8. Symptom Therapy

1)** This chapter deals with specific
symptoms  that you might encounter with M.E.
or F.M.  Each symptom has numerous therapies
which may help.  The therapies are listed with the
most effective being first; the majority of therapies
have been suggested by experts.  Write in your
own thoughts for the times when a symptom re-
occurs, and send me any notes or observations.

2)** Allergies 

     a)** Allergist

          (1)** Vega Testing

     b)** Naturopath

     c)** Over the counter medications like
     Hismanal and Seldane.

     d)** Acupuncture

     e)** Sinequan

     f)** Things to Avoid (#93052 Video5 @
     5:16 - Dr. Charles Lapp):

          (1)** Coffee

          (2)** Nutra-Sweet/Aspartame

          (3)** Sugar

          (4)** Nicotine/Smoking #91033-17 
          After seeing over 700 patients,
          "those who smoke a package of
          cigarettes a day are the ones who
          have the worse chronic
          inflammation pattern and will suffer
          almost steadily, day-by-day over a
          number of years".

          (5)** Alcohol

     g)** Air filter

     h)** Humidifier for dust

3)** Back and Neck Conditions 

     a)** Proper Posture

     b)** Stretching

     c)** Neck pillow for sleeping

     d)** Chiropractor

4)** Balance, Dizziness 

     a)** Adalat

     b)** Exercise

5)** Chest Pains 

     a)** Renitidine

     b)** Kneeling on all fours seemed to help
     one person - maybe it changes the effect of
     gravity on chest muscles??

6)** Chills. 

     a)** Hot tap water or tea - cheap, fast and
     long-lasting.

     b)**  Electric heating pads that are
     washable, with fully adjustable thermostats,
     can be purchased for $40 at Consumer's
     Distributors.  Walmart has microwaveable
     pads with a thermometer strip - these stay
     warm for several hours, and allow you to
     move around, as opposed to the electric
     pads that are plugged in, and are not
     mobile.  

     c)** Hot Water Bottle

     d)** Chemical hand warmers and full pads
     that can be re-energized or reused ($20).

     e)** More clothing, sweaters, thick socks

7)** Cognitive (brain) function 

     a)** Rest

     b)** Snacks - possible hypoglycemia

     c)** Prozac

     d)** Zoloft

     e)** Paxil

     f)Diamox

     g)Calcium Channel Blockers (Dr. Charles
     Lapp)

     h)** Nimodipine

     i)** Gingko

     j)** Fluvoxemine

     k)**Naphazoline

     l)** Imitrex

8)** Cold Sores.

     a)**Canker and cold-sore ointment

     b)**Acyclavir

     c)**Vitamins

9)** Depression 

     a)** Anti-depressants

     b)** Exercise

     c)** Psychiatrist

     d)** Psychologist

10)** Digestion and Colon
Problems:

     a)**  Increase the amount of fibre in your
     diet.  Fibre helps in the treatment of
     diarrhea as well as constipation. 
     Metamucil is a good source of daily fibre
     (London Drugs has a generic product at 2/3
     the price).  It is simply finely ground-up
     seeds; it can be purchased in most stores
     and does not cause long-term problems.

     b)**  Eat more fruits and vegetables to
     increase the natural fibres and pectin.

     c)**  Drink about 10  8oz. glasses of water
     a day (eg 2 glasses at each meal, plus with
     your snack).  This should help with
     any bowel and digestion problems,
     as well as irregularity. 

11)** Dry Mouth   #941005-43

     a)** Chewing sugarless gum will increase
     the amount of saliva in your mouth. 

     b)** Sugarless mints

12)** Energy - low/ Fatigue  (tiredness
not sleepiness)

     a)** Ampligen

     b)** Exercise

     c)** Kutapressin

     d)** Prozac

     e)** Elavil

     f)** Snacks

     g)** Zoloft

     h)** Nitro-glycerin

     i)** Light therapy

     j)** Omatadine 

     k)**Paxil

     l)** Magnesium

     m)**Reliv 

     n)**ATP 

13)** Eye Problems

     a) ** Reading

          (1)** One remedy is to use a large
          piece of cardboard with a slit cut
          out (the size of one line of text) and
          then slide the cardboard down the
          page as you read through the slit,
          reading only one line of text at a
          time.  M.E. patients seem to have
          problems focusing or concentrating
          on more than one line of a text at a
          time.  UBC Institute for the Blind,
          as well as many of the libraries,
          have books available on cassette if
          you have difficulty reading. (#91022
          Video1 @0:20) .  

