Dear Belleruth,
I have been reading Your Sixth Sense and listening to some of the related downloads.  I wanted to thank you for helping me understand the language of my own inner workings a little bit better.  I have been struggling with Lyme Disease and am faced with the decision of IV antibiotics. It's a rough decision b/c I have many allergies, so it may have to take place in the ICU under the watch of medical staff for 5-8 weeks... ugh!  Here is what I wrote on my blog tonight:

Researchers from the University of Sheffield in the UK evaluated the effectiveness of homeopathic treatment for reducing the symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 

Using a triple-blind design, 103 patients were randomly assigned to homeopathic medicine or an identical placebo condition. Patients had monthly consultations with a professional homeopath for 6 months. Outcomes were measured on the MFI - Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory.  Secondary outcome measures were the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS) and the Functional Limitations Profile (FLP).

Ninety-two patients completed treatment in the trial (47 homeopathic treatment, 45 placebo). Eighty-six patients returned fully or partially completed posttreatment outcome measures (41 homeopathic treatment group who completed treatment, 2 homeopathic treatment group who did not complete treatment, 38 placebo group who completed treatment, and 5 placebo group who did not complete treatment). Seventeen of 103 patients withdrew from treatment or were lost to follow-up.
 

Cochrane analysts examined five randomized, controlled trials of the efficacy of exercise therapy for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and found that after 12 weeks, those receiving exercise therapy were less fatigued than the control participants (SMD -0.77, 95% CIs -1.26 to -0.28).  Additionally, physical functioning was significantly improved with exercise therapy (SMD -0.64, CIs -0.96 to -0.33) but there were more dropouts with exercise therapy (RR 1.73, CIs 0.92 to 3.24). 

Investigators from the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle looked at patterns of alternative medicine use among twins where one twin of the pair had CFS and the other did not.  They also looked at the perceived helpfulness of these methods, and how often these therapies were discussed with physicians.

Just as the person who wrote in, I have been a chronic fatigue sufferer for eight long and lonely years.  This is not only distressing due to the chronic pain, exhaustion and interference with the ability to function normally on a daily basis.  It is also distressing because people don’t believe there is anything wrong with you and get impatient and angry. For years I had judgmental doctors who hated seeing me in the waiting room because they knew they could not help me and therefore blamed me for being sick, just like you wrote. I was told I was stressed and depressed.  That was definitely true, but this was because of my CFS, not what started it!!!!!!!!!!!! 

We found this report in Karen Richards’ Fibromyalgia Newsletter .

Scientists have discovered that people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have certain genes and gene activities that reduce their body’s ability to deal with physical and psychological stress.

"It really is the first credible evidence of a biological basis for chronic fatigue syndrome," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at a press briefing held to announce the results of the largest-ever clinical trial focusing on chronic fatigue syndrome. The research has been published in a set of 14 articles appearing in the April, 2006 issue of the scientific journal Pharmacogenomics.

Long-term outcome of cognitive behavior therapy versus relaxation therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome: a 5-year follow-up study.

Sixty patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome from 3 different London hospitals were randomly assigned to either cognitive behavior therapy or a relaxation therapy. Five years later, 53 of them completed questionnaires and interviews measuring their improvement in symptoms. A total of 68% of the patients who received behavior therapy, and 36% who received relaxation therapy rated themselves as much improved at the 5 year follow-up. In addition, significantly more CBT patients met the criteria for complete recovery, freedom from relapse, and steadily improved symptoms, as compared to the relaxation therapy group. The study concludes that cognitive behavior therapy can produce lasting benefits for CFS, but is not a cure.

Citation: Deale, Husain, Chalder & Wessely. Long-term outcome of cognitive behavior therapy versus relaxation therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome: a 5-year follow-up study. American Journal of Psychiatry 2001 Dec; 158 (12): pp. 2038-42.