Biotox Heavy Metals Detox: Chronic Fatigue
Chronic Fatigue is a disorder of unknown cause that lasts for prolonged periods and causes extreme and debilitating exhaustion as well as a wide range of other symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle ache and joint pain, often resembling flu and other viral infections. Also known as Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), Chronic Epstein-Barr Virus (CEBV), Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), “Yuppy Flu” and other names, it is frequently misdiagnosed as hypochondria, psychosomatic illness, or depression, because routine medical tests do not detect any problems.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is exactly what its name implies, namely an overwhelming sense of fatigue. Symptoms may represent several ongoing disorders which begin abruptly, tend to come and go, and may last for 6 months. Because there are no specific laboratory tests, diagnosis is made by the presence of chronic fatigue that does not resolve. The clinical disorder is defined by fatigue severe enough to decrease daily activity by at least 50% for at least 6 months. In order to have this condition, it is necessary to eliminate all other clinical conditions, including possible psychiatric problems.
Signs and Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome are quite variable. They include sleep disturbances, that may produce increased sleep or insomnia. There are often problems with neuropsychological function, such as sensitivity to light, forgetfulness, irritability, depression, vision changes, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Fatigue may be quite severe. It may be seen in conjunction with generalized muscle weakness, muscle aches, headaches and joint pain. Sometimes there is mild fever, sore throat and painful lumps in the neck, armpit or groin.
Oxidative Stress and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Studies have shown that oxidative stress plays a role in the development of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Fulle et al. 2000; Richards et al. 2000; Logan et al. 2001). Oxidative stress is a term used to describe the body’s prolonged exposure to oxidative factors that cause more free radicals than the body can neutralize. Free radicals are produced as a byproduct of normal metabolic functions. When there are enough free radical scavengers present, such as glutathione and vitamins C, E, and A, along with zinc and other nutrients, through normal metabolic functioning, the body will “mop up” or neutralize the free radicals. When free radicals are not neutralized, the body can become vulnerable to cellular destruction.
A relationship between abnormal oxidative stress and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be found in the literature. An article in the journal Life Science described a study that showed that patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome had lower serum transferrin levels and higher lipoprotein peroxidation. These results indicate that patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have increased susceptibility of LDL and VLDL to copper-induced peroxidation and that this is related both to their lower levels of serum transferrin and to other unidentified pro-oxidizing effects of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Manuel y Keenoy et al. 2001).
Exercise has been shown to increase the production of oxidants. Fortunately, regular endurance exercise results in adaptations in the skeletal muscle antioxidant capacity, which protects myocytes (muscle cells) against the deleterious effects of oxidants and prevents extensive cellular damage (McCully et al. 1996; Powers et al. 1999).
A study of the oxygen delivery to muscles in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome found that oxygen delivery and oxidative metabolism was significantly reduced in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients after exercise (compared with sedentary controls) (McCully et al. 1999).
Metal Sensitivity and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The effect of dental metal (amalgam) removal was studied in 111 patients with metal hypersensitivity and symptoms resembling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. After consultation with a dentist, the patients decided to replace their metal restorations with nonmetallic materials. A significant number of patients had metal-specific lymphocytes in the blood. Nickel was the most common, followed by inorganic mercury, gold, phenyl-mercury, cadmium, and palladium. As compared to lymphocyte responses in healthy subjects, the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome group had significantly increased responses to several metals, especially to inorganic mercury, phenyl-mercury, and gold. Following dental metal removal, 83 patients (76%) reported long-term health improvement; 24 patients (22%) reported unchanged health; and two patients (2%) reported worsening of symptoms. Following dental metal replacement, the lymphocyte reactivity to metals decreased as well (Stejskal et al. 1999) (see “Mercury Amalgam Toxicity” in the May 2001 issue of Life Extension Magazine).
Chronic Fatigue: Case Report
Traditional medicine believes that the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is not yet known. Current theories are looking at the possibilities of neuroendocrine dysfunction, viruses, retroviruses environmental toxins, genetic predisposition, stealth organisms or a combination of these. Unfortunately researchers are looking for common denominators amongst the CFS patients that would provide the underlying cause for all CFS patients. Over 25 years of clinical research has led me to witness that the disease process is as individual as one’s finger print. As the number of insults to the body increases, so are the patient’s chances for developing the disease. Most patients are walking time bombs and often a single incident is capable of triggering off the symptoms. As Hans Seyle, the internationally known researcher on stress and distress, discovered no matter what the insult to the body is the adrenal glands are the first line of defense. The weaker the adrenal glands become other glands like the thyroid become over worked and eventually decrease in function.
P.H. is a 41 year-old female patient who has suffered from severe CFS for the past 12 years. This patient suffered with headaches, low grade fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, depression, anxiety, inability to concentrate, loss of mental quickness and fuzzy thinking, muscle and joint pains and weakness, abnormal low blood pressure, Candida Albicans, viral infections, allergies, digestive problems, chronic constipation, kidney infections, dizziness, speech and visual impairment, weight loss, severe loss of energy accompanied by severe overall weakness.
Clinically this patient presented with a multitude of factors all of which contributed to her CFS. The two areas circled in red (see x-ray, below) represent areas of infection. The upper area also involved an old root canal which not only was infected with five major pathogens but also had two small mercury fillings that were placed in its roots following a surgergical procedure (apicoectomy). The lower area represented an infected site where a tooth was previously extracted. Other issues involved the presence of mercury poisoning, mercury in the thyroid gland and small intestine yeast infection, bite interferences, cranial bone distortions, neurologic weakness of the upper left cervical nerves (C1-6), galvanic currents due to various mentals, presence of two other heavy metals (aluminum and platnum), severe intraoral muscle spasm,emotional distress and pelvic muscle weakness. All factors combined overloaded the adrenal glands.
Treatment involved a program to chelate out the heavy metals, correct metabolic imbalances, boost the immune system and treat the emotional component of her problem with Bach Flower Essences. The patient returned after two weeks for further treatment. After balancing the cranial bones and bite the upper left second premolar tooth was extracted. The socket of this tooth was further treated by drilling out the infected bone, irrigated with Sanum homeopathic remedies and packed with Gelfoam soaked with the same remedies to prevent post-surgical infection. The patient stated that she awakened the next morning at 3 o’clock, experiencing sweating, fever and chills. The patient remained up from 3 o’clock on but was not tired. Normally such an event would have destroyed her. Three weeks later the patient phoned and stated that she had more energy than she knew what to do with.
The patient’s immune system was overwhelmed by the insults of the heavy metal poisoning, infected areas of the bone, old root canal tooth plus low thyroid function and cranial and bite imbalances. By removing the primary offending foci, the body was quickly able to respond and regain much of its lost energy. Since mercury poisoning affects the nervous system and is an enzyme poison and clinically minics many medical diseases it is difficult to separate out the underlying causes.
CFS is caused by many potential agents which present the clinician a major challenge in diagnosing the underlying factors in each patient. Many potential factors exist that can cause CFS and each patient shares many of the same factors but they also have their own unique pattern. This is what frustrates most health care practitioners since they are almost always are looking for the same pattern (syndrome) in all patients. Also of extreme importance is the dental component of this disease which is often missed by most health care practitioners.
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