          (2)** Have your eyes checked -
          M.E. and F.M. peoples' eyesight
          deteriorates faster than a healthy
          person.

          (3)**  Read in good light, not when
          you're tired.

          (4)**  Read in short spells

          (5)**  Use a ruler to focus eyes on a
          specific line.

     b)** Dry Eyes. 

          (1)** You can use over-the-counter
          artificial tears.

          (2)** According to my optometrist,
          (95/04) you can wear the new daily
          wear disposable contacts for up to
          10 days at a time, although not
          overnight.  These new contacts are
          thinner and don't stick to your eyes
          nearly as much as the weekly
          disposables. They can be purchased
          for about $30 for 30 lenses, and
          might help you to deal with the dry
          eyes better than normal contacts. 
          Your extended health plan may pay
          up to $150 per person every two
          years for contact lenses or glasses
          (depending on your plan). 
          Purchasing lenses in the above
          fashion keeps you in that limit. 

14)** Headaches.  Rebound headaches
can occur from medications you take to relieve the
pain of a headache.  If you are taking daily pain
medication, avoid taking drugs to prevent or
reduce a minor headache - this may prevent the
cycle of pain and pills.

     a)** Elavil

     b)** Adalat

     c)** Imitrix

     d)** Seldane - to relieve a sinus headache

     e)** Relaxation techniques

     f) Eyes should be tested by an optometrist,
     as poor eyesight could be a cause of
     headaches or migraines.

     g)** Snacks

     h)** Hot shower

     i)** Naphazoline

     j)** Acetaminophen

     k)** Ibuprofen

     l)** Chiropractor

     m)** Acupuncture

     n)** TENS

15)** Hypoglycemia.

     a)** Try to eat small portions of food
     several times throughout the day, rather
     than 3 big meals, and avoid long stretches
     of time between meals.  Always carry a
     snack with you when you go out.

     b)** Omatadine 

16)** IBS (Irritable Bowel
Syndrome) 

     a)** Diet

     b)** Proparacaine 

     c)** Fibre 

     d)** Exercise

17)** Immune modulators  (#93052
Video4 @ 0:51) (Charles Lapp)

     a)** Gamma globulin

     b)** Kutapresin

     c)** Alpha-Interferon

     d)**  Ampligen

18)** Immune System 

     a)** Co-Enzyme Q10

     b)** Effamol #950301-8

     c)** Prozac

     d)** Tagament

     e)** Zantac

     f)** B-12 vitamin shot

     g)** Gamma Globulin

     h)** Echinacea

     i)** Vitamin C

     j)** Flu Shot

     k)** Light therapy

19)** Irritable Bladder 

     a)** Try to hold on longer and train your
     bladder - it is a muscle also.

20)** Memory

     a)**Gingko

     b)** Use aids for your memory like a tape
     recorder or pen and paper

21)** Migraines  - not just bad headaches,
classic migraines (blurred visions, spots in front of
eyes, tingling in hands, extreme light sensitivity,
nausea)

     a)**  Imitrex, as discussed in Chapter 7.

     b)** #1-800-663-3557- Migraine
     Foundation.

     c)** Avoid Aspirin for pain relief - use
     acetaminophen instead.

     d) Do not use Fiorinal as the barbiturate
     effects in the drug can be bad for M.E.
     sufferers.

     e)TENS machine (#91022 Video 1@ 1:36) 

     f) Acupressure.

     g) Acupuncture.

     h)** Hypnotist (or other stress reducers). 

     i)** Avoid: wine, chocolate, bright lights,
     oversleeping (staying in bed longer than
     normal - probably the biggest cause of
     migraines and weekend headaches).

     j) {PO}{Taking a hot shower may help
     blood circulation and help with the
     symptoms of a migraine.}

     k)** Tanacet, a herbal non-prescription
     treatment.  Phone 1-800- 826-2238.

     l)** {PO}{Use a blow-dryer to blow hot air
     against your face and eyes which might
     help to reduce the pain by increasing the
     blood circulation.}

     m) Coffee.  Some people have found that
     coffee will help their migraines, as the
     caffeine expands the blood vessels,
     bringing more blood flow to the brain.

     n) ** Just as you feel a migraine coming
     on, try taking a Gravol pill.  This may help
     to prevent the migraine. (Grade E)

22)** Morning Stiffness. 

     a)** Hot Shower.

     b)** Stretching routines.

