PHOENIX RISING

Treatng Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia: The First Symptom - Sleep

'The First Symptom' -  Chronic fatigue syndrome doctors appear to be in universal agreement of the importance of getting as good a nights sleep as possible. Dr. Bested simply says "Restoring sleep is essential for improving your health." Dr. Murphee states "If you don’t get a good nights sleep you’re not going to get well. It really is that simple".

Dr. Bateman, Dr. Bested, Dr. Klimas and Dr. Teitelbaum are all in agreement that sleep is the first symptom they treat. Dr. Bested points out that "Improving sleep, even a little, can make a tremendous difference to a persons……quality of life" and emphasizes "You need to do everything possible to encourage your body to get the best sleep it can every night". Dr. Teitelbaum says "The most effective way to eliminate fatigue and pain in CFS/FMS is to get eight to nine hours of solid, deep sleep each night on a regular basis".

Many of the problems associated with chronic fatigue syndrome such as body pain, fatigue, depression, irritability, headache and gastrointestinal problems are classic symptoms of sleep deprivation. We know that chronic fatigue syndrome is not simply a sleep disorder – its far more complex than that - but it’s also clear that many ME/CFS symptoms are greatly exacerbated by the unrefreshing sleep ME/CFS patients experience.

Any group of chronic fatigue syndrome patients will have a variety of  sleep problems; some will have trouble getting to sleep, others will wake up early, some will have problems attaining deep sleep, some will sleep too little - others too much, some will have restless leg syndrome, others obstructive sleep apnea, etc.  Some ME/CFS physicians will diagnose their patients sleep problems in the office; others will have their patients do sleep studies. Whatever the problem this is one area where many options for treatment exist.

Improving Sleep There are at least three means of improving sleep; sleep hygiene, alternative therapies and pharmaceutical drugs. We’ll take them in the order physicians generally proscribe them. First they recommend ME/CFS patients work on sleep hygiene, then try alternative means and finally, if your sleep is still suffering, by all means try pharmaceutical drugs.

• Sleep Hygiene
• Alternative Therapies
• Pharmaceutical Drugs
• Sleep Apnea

(The Phoenix Rising website is created by a layman. It is for informational uses only. Please discuss any treatments in these pages with your physician.)

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