When it comes to dealing with some conditions, it seems science and patients are doomed to fight. Now, this might be changing in relationship to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. New information is shedding light on the medical reality of this disease.
For decades there have been ongoing struggles to get this condition recognized as medical and not psychiatric. In reality, Chronic Fatigue has been documented for centuries. Most of that time this disease been left to the realm of mind therapy and not a physical reality. In fact, it’s been known by a variety of names, some neutral and others less kind.
A study that published initial results in early 2011 indicated that there may be a way to actually test a person and identify Chronic Fatigue. Researchers sampled and tested spinal fluid from test subjects. The fluid was then analyzed. The results are both astonishing and encouraging. Over seven hundred individual proteins were found in the fluid specifically related to Chronic Fatigue.
The lack of a way to test for the disease has been one of the challenges. In a sense the western medical model is symptoms and tests must prove a person’s specific illness. Without this, the problem has many aspects. Every illness is catalogued with numeric codes. Those codes determine how much an insurance company pays for a procedure, which drugs are allowed, and so on. Without a specific code, it’s tough to get any money for the treatment a patient needs.
The attitude goes even further with some in the field of medicine. If there is no medical proof-aka a test-then perhaps what you feel isn’t actually a disease, but something caused only by your mind. Obviously, this is very insulting for those who often struggle for years to be well. It is good news that this attitude is loosing momentum.
Most people with Chronic Fatigue end up using a variety of medications and supplements to combat the symptoms. Medications include those for depression and pain while supplements such as Cordyceps are used to combat low energy levels and trouble concentrating.
Although it is likely to be a couple more years before the information about spinal fluid proteins is useful for all patients, it sheds light on a serious problem. It is not uncommon for individuals to suffer for decades. In fact, a percentage of patients never actually get well. Instead, they adapt and change their lifestyle to match their reduced capacity.
This is often a frustrating and depressing way to live one’s life. Thanks to potential information such as that revealed in this new data, change may be possible. Learning how to test for disease frequently opens the door for effective treatment. Perhaps the landscape for those suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome will change over the next few years.