How long to wait till u try anti-virals?

[hunter1899]

I've been on them for a out 4 years now. I've tried stopping them several times but always had an upswing in symptoms so restarted. Planning to try another stop soon to see what happens.

so you saw a real improvement? Can I ask what viruses did you test positive for and what were your symptoms/how long, etc?

 

[Tella]

how do you do this search? A phone call into every doctors office? I still can’t find one who will prescribe it.

I’ve tried drugs and am convinced teyy don’t help.
cfs is a mind body illness and one needs to calm nervous system down. That’s where recovery lies.

 

[JES]

I’ve tried drugs and am convinced teyy don’t help.
cfs is a mind body illness and one needs to calm nervous system down. That’s where recovery lies.

Maybe we don't have the drugs available yet to help ME/CFS, let's not forget that over the years there has been almost no drugs trials done on ME/CFS patients, so it's no wonder we are having a hard time finding drugs that would help. The mind/body research on the contrary has been going on for a long time and the results show CBT/GET doesn't work for ME/CFS, so it doesn't seem likely we can fix this by some mind/body intervention. Also strictly speaking, the mind is an abstraction that is part of the body, the whole mind/body concept is a false dualism.

 

[Haley]

so you saw a real improvement? Can I ask what viruses did you test positive for and what were your symptoms/how long, etc?

Yes, a definite improvement about 4-6 weeks after I started taking valtrex. I only had EBV (still active a year and a half after my initial diagnosis) which is why I chose valtrex over some of the other antivirals (well, cost was a consideration as well).

I started valtrex about 2 years after I initially got sick. I found it improved the fatigue, brain fog and pain. Over time I have found other things that help (low starch/carb diet, magnesium being the main ones), but the valtrex still helps me be functional.

Unfortunately its trial and error to find things that help. It gets very frustrating at times, but finding something that helps even a bit is worth it

 

[EddieB]

The diet changes are probably focused more on intestinal digestive issues, which most ME people at times have to deal with. ...and the blood sugar insulin isssue..

I've made considerable progress on the GUT. Mine is exhibiting far fewer problems. Its calmed down alot. I was dealing with IBS-d mostly. I take Chinese traditional herbs specifically for my gut. I do probiotics occasionally and not recently.

I've frankly been surprised that I fixed my gut THIS MUCH and its helped my overall ME not very much. This surprised me. I must be getting far more nutrients in than I was before, so why do I feel lousier?

I just came across this post, could you share some of the things that helped with gut issues? PM me if you like, thanks

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I just came across this post, could you share some of the things that helped with gut issues? PM me if you like, thanks

Well, I can't believe I found the post where I described what I was taking. I'm pasting in here; a description.

The thread is about White tongue discoloration.

You may know that chinese traditional medicine uses very complex interprations for reading whats wrong in the body. It takes considerable skill and experience to work thru literally hundreds or more examples of- tongue messages. My tongue: is a complete reporting system of What A Mess Am I.

So that thread was discussing some of that.

People are often entirely confused and aren't understanding- this symptom on the tongue and they think its candida/yeast.

Unfortunately, its hard to discuss alternatives to western medicine around here. So some arguments were ensuing.

Pasting this in:...this is for IBS-d and whats is listed below might be adjusted for each individual/whose bodies vary.

Here is a description of Four Herbs: these are the four I am taking and they are wonderful. You can still have an adverse event, like when stressed out. The info below was written by some online person, so I can't speak to- the remarks- but those four have helped me alot.

"When unified in a formula, herbs share the responsibility of the intended treatment goal. One of the formulas that is used to treat IBS includes a base of four herbs: bai shao (white peony), bai zhu (white atractylodes), chen pi (citrus peel) and fang feng (siler). TCM pathology uses terminology that sounds unfamiliar to western medical concepts, however it is simply a different way of explaining the same action of the compound. The purpose of each herb in the formula is defined by it’s own individual actions and plays a part in the general purpose of the formula. For example, white peony is an herb that ‘soothes the liver,’ in other words it relieves stress. To take one herb alone for IBS would be inadequate so there is the addition of the others. White atractylodes has the action of ‘tonifying the spleen,’ in other words it helps nutrients to absorb in the small intestine. Citrus peel supports the digestive function by ‘transforming dampness,’ in other words it reduces abdominal bloating. And lastly, siler has the function of ‘expelling wind,’ in other words, it relieves diarrhea."

Note the terminology above is in reference to the Qi. Liver Qi, Spleen Qi..not those organs per se.

I will just mention that I got odd headaches during the day for about the first week. They have subsided. More slog moved, apparently.

 

[IThinkImTurningJapanese]

cfs is a mind body illness and one needs to calm nervous system down. That’s where recovery lies.

I think you underestimate ME/CFS.