Tired all the time? What you need to know about Chronic Fatigue

Constant Fatigue…What is your body trying to tell you?

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is on the rise. Those who come to see me with fatigue are frustrated and hopeless. You’ve gone from firing on all cylinders to struggling to get out of bed in the morning. For many people all the blood tests come back within normal range… no obvious explanation for feeling like you’re dragging yourself around!

In this post I want to provide you with some of the key areas to focus on to start getting a better understanding of your fatigue and what you can start doing now to improve your energy.

Feeling constantly tired is not a normal state of being, but getting the right diagnosis can be difficult. The watch and wait approach isn’t always ideal. Let’s take a look at the diagnosis of CFS.

Factors that increase your risks of developing or being diagnosed with Chronic fatrigue:

Family history

Fibromyalgia

IBS- Irritable bowel syndrome

Depression and anxiety

Signs and symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome

The obvious symptom of fatigue.

One that practitioners will often look for is fatigue after exertion. This can feel debilitating and is often not relieved by rest. Delayed recovery from exercise can take up to a day for people with CFS.

General feeling of being unwell.

Chronic pain- headaches or muscle aches and pains.

Low tolerance for exercise for obvious reasons mentioned above.

Disordered sleep- long hours in bed, but not feeling refreshed by their time in bed.

Daytime tiredness

Insomnia

Cognitive disfunction- Poor short term memory… “what did I come in here for?” 🤔

Decrease in ability to focus and lower processing speed.

Nausea, sweating and dizziness.

More likely to get infections.

diagnosing Chronic fatigue syndrome

This is often a real challenge with many patients going years without a diagnosis, it can commonly be confused with other conditions like fibromyalgia. Diagnosis is often a matter of applying a process of elimination and checking that some of the other things mentioned here in the post aren’t an exisiting issue.

Please note nothing mentioned here is intended as medical advice or treatment, seek out experienced health care practitioners to support you on your healing journey.

I will say with this particular condition, many patients can slowly recover on their own, however this can take a long period of time. Using naturopathic medicine and nutritional medicine may help speed up the process for you.

Sleep Disturbances- Disrupted Circadian Rhythms

This is one of the key aspects that need to be addressed in order to improve extreme fatigue. If your sleep wake cycle is out of balance then your body will struggle to repair itself and heal. Stress and anxiety may be playing a role in your sleep but also considering thing like light exposure, caffeine, sugar and exercise routines. These all significantly impact your ability to fall asleep.

There are several herbal medicines are are great for sleep time anxiety or trouble falling asleep. Including Hops, passionflower, valerian, lemon balm, kava and others. Your herbalist can make a blend specific for you to take at night time.

Melatonin- Apart from being a master sleep hormone melatonin acts as an antioxidant in the body helping to promote a healthy brain and body. If you’ve had chronic long term sleep issues this may be an option for you to explore.

Cortisol and the stress response- If you have experienced chronic stress from any aspect of your life your cortisol rhythm may be dysregulated and need some support coming into balance. In healthy people cortisol spikes first thing in the morning without this spike you may experience a lot of lethargy.

Hypocortisol- or low cortisol levels have to linked to chronic fatigue as well as other conditions.

I commonly test cortisol levels in my clients so that we have a clear idea of what it’s doing at different times of the day and can bring it back into balance using herbal medicine and other nutraceuticals. Addressing your stress response hormones is important for fatigue, but also for avoiding other chronic illnesses.

One question you can ask yourself is “Do you get hangry?” this can be an indication of a cortisol deficiency throughout the day.

While we’re on the topic of cortisol we know that one of the triggering factors for CFS is trauma and extreme stress, the death of a loved one or loosing a job. These are all things we discuss as part of an initial consutlation so that I can have a better idea of how to support your unique situation.

Hormonal Imbalances

The normal systems in your body are extensive and go beyond just your sex hormones, as a naturopath I do a thorough case history to understand which if any hormones may be playing into your chronic fatigue.

Are you perimenopausal? The changes in sex hormones can play a huge role in energy levels, sleep and mood.

Insulin and blood sugar regulation- If you’re up and down like a yo-yo this could be a factor that’s playing a role in your general ability to utilise carbohydrates and feel a balanced level of energy throughout the day.

Thyroid hormones- TSH is the standard pathology testing covered by medicare. If this comes back normal then thyroid is given the green bill of health. What we know is that TSH can be within normal ranges but your active hormone T3 can be low and you may be struggling with a subclinical hypothyroid. It’s something I often refer my clients to have tested. Thyroid issues can result in extreme feelings of fatigue.