23)** Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
(MCS) 

     a)** Detective work, using the process of
     elimination to determine cause of symptoms

     b)** Allergist

24)** Muscle Pain 

     a)** Light exercise (F.M.)

     b)** Elavil

     c)** Sinequan

     d)** Tofrinal

     e)** Narcotics, for severe pain

     f)** Nitro-glycerin

     g)** Physiotherapy

     h)** Heat/hot shower

     i)**  Massage

     j)**  Very light exercise (M.E.)

     k)** Adamantan

     l)** Ultrasound

     m)**Acupuncture

     n)** Stretching (Yoga)

     o)** Anti-inflammatories (NSAID)

     p)** TENS

     q)** Hydro-therapy

     r)** Proparacaine

     s)** Chiropractor

25)** Nasal Congestion  (also see
"Allergies")   

     a)** Antihistamine

     b)** Seldane

     c)** Nasal Spray (eg Otrivin)

     d)** Saline irrigation #941102-31(Grade
     D).  "Mix 8 oz of water, « tsp salt, and a
     pinch of baking soda to act as a buffer. 
     Use rubber bulb syringe to rinse out nasal
     passages, twice per day." 

     e)** Hot Shower

     f)** Blow dryer

26)** Nerves/Neurological problems 

     a)** Rivotril

     b)** Gingko

     c)** B-12 

     d)** Vitamins

27)** Parasites.  An antibiotic called
Flagyl has been used to treat a parasitic infection
in one long-term M.E. sufferer, and he seems to
have improved a great deal.  To prove that you
have these parasites, you must do a "purged stool"
test, which requires the sixth bowel movement
after taking medication, done 3 days in a row. 
This parasite can be hard to detect (eg with Beaver
Fever, the parasites penetrate the intestine and are
not detected in a regular stool sample).  Your
doctor will know more about it.  Flagyl, which is
an antibiotic, will rid the body of the parasite, but
will favour the growth of yeast, and will have
some side effects.  A non-prescription health-food
remedy for the parasite is called Citri-Biotic by
Sisu, which is a grapefruit seed extract (100 mg)
and Artemisia Annva (250 mg), also called
wormwood.  These remedies treat yeast infections
and parasites.  A book describing this is "Full of
Life" by Luc De Schepper, 239pp $18.95.

28)** Restless Leg Syndrome 

     a)** Rivotril

     b)** Oxycodone

     c)** Exercise

29)** Shingles 

     a)** Acyclavir 

30)** Sleepiness (not Tiredness)  -
suffering from lack of sleep, not lack of energy

     a)** Avoid caffeine

     b)** Light (F.M.) or very light (M.E.)
     exercise

     c)** Light therapy

     d)** Vitamin C

31) Sleep.  Make sure you keep a regular
routine - go to bed at the same time, wake up at
the same  time, 7 days a week.  Your body works
on an internal time clock, and if you change it,
your body never knows when it's supposed to go
to sleep or wake up.

     a) Some of the anti-depressants mentioned
     earlier will help you go to sleep.  Take
     them 1 to 2 hours before you go to
     bed.  The prescription drug Elavil
     has been singled out as a drug that
     does work fairly well to help you
     sleep better.

     b)** You may require prescription sleeping
     pills.  Imovane (Grade C) seems to last for
     7 or 8 hours, and may help to keep you
     asleep. Avoid taking sleeping pills every
     night; instead try taking them 3 times a
     week to allow your body to get back to its
     own rhythm naturally.  You will still be
     getting at least 3 nights of fair sleep during
     the week, to catch up for the loss during
     the other times.

     c)** Rivotril

     d)** Sinequan with Chlonepherine 

     e) Do not go to bed till you feel that you
     will fall asleep. You will simply cause
     yourself much frustration if you stay in bed
     while you are tossing and turning all night.

     f) Avoid taking naps during the day.  Even
     if you've had a poor night's sleep, taking a
     nap will alter your body's internal clock.

     g)** Caffeine. #940114-6; (#92055 Video2
     @ 06:10).  Avoid coffee and caffeine
     drinks as much as possible.  Some people
     find that coffee in the morning (1-2 cups
     maximum) gives them an energy boost. 
     Caffeine may be found in such products as
     Anacin and Excedrin (both are forms of
     A.S.A.).  Each tablet contains the
     equivalent caffeine of one cup of coffee. 
     Coffee is a diuretic, so it should not be
     considered as part of your daily water
     intake.  If you prefer decaffeinated coffee,
     the decaffeination method is important -
     Taster's Choice & Nescafe use the Swiss
     water process decaffeination method which
     uses methylene chloride; this may be a
     harmful chemical. Sanka is decaffeinated
     naturally.  Caffeine may cause some bowel
     or sleep problems many hours after
     consumption.

