How I cured my chronic fatigue syndrome

Years ago I had chronic fatigue syndrome. When I would get a simple cold it would go on for months. At the same time, an old friend of mine—also a nurse—had chronic fatigue even more seriously than I did, when she got a cold she would routinely end up in the ICU. We worked on our health issues together and are now both healthy.

We found the key to health was improving our immune systems--addressing the deficiencies in our diet and way of life. Most people with general health problems will be helped by this plan, chronic fatigue or not, but it takes time, kind of like transforming your back yard from dirt to a healthy lawn. It's a methodical, persistent process that leads to overall health.

Here is how we strengthened our bodies — more or less in this order:

Water
Vitamin D (while optimizing cellular health )
Probiotics
Omega 3 fatty acids
Multivitamins
Sleep
Walking or other exercise
Not least:
Reshaping interactions with food including by avoiding inflammatories

Water

More important than anything, we are living organisms. Our cells, muscles, blood, and brain cannot function right if we allow them to shrivel. The vast majority of people walk around in a state of dehydration that causess ill health. I am an ER / ICU nurse. I once took care of a woman who arrived in the ER scrunched in a ball, she couldn't talk, move, or respond. It was an emergency. We started exploring every option as to what was happening with her. We started an IV, gave her 2 liters of fluid, and she came back to life. She began talking coherently, excitedly, functioning--she walked out the door completely healthy, and the only thing we did for her is give her water. So many patients who arrive in the ER really just need to drink some water. So whenever you feel unwell, (unless you have kidney or heart problems) start with a couple glasses of water to see if that helps.

Please try to drink at least two liters or 64 oz. of water per day, twice that volume in the summer. If you can't drink that much, consider if the water is the right temperature. Perhaps warmer water would go down easier — that is what worked for me. I had been drinking water too cold, it made me cold, so I didn't want to drink it. Once I started drinking warm water I could drink more.

Vitamin D--if you can only do one thing on this page, please do this

Vitamin D3 strengthens the immune system, maintains muscle strength and neuromuscular conduction, protects against allergies, and autoimmune, infectious, and respiratory diseases (including Covid). But vitamin D comes from the sun, and very few people live in the tropics, spend all day in the sun barely-clothed, and forego sunscreen anymore, so we don't get enough. Scientists studying vitamin D have found that nearly everyone (including up to 97% of Canadians) has a low vitamin D unless they take supplements. Experts believe the minimum vitamin D level should be 75, even though the current "normal" level of vitamin D is 30-100, but myriad researchers find the lower end of that number to be insufficient to bring about health. And because most of us are skimming bottom in the 20-40 range, it takes a loading dose to get a person's vitamin D level up to at least 75.

When aiming to quickly raise one's vitamin D level, the scientists use a loading dose formula to bring the level up and then a maintenance dose every day, (or the daily dose can be compiled into one weekly dose). In one study of Covid patients on ventilators, who rarely survive, researchers gave the patients 600,000 IUs of vitamin D, and 93% of them survived. (Having taken care of myriad Covid patients in the ICU, about 93% of ventilated patients die, not live.) This study might be used as an example of an effective loading dose. There is much more reading on loading doses where the scientists compile their research at vitaminDwiki.com. Some people worry about overdosing on vitamin D. Here is a document that might interest you entitled "Can You Overdose on Vitamin D - It's Harder Than You Think". If you do not want to wade through the loading dose document, for reference, when I had Covid, I took a loading dose of 600,000 IUs of vitamin D followed by 10,000 IUs per day and I didn't get a single respiratory symptom. It is easiest to take the loading dose if you buy the pills that are 50,000 IUs in strength. I just bought some by made by Zahler on the internet.

Cellular health supplements

Magnesium--most people are deficient. When taking vitamin D, for it to work well it needs magnesium as its buddy. I take 500 mg/day of magnesium.

This is an aside, but since we are on cellular health, I take CoQ10 (makes mitochondria work better) because when I don't take it I get heart palpitations—that's research-based.

Probiotics

Probiotics promote a strong immune system (technical article, easier to read article). When I had chronic fatigue syndrome, invariably I'd need antibiotics to get over my cold because it would turn into bronchitis or pneumonia. Years of antibiotics without competing probiotics weakened my gut by killing the healthy organisms that are supposed to live there. Only recently has the gut been identified as its own immune organ.

