Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Candida

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In an earlier post that looked at the long-term consequences of antibiotic use in creating chronic, ongoing levels of inflammation in the brain, I discussed the science of how such changes can eventually lead to conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia, Multiple Sclerosis, Autism, and other conditions. Now, a new study from several centers in Japan illustrates how this chronic brain inflammation can also play a role in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). Given the good results that we’ve seen in these areas, it makes complete sense that reversing the effects of antibiotic use is a necessity of modern life. It appears that there is no safe level of antibiotic use, as antibiotics are always creating long-term imbalances in the body that may not produce symptoms until decades later.

Earlier last year, I had the opportunity to study with Dr. Raymond Perrin of Manchester, England, who has developed a technique to address CFS and ME quite successfully over the past two decades. His approach has helped people who have been bed-ridden for many years, regain their lives back. A hallmark of his approach is to re-establish lymphatic drainage of the head and neck. Without this drainage, the flow of toxins and cellular waste out of the brain is greatly reduced, leading to a state of chronic swelling and inflammation. This inflammation is what the Japanese researchers have linked to CFS and ME. Dr. Perrin cites toxin exposure, medications (antibiotics), candida, viruses, and other possible factors as being the initial cause of the swelling that subsequently leads to CFS and ME.

For those not familiar with CFS and ME, these are conditions that are marked by extreme fatigue that is often profoundly debilitating and accompanied by aches, pains, digestive disturbances, poor memory, cognitive dysfunction, and other symptoms. The terms CFS and ME are often used interchangeably, but they can present with different symptoms. ME tends to involve aches, pain, fevers, and many systems, while CFS is more generally the persistent fatigue that is not related to exerting oneself and not improved by rest. Both conditions tend to have a lot of cross-over symptoms, and since the approach to correcting them is similar, they tend to get lumped together. Of course, both of these conditions start with much lesser symptoms of fatigue, aches and pains that eventually get worse and never get better.

Both conditions are caused by a chronic state of inflammation, which is often caused by past antibiotic use and the subsequent development of fungal candida. Add to that the body burden of toxins that accumulates within each of us daily and you’ll have the makings for the next “medical mystery.” Given that the effect of candida can lead to over 100+ symptoms and conditions in the body, it’s easy to see how most medical doctors who are not aware of these complexities can easily be at a loss for coming up with answers. When such complexities arise, throwing medications at the problem seems to be the knee-jerk response of most medical doctors, and antibiotics are their default choice, regardless of the cause.

So far, the medical field treats these conditions like most other conditions that it doesn’t understand and relegates it to the field of psychotherapy. Many CFS and ME patients can tell you that after years and years of tests and drugs, the MDs will finally tell them its all in their head. This is far too often the case in many conditions, as the limits of modern medicine continues to increase, while their ability to help patients decreases. More and more people are falling outside the ability of medicine to help them as the gap between science and medicine widens.

Although these may seem like complex issues, my experiences, and those of Dr. Perrin, seem to better indicate that often simple protocols, consistently applied, produce the best results. While many an exasperated patient may regard these results as miracles, we don’t quite see it that way. Miracles tend to be occurrences that are rare, but what we accomplish with our approaches consistently produces results that are real and reproduceable on a daily basis. We don’t claim to run miracle factories. We use time-proven approaches, based on scientific data, to produce the inevitable effect of health in the mind and body.

It’s understandable that those who seek help from the medical field will feel lost, ignored, and abandoned, as that is that path of modern medicine. It is a profession that has lost its way with little left to offer those who need help the most.

That doesn’t have to be your path though, as other choices are available. Choose wisely.

Dr. Jeffrey S. McCombs, DC

Jeff McCombs