• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Can ANS nerves regenerate with time?

Messages
79
I'm really worried about this. I think, ME/CFS trigger is event that somehow kills or shut downs our ANS nerves. Because of that, we experience reduced bloow flow to the brain. Then sympathetic ANS tries to overcompensate that problem, and we have constricted arteries in the brain, heart pounding, tachycardia, overall high sympathetic tone. So we face all the downstream consequences, including oxidative stress, neurochemical and metabolic imbalance (which maybe sometimes results in PEM).

To save us and our functionality in such state (when some ANS nerves aren't working), our body will try to adapt to all these downstream consequences. If adaptation is successful, over time we will experience gradual improvement or plateau. Else, deterioration with time.

What can be done in terms of potential treatments or a cure, if ME was caused by dead ANS nerves? I'm asking this because I believe that if we can't heal mechanism of normal brain blood flow, it's unlikely we will get rid of ME symptoms.
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
Once any disease process is stopped, peripheral nerves can indeed re-grow themselves over time, but it's a slow process and requires good nutrition.

On average, human peripheral nerves elongate at a rate of approximately 1 inch per month, measured from the spinal cord to the end of the nerve.

Hope this helps.