's medical myth.

Plenty of 'healthy lifestyle' (pinch of salt) websites mention this, and bunch of papers on google scholar show this, and the wikipedia page mentions it too.

Just reportin' what I've read ma'am :redface:

Of course....i get ya...:)
So they need to add to it cortisol maybe promotes a decline in cellular receptors....tommorrows medical myth..