Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia Part 3

Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia Part 3

By Dr. George Crabb

When chronic candida infections, food allergies, excessive stress, sleep deprivation and depression take their toll on an individual's immune system, CFS & fibromyalgia can result. I normally find a suppressed immune system and low adrenal gland function in my CFS patients. Let's take a closer look at the causes of CFS & fibromyalgia.

CANDIDIASIS:
A common cause of these diseases is prolonged candidiasis, commonly called yeast infection. Candida yeast normally lives in the gastrointestinal (GI) track and the vagina. Only small numbers of yeast candida are normally present in our GI tracks. However, when we take potent antibiotics, especially over a prolonged period of time, much of the good bacteria are destroyed and the critical balance of microorganisms in the GI track is upset. The result is that the yeast can grow unimpeded. Other factors that can cause yeast overgrowth include cortisone, birth control pill, pregnancy, environmental chemicals, diabetes, certain foods (especially sugars) and allergies.

Candidiasis can cause impaired memory, distractibility, irritability and agitation, inability to concentrate, feeling drunk without consuming alcohol, anxiety, depression and insomnia. GI symptoms include bloating, swelling, spastic colon, diarrhea, loud intestinal rumblings, cramping, excessive gas, itching of the anus, mucus in the stools and heartburn.

Candidiasis yeast will actually compete with the body for nutrition and rob it of nutrients. It releases toxic by-products such as alcohol, acetaldehyde and as many as seventy-nine different toxins that can circulate through the blood stream and affect other organs and tissues.

Candidiasis is only one cause of CFS & fibromyalgia. Stress is another culprit.

STRESS & FATIGUE:
If you keep the headlights of your car on all night, the battery will run down. At first, you will be able to restart the car by jump-starting it. But if you leave the lights on continually night after night, eventually the battery will be so depleted that jump-starting it won't help anymore.

The same thing occurs in our bodies with excessive stress. We stress our bodies with our face paced lifestyles, juggling demanding jobs with even more demanding family responsibilities. Daily we dodge traffic jams, race to prepare dinner and jog through malls and grocery stores to shop. Our schedules can leave us overworked, overwhelmed, spent and exhausted.

As you rush through your mornings, do you gulp down a cup of coffee with a doughnut, trying to get an energy jump-start? Year after year of stressful living and "jump-starting" the body daily with caffeinated beverages and high sugar foods will eventually leave the body depleted.

As an Internal Medicine Physician, most of my regular patients complain of too much stress. Stress that persists for years and decades will eventually drain the adrenal glands and leave us tired, run down and chronically fatigued.

FOOD ALLERGIES:
Food allergies can cause adrenal stress. Therefore, I suggest a comprehensive food allergy or food sensitivity test in order to determine the foods to which you are allergic.

SLEEP DISTURBANCES:
Stress is harmful to the body in so many different ways. Stress can seriously affect your ability to sleep at night, in addition to other sleep disturbances, which is another cause of CFS & fibromyalgia. Sleep disturbances and depression are the most common causes of these diseases that I see in my practice. A variety of sleeping disorders, which we will discuss in greater depths in later blogs, can interrupt sleep and eventually trigger a pattern of chronic fatigue.

YOUR FATIGUE:
You've probably realized by now that CFS & fibromyalgia are not simple diseases. Many factors, or a combination of factors, may be responsible for your fatigue and pain. As we have discussed some major causes of CFS & fibromyalgia, have you seen your own symptoms? Throughout the rest of this four part blog I will be providing natural and spiritual remedies that will arm you to battle your enemy and defeat CFS & fibromyalgia and their symptoms forever!

GOD'S PLAN FOR YOU:
As I stated at the beginning of these blogs, God's plan for your life is only good - filled with good events, spiritual prosperity, health and uplifting relationships. But to experience His plan, you need energy and strength.

Start getting energized daily by reading God's Word and meditating on it throughout the day along with a constant season of prayer. Let your desire echo the words of King David, "I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge" (Psalm 71:7).

Claim the promises of God's strength and protection throughout your days. Read Scripture, memorize Scripture so that you may meditate on the Scripture. Use these verses as medicine for your soul.

In our next blog we will start to look at the natural remedies that can help an individual who is suffering from either CFS or fibromyalgia.