New Hope for Chronic FatigueBy Patty Butts, Ph.D.
An alkaline diet may be the answer for some who suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a debilitating disease that sometimes makes you feel like you’re going to die. More than 800,000 people in the US suffer from this disease.
Several years ago I experienced Chronic Fatigue for the third time---only this time the duration was only for a few months. An alkaline diet was my salvation. When our body is alkaline, candida, fungus, yeast, mold, parasites, viruses, and bacteria do not thrive. According to Dr. Robert Young, author of The pH Miracle, microforms are the major players in chronic fatigue syndrome. If your body is acidic, it is likely you have microforms.
How do you know if your body is alkaline or acidic? Dr. Robert Young, suggests you use litmus paper (you can buy it a health food store) and get an indication of where the pH of the urine is by testing the first morning urine. Take a strip of the pH paper and wet it. If the paper does not change color, that indicates a highly acidic body. Urine should be 6.8 to 7.2 (medium green), if it too much color (dark blue) that also indicates highly acidic. Remember this test is an estimate. The best way to measure pH is ask your doctor to do a fasting urine and blood analysis. These tests may take two to four weeks to find the results.
Dr. Chi C. Mao, chief medical officer at Select Specialty Hospitals in Houston Texas endorses Dr. Young’s theories on disease and his understanding of the acid-base balance. “…so far the implementation of his theory has had a profound impact on the treatment of a wide array of diseases such as diabetes, cancers, chronic fatigue syndrome, obesity, urinary calculi, and more.”
Fourteen years ago, I had CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction) for the first time and it lasted for a nightmarish four years. At first I didn’t know what was wrong with me---my lymph nodes were swollen and tender, my body ached all over. I had fibromyalgia in my feet and each step was painful. My memory kept getting worse and I had a continual sore throat. Walking from my house to my car was like walking five miles.
Continually exhausted, there were nights when I could not sleep at all, but there were also weekends when all I did was sleep because I was too exhausted to get out of bed. When I stood up I felt like I needed to lean against the wall to support myself because I was frequently weak and dizzy. Although I was a licensed professional counselor, I could not help myself. I was in a quagmire of depression and hopelessness.
When I first became ill, I had a microscopic blood check in a health food store where they discovered many parasites in my blood stream. Live cell analysis involves taking a sample of your blood and magnifying it many times and then viewing your blood on a monitor or screen. Tiny little parasites were swimming around in my blood. As I marched off to my physician, hoping for a cure, he told me that it wasn’t possible to have parasites in your blood. “You are probably just suffering from stress or depression.” He referred me to a counselor who thought Prozac was the panacea for every depression.
After one week on Prozac, I was more depressed than ever. By the end of the second week I felt suicidal. When I called the counselor, her suggestion was to double the dosage. I was not going to double the dosage. While stress contributed to my depression, I knew I needed to get physically well. When I stopped taking the Prozac, the suicidal feelings went away.
CFIDS attacks the central nervous system and most people with the disease are depressed. In addition to the chemical causes of depression, emotional causes include: feeling trapped, hopelessness, anger you turn in on yourself, loss, and guilt. All are common feelings of CFIDS sufferers.
My doctor sent me to a psychiatrist, who, on the first visit and without any testing, wanted to put me on an MAO inhibitor. I didn’t buy into this. He suggested my symptoms were psychosomatic.
Desperately, I made the rounds trying to find a doctor who could help me. Finally, after more than three, years I found an internal medical doctor who specialized in CFIDS. At the time I was so debilitated and my hope of getting better so dim, I recall telling him, “I either want to get better or I want to die.” I didn’t feel suicidal, but I felt like I was among the living-dead.
He wanted to put me on medical disability, but I refused. I knew that if I went to bed I might never get well again. As a school counselor, I was committed to the young people I worked with and I could work sitting down. After work, I went home and fell into bed. Every morning I felt like I was pushing a ten-thousand-pound block off my body just to get out of bed, but I did it. Slowly! There was no hurry in me.