     h)** Valerian

     i)** Melatonin

     j) Avoid physical or mental activities
     before going to bed - do something that is
     relaxing.  Things to avoid include
     action-type T.V. shows, sex the last thing
     before going to bed, using alcohol in the
     evening, foods that would give you
     indigestion, and avoid eating a meal 2 or 3
     hours before bed so that your energy levels
     will be low.

     k)** Over-the-counter sleeping pills such
     as Sleep-Eze D or Nytol would be better to
     use than some prescription sleeping pills,
     as they are not as strong or addictive.

     l)** Light therapy - your body becomes
     attuned to the difference between day and
     night (awake and asleep).

          (1)** Make your room as dark as
          possible #950102-13.  Buy
          room-darkening shades or metal
          blinds.  Plastic shutters let too much
          light through so that the room is not
          dark enough.

     m) Have a warm glass of milk an hour
     before bedtime.  This has proven to be
     effective.

     n) Drink lots of fluids throughout the day
     so that your body gets the fluids it needs. 
     Avoid fluids after suppertime so you will
     not wake up in the night to make a trip to
     the bathroom.

     o) Nasal sprays like Dristan or Otrivin may
     help clear nasal congestion so that you
     sleep easier.  Try to use only "half a
     squirt" per nostril.  These sprays are high
     strength, and using too much can create a
     rebound effect making your sinuses more
     congested.  This fact is pointed out on the
     package itself.

32)** Stress

     a) Plan, pace, and prioritize your day so
     that you do not overwork yourself.

     b) Find a helper who is willing to do some
     of the things that you need done - this helps
     with the frustration of feeling that you
     never get anything accomplished.

     c)** Try to get enough sleep.

     d)** Stretching exercises and movement to
     avoid atrophy in the muscles  (#90050
     Video1 @ 6:56); (#90050 Video1 @ 6:43).

     e) Balanced diet.

     f) Hypnotherapist and relaxation
     techniques.

33)** Sweats/Fever.

     a)** Rivotril

     b)** Keep your bedroom cold by leaving a
     window open, to avoid sweating.  Get a
     twin electric blanket with separate controls,
     to allow your spouse to keep warm, and to
     ensure that you stay at a constant
     temperature.  If you keep your
     air-conditioner running over night, the
     room will be at a steady temperature, plus
     the air-conditioner removes any moisture in
     the air.

     c)Keep your body temperature constant
     throughout the day.  You can purchase
     heating pads/electric blankets with
     adjustable heating controls to lay on the
     chair which you sit in.  Keep your house
     temperature at a normal level - this helps
     non-ill family members to cope better and
     allows your body to work toward
     controlling it's temperature.  Wear several
     layers of clothes, so that if you start to
     sweat you can take a sweater or shirt off. 

     d) ** Drink ice water kept in the fridge

34)**  Weight Gain.  Many people,
especially women, seem to gain weight rapidly
with this illness.  A suggestion is to use a meal
replacement system, or drink only a glass of milk
for a meal and snack that you are able to resist
eating.  {PO}{I finally read the ingredients in a
meal replacement product - YUCK!  Find a
healthier one!}  This will help to reduce the
number of calories per day.  Keep all foods that
you tend to binge on in a locked area, to prevent
yourself from having easy access to them (and
"NO", you do not get to keep the key!).

35)** Yeast Infection Treatments .
(#92002 Video1 @ 0:40); #92034; #93046-10. 
Flora Balance ($30 for a two month supply) is a
very safe and effective way to control buildup of
yeast.  It is a naturally occurring bacteria, similar
to asidopholus, but much stronger.  When you
take Flora Balance or asidopholus, the capsules
should be enteric coated so that they are dissolved
in the intestine and not in the stomach.  The
stomach acid may destroy some of the bacteria in
the capsule. Many doctors prescribe large doses of
antibiotics for their patients to combat viruses and
infections.   These antibiotics may cause a
reduction in the body's ability to fight yeast
infections in the intestines, as the antibiotics also
destroy some of the friendly bacteria found in the
body.  It is recommended that you reduce the use
of antibiotics, if possible.