CFS, Fibromyalgia And other Illnesses That are Stress Related

Stress is a known trigger for adrenal fatigue and related syndromes, such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia and it can also bring an autoimmune disease to the surface, that is in the body but hasn't fully manifested and thyroid diseases are some of the more common ones that are triggered by stress, especially Grave's Disease/hyperthyroidism.

PTSD (Post Traumatic stress Disorder) is also a chronic stress caused syndrome but is also classified as an anxiety disorder.

I personally went through an extreme, chronic time of stress and my thyroid disease, called "Hashimoto's Thyroiditis" and adrenal fatigue manifested because of it. I was untreated for several months and the result was an added severe flare-up I experienced, that I know for a fact triggered an even more severe CFS form of adrenal fatigue in me (Chronic Fatigue syndrome).

I initially developed severe hives and a strange viral type illness that left me with the CFS. After this, the lymph nodes in my neck, remained swollen to this day and I have severe chemical sensitivities.

My belief is that CFS is an altered HPA Axis, plus altered immune function syndrome combined, so I do try to tell people to get their adrenal hormones and all other hormones checked as well, including the sex hormones because it is my belief that hormonal imbalances over time, can possibly result in CFS and Fibromyalgia type illnesses.

A friend of mine, related to me recently about suffering adrenal imbalances as well, much of it resulting from her treatment with cortical-steroids for TED (thyroid eye disease), in fact she has been through a much tougher time than I have and she also developed fibromyalgia from her imbalance of adrenal and other hormones.

Some who read my articles or my posts on forums, may wonder why I have the passion I do for the adrenal subjects and it is because it is my belief that adrenal fatigue can cause CFS and/or FMS type syndromes, when not taken seriously and investigated/treated if a patient has it.

The EBV (Epstein-Barr Virus), which causes monolucleosis initially in some patients can afterward, remain in a persons body for life. This virus is suspected of having a strong connection to CFS. While most people with EBV in their system (estimates are 80 to 95% of the population), only have antibody titers to the virus, that are just barely positive, like a "5", a "10", "20" above normal, etc..., others actually have flare-ups of this virus, probably due to a compromised immune system (immune deficiency) that causes really high counts/titers of the virus to increase in their bodies over time.

Many in the medical field are of the opinion, including a sister-in-law of mine who I've talked to about this, who is an LPN, that EBV is a background virus like many others in the herpes virus-family, that can flare-up like cold sores can (also a herpes virus that remains in our system). When flare-ups happen, they believe it causes or at least contributes to symptoms of CFS.

In my case, my EBV count was "218" with normal range being <20, so mine was more than ten times the normal cut off range.

Some Doctors believe the EBV test means nothing, unless actually being used to test for monolucleosis but there has to be a reason some patient's EBV counts elevate so highly. Both MDs I now go to, believe that EBV can flare-up in some patients who have high titers of it. Many sources also state that adrenal fatigue is a major feature of this because the adrenals are the major moderators of our immune system.

While EBV may not be the actual root cause of CFS, it has been shown to be an indicator of immune dysfunction in studies that have been conducted. In my opinion, it is just one of many factors that can contribute to the symptoms of CFS.

The Centers For Disease Control/U.S. Gov., has been publishing studies and diagnostic criteria for CFS, for many years, so is recognized a real illness, despite the opinion of some who still believe it is not.

Many patients with CFS have complete remission of it in two to five years (info seldom ever stated) others have partial but significant improvement, even when it doesn't completely remit. Some may have it for many years but regardless, it does not cause organ damage or decrease life span expectancy, according to medical research(also seldom stated). It also does not negatively affect intellect, despite the "brain fog" symptoms it also causes in patients who have it.

Things that speed recovery for CFS, are; treating the adrenal fatigue, getting a lot of sleep and rest, a healthy diet, exercising to tolerance and making sure other diseases a patient might have are treated properly because under-treatment of a thyroid disorder for example, can serve as a trigger for CFS flare-ups and may actually be a trigger for the syndrome itself according to some medical sources. Many sources also state that thyroid patients commonly have co-occurring CFS and/or Fibromyalgia (CFS & FMS have 75% crossover symptoms).

For many with CFS, stress was the trigger for the onset of the syndrome.