Infections

Post viral syndrome!… this is something that’s presenting a lot, with pandemic fatigue, and past COVID infections taking a toll on the system. You can find out more about long COVID and how a naturopath can help at this post.

A key thing to remember is that other viruses can contribute to this also Epstein Barr virus (EBV) a.k.a glandular fever a number of herpes viruses as well as parvovirus. If this is potentially the case there is a need to reduce the viral load on the body using natural anti-virals and support immune system function with mushrooms, herbs and nutraceuticals.

I am very passionate about this area as a Naturopath, having myself suffered with chronic fatigue for several years due to an infection with EBV. I was constantly sick with one infection after another, at it’s worst I was having antibiotic injections as my body’s immune system was struggling. If you suspect you’ve been exposed to a potential pathogen COVID or otherwise, reach out to your naturopath and get help early it can make a significant difference in your energy and recovery.

To learn more about the reactivation of specific viruses head across to this post.

Immune system dysregulation- CD21 cells, CD24 cells, and natural killer cells are all part of your immune system and have been connected to CFS. Having an immune system that isn’t functioning correctly will make you more susceptible to infections.

While I have focused on viral infections here, it’s helpful to keep in mind that bacterial infections and fungal infections have also been linked to chronic fatigue. We know that both minor and major surgeries can be a trigger for CFS and some researchers wonder if this is in part due to the potential exposure to different pathogens which can later on impact your immunity.

Nutritional Deficiencies

Unfortunately due to busy lifestyles and soils that are over farmed it’s becoming harder and harder to get the basic amount of both macro nutrients (carbs, protein and fats) and micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals)

Your basic pathology testing done through medicare won’t necessarily look at all of the relevant nutrient levels, if you’ve had a history of following restrictive diets like, keto, vegan, weight loss, you may be even more likely to be running low. I often refer for functional testing of nutrients if the budget permits but taking a thorough case history is a great starting point at discovering potential hole.

Which nutrients do you need to consider?

Iron

B12 in fact all B vitamins are important.

Co-Enzyme Q10

Magnesium

Vitamin D

Iodine

Zinc

Potassium

This list could go on, I would suggest you avoid self prescribing as many minerals compete with each other for absorption and some of the above like Iodine is not suitable for those suffering thyroid issues.

Pregnancy is one of the most metabolically demanding things a human body can do. Post pregnancy fatigue is real and it needs to be supported with the right nutrients and counselling. I aim to see my new mums at the 8 or 12 week mark post partum to ensure we’re covering all major bases.

Chronic Pain

If you have any form of chronic pain, be it from joints, back/neck pain, endometriosis, migraines, or any other ongoing pain this must be addressed as a part of your chronic fatigue.

Pain in and of itself is your body’s way of communicating that something’s not right and needs your attention, beyond this it’s exhausting for both the mind and body. So addressing pain using natural anti-inflammatories and herbal medicines that are known to help reduce the pain response can form a key part of our treatment focus for you.

Mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises are all helpful for pain management and acupuncture and other hands on modalities are a good place to start seeing some changes in this area.

An interesting note! Your muscles require a lot of energy to function, when you’re running low on energy your muscles struggle to both function and repair. They may start to feel rigid and shortened. So if muscle pain and tension is a factor for you it may be time to consider improving overall energy production in your body.

Exercise is a challenge, you know exercise will make you feel better but you don’t have the energy and maybe even find you’re in too much pain to exercise. Remember to start small. Even just 20 minutes of stretching and gentle yoga can be great for promoting circulation and decreasing you sense of tension and pain.

Don’t push yourself with strenuous exercise this will only make you more exhausted and potentially set you back. Slowly with time build up.

Fatigue treatment - How can a Naturopath Help?

It’s my experience that chronic fatigue and extreme exhaustion usually comes about due to one or a combination of several of the above factors, we are all living fairly stressful and demanding lives, combine this with the current exposure to viruses and toxins and we have a perfect storm.

Address what you can and seek out help for the rest, it’s amazing how quickly you can turn things around if you have the right team on your side.

I suffered for years before seeing a naturopath, and once I did engage things finally started to turn around for me and my health. Ultimately my chronic fatigue syndrome was a gift as through it I found a career that I love.

If you’d like to read more about chronic fatigue and specific nutrients head across to this post.

If you have any questions about any of the above please book a complimentary 15 minute health call with me today.