Article on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and XMRV virus

[hopefulmama]

Hi,

My husband found two interesting articles this week to share from the Wall St. Journal… here is the first:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704005404576176823580854478.html

About the relationship between CFS and a virus called XMRV (a retrovirus)…

I know some folks on this site struggle with chronic fatigue so thought I’d share.

[eann]

Hi Hopefulmama,

I posted about the same virus recently. It has not only been found in CFS patients, but in FMS and Lyme Disease also. There were some positives in other groups that have neurological symptoms like MS and ALS. It was first found in prostate cancer, now breast and some lymph cancers.

Are you doing well on your protocol? If I remember right, you are using herbs? How are you?

[nspiker]

Interesting article Andrea.

Dr. Bell is a well-known doctor in the CFS field. I wasn’t aware of his work on the XMRV virus. So much has been published about the Whittemore Peterson Institute and their discovery of XMRV.

Thanks for posting it.
nancy

[hopefulmama]

Hi Eann and Nancy!

I don’t know anything about XMRV so will have to research further! I hope you are both well.

Eann, thank you so much for asking about how I am doing. I honestly don’t know! 😀

I would say that overall, I am very lucky and pleased that a full eight months after first seeking out this board I am hanging in there and still pretty ‘normal’ – whatever that means. I suspect that my adrenals are still shot and perhaps even more out of whack than my thyroid (which I am currently treating with 5000iu a day of D3 and an herbal formula for mycoplasma called “Myco” by Raintree Nutritional). I am on an adrenal support formula and hope it is helping. Definitely not getting enough sleep and way too much stress at home but that seems par for the course with three children under the age of six, two of whom are boys engaged in intense sibling rivalry. So since I can’t do much to change the home stress (though I’m trying) I am working on supporting the adrenals in every other way I can. Been re-reading Dr W’s book on Adrenal Fatigue lately for his good tips.

I have developed a lot of arthritis symptoms in one hand, especially late at night and first thing in the morning. It is the hand that I landed on (hard) when I fell down the stairs at our old house in October. I know my LLMD has said that lyme loves injuries, so I guess I gave the bacteria a new place to have fun. My hand swells up and gets very stiff at night, but during the day is normal. I still have the little strange subcutaneous skin areas around the top joints of my fingers, which may or may not be rheumatoid nodules but apparently do not look like calcifications. My LLMD says that bartonella can do subcutaneous lesions like this and she may put me on another herbal formula in the future created by Dr. Z in NYC for bartonella.

I am exhausted much of the time, but my husband strongly feels that is because I am getting on average 5 hours of sleep per night with a ton of stress during the day. He may be right – on the day when I actually slept for 8 hours, I felt amazing.

Really trying to keep a positive and grateful outlook. Especially in light of everything that has happened in Japan in the last 24 hours I feel infinitely blessed by all that I *do* have and by the life and love I am lucky enough to enjoy at this moment. All of you on this board are part of that blessing and I thank you so much for all the support and information you have shared with me this year.

Take care and be well!
A

[eann]

I’m glad you are holding your own. I have often wondered how herbal treatments compare to antibiotics with Lyme Disease. It is really hard to find objective information that compares the different outcomes.

One thing my rheumy told me is that RA affects the lower 2 joints on your fingers, but not the top joint. She said the top joint is affected by osteoarthritis.

Good luck with your health and enjoy the little ones. My kids are raised, but I sure do remember the sibling rivalry.

[Author]

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