The doctor prescribed diflucan for candida. While there may be many causes of CFIDS, an acidic pH balance, candida, EBV (Epstein-Barr Virus), and parasites have been identified as some of the main contributors. I had all four. Within a week of taking diflucan I began to regain energy and feel better. During my bout with CFIDS I would sometimes cycle and have a few days where I felt almost healthy. Thinking I might be well and that the plague had ended, I would over work and be right back where I started or even worse. This time, although still weak, I consistently got better, especially as I worked hard to reduce stress in my life.
Three years later they found a small spot on my liver. Liver cancer. Because of my fragile immune system I knew I could not do chemotherapy and so did my physician. Another doctor who did a microscopy test on my blood said, “You have more parasites in your blood than anyone I have tested.” He put me on a vegan diet and I made drastic changes in my eating. I started using the remedies for killing parasites in the blood that were suggested by Dr. Hulda Clark, in her book, The Cure For Any Cancer. Because I had all kind of digestive problems, bloating, constipation, gas pains, it is possible that I had colon cancer at the same time. Within three months of using the diet and supplements, my cancer was in remission.
I have no doubt that stress contributes to CFS and creates an acidic reaction within our bodies. This is why it was called the “Yuppie,” disease. Type “A” personalities, driven to overwork, success, and incredible stress are prone to CFIDS.
Six years ago CFIDS again flared up in my life after the death of my husband. He had not been well for eight years. Six months prior to his death he was on oxygen in the evenings and while asleep he would accidentally pull the oxygen off, then wake up because he couldn’t breath. I would readjust the oxygen, he would go back to sleep, but I would remain wide awake because of my concern for him. Many nights I had only three or four hours sleep.
As a widow I experienced considerable stress and exhaustion. Within ten months I had Chronic Fatigue again. This time my doctor insisted I take medical leave for several months which I was grateful to do. Shortly thereafter I retired. I no longer had the energy to work. Within three months I started feeling better, but if I overworked or had too much stress I was ill again. My doctor allowed me to exercise for five or ten minutes, depending on my endurance. It took nearly a year to regain my strength.
Two years ago I was in a stressful environment and Chronic Fatigue flared up again, but this time it only lasted several months. An alternative physician in Florida discovered I had CFIDS and candida again (this comes not only from what we eat, but also from stress in our life that creates a very acidic condition in our body where yeast, fungus and mold thrive). The doctor put me on diflucan and after a week I experienced severe pain in my kidneys. Immediately he took me off the medication. By coincidence, two friends introduced me to a green drink of 49 different grasses including barley and lemon--- I began eating a more alkaline diet. Within a week I experienced a tremendous surge of energy and vitality and have remained healthy and well since that time.
Recently I had a woman come to me for counseling. Although presently I am retired and working on a doctoral dissertation in Holistic Nutrition and the impact that alkaline dietary changes have on CFS, she was so desperate I agreed to see her. For 15 years she had been treated for depression with little or any improvement. She had just discovered that she had CFS and had likely had it for many years. Over the years she had often felt suicidal and worthless. She had little energy to do anything and could hardly get out of bed in the morning. After the session I asked if we could talk about nutrition. She was eager to learn. She bought Dr. Young’s book and started on an alkaline diet, liquid green drinks sodium chlorite, caprilenic (to kill candida), essential fatty acids, and a homeopathic remedy for anxiety and sleep. At first she would call and complain about the diet. It was difficult for her, but she stuck with it. Three weeks later she called and said, “I have energy. I can get out of bed in the morning, and I have lost eight pounds.” There was vitality in her voice.
As I have researched and talked to people who have overcome Chronic Fatigue with an alkaline diet, I have been amazed at some of the results. Carol, had chronic fatigue for 16 years and tried everything. At one time she was taking 55 capsules a day. “I had a fisherman’s tackle box to organize my supplements,” she told me. Although her health had started to improve three years ago, she claims it was the alkaline diet and green drink that “pushed me over the edge to good health.”
Neem pills are wonderful to get rid of candida.
I strongly recommend Emotion Code and Body Code to help you heal. Go to www.HealersLibrary.com and click on "find a practitioner."
I wish everyone who is suffering with this debilitating disease could have the same success. This is my passion,