I recommend taking probiotics 2-3x day until getting better, then once per day once you are healthy.

(I do not get any sort of promotional fee for any brands I recommend, I am just telling you what I take.) I usually take Powerdophilus because it is among the most affordable probiotics, but sometimes I buy a different brand to get different organisms and establish a broader spectrum of organisms. This is because different organisms resolve different health problems. The probiotics found in the refrigerated section have living organisms, so I get those. Yogurt is good, but not as good because stomach acids kill the probiotic organisms. Probiotic capsules should have an enteric capsule so they will not dissolve until they reach your intestines, where they do the most good.

Omega 3 fatty acids, specifically DHA/EPA

Narrow Omega 3 fatty acids

DHA/EPA (docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) are important for proper functioning of the immune system. I usually get NutraVege brand because it has a good ratio of DHA and EPA and it is plant-based. If you can afford DHA/EPA, I would say take two pills per day, if not, one is better than none.

Broad Omega 3 fatty acids

Every day for lunch I try to eat a roasted vegetable salad with a salad dressing made with flax seed oil, which has one of the highest level of omega 3s in any oil. You cannot cook with flax seed oil because it will break down and smell like fish. You must also keep it refrigerated or it will go rancid. Other than that, it's wonderful. Here's my salad dressing recipe.

Multivitamins

Make sure you get one that has at least 100% vitamins A, B12, C, E, and zinc and take it every day.

Try to sleep

A lack of sleep harms the immune system. If you have trouble sleeping, consider watching the compelling 4-part series by National Geographic Sleepless in America.

Walking or exercise

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. It would be great, but it is not necessary, to go to the gym or run a marathon. Just try get out once a day and walk a couple miles if you can. Living beings need to move to maintain health.

Reshaping interactions with food

Movies you might watch to help you remake your diet, which is the most important part of healing:

Forks Over Knives
Fed Up
Crazy Sexy Cancer
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
Supersize Me
Food Inc.

Avoiding inflammatories

Sugar, gluten, and animal products are big inflammatories. I know, it's hard to remove these from one's diet. Over time I have been able to remove the gluten and animal products from my diet, but since I am a sugar addict, I slip—too often. When I do, I notice my joints ache. I can feel it inflame. Consider using monkfruit sugar instead of cane sugar, I have just recently started to make that change. Turmeric, tart cherry, and ginger might help for anti-inflammatories — but if resources are limited—skip these— and spend your resources on the vitamin D, probiotics, and DHA/EPA if you can — in that order.

What I would have done on day 1 had I known then what I know now

It took me many years to gather the information I learned along the way. If I had to confront the situation again from the beginning, this is what I would have done:

You can do it! —I would have drunk more water;

—I would have taken a loading dose of 600,000 IUs vitamin D (taking it one time only) followed by 100,000 IUs every week. Since fat cells absorb vitamin D and leave less of it circulating, had my body been obese, I would have taken 2-3 times as much every week and left the loading dose the same. I would have bought the 50,000 IU pills on the internet to make this easier;

—I would have taken a probiotic 3 times per day, with food. I would have gone to the refrigerated section of the health food store to find one and bought a probiotic with the most different varieties of organisms and the highest number of organisms. But these are pricey, so I would have just bought the one that I could afford that acheives these goals, Powerdophilus seems to fit all those goals the best right now;

—I would have taken 600 mg DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) / 300 mg. EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) per day until I felt better then decreased it to 300 mg. DHA / 150 mg. EPA per day. My favorite brands right now (best price plus best ratio of oils) are NutraVege and Amandean.

—I would have taken a daily multivitamin, and if I had any skin issues, I would have also taken extra biotin;

—I would have eaten a salad with flax seed oil dressing for lunch every day; and

—I would have adopted a sugar-free, plant-based, and gluten-free diet. But I know dietary changes generally happen gradually over time, but raising awareness of how food affects health is a process, so it's ok to do this at one's own pace.

I wish you all the best. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments at ssummers@truthaboutnursing.org. Hugs to you, because I know if you have read this far, you must be feeling quite unwell, and I so much want to see you feeling better.

Author: Sandy Summers, RN, MSN, MPH, biography

Disclaimer: These views are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the board or advisory panel of the Truth About Nursing.

Last updated January 19, 2023