by Vicki Brown

Created on: July 26, 2008   Last Updated: September 18, 2008

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a complex illness whose cause is unknown. Treatment options are as varied as the symptoms. Everyone has an opinion. Or someone they know had CFS and stopped eating dairy products and was cured. Or they took certain supplements or did yoga or acupuncture. Believe me I have tried them all.

There is a drug on the market that is the first FDA approved treatment for Fibromyalgia. Although the two illnesses have many of the same symptoms, they are two distinct diseases. The drug for FM is not recommended for CFS patients.

I have had CFS for twelve years. During that time, I have tried many options. I found a doctor who treated people with CFS. I was thrilled. He did many blood tests and urine tests and had an impressive list of results. I worked for years as a medical secretary and should have been able to read the results and understand them. I didn't.

But, I was desperate to get better, even 50% better would be close to a miracle. First, I went on elimination diets. You completely eliminate a food group such as dairy products for a period of time. I don't remember how long. I do remember that nothing changed. Then you slowly introduce them, one at a time, back into your diet. I did this with the usual suspect food groups and nothing changed.

He gave me supplements to try but they were ineffective as well. Then he recommended that I have a B-12 shot and an IV infusion of vitamins and minerals once a week. I did this for several months and nothing changed. I told him I needed some time off from treatments.

I read a reference to a doctor in New Jersey in one of the many books I've read on CFS. I looked him up and he was at The New Jersey University of Medicine or something like that. My son had recently moved to New Jersey to attend graduate school at Rutgers. I called him and asked him if I could stay with him and his fianc if I was able to get an appointment with this doctor. He said yes of course. I was thrilled to be going to an expert in CFS.

I participated in clinical trials first and then I saw Dr. Benjamin Natleson. The tests had confirmed that I had CFS and I had a "severe cognitive impairment." He was very excited about that. Basically, what he told me was that CFS is treated symptomatically and the only treatment for the fatigue is rest.

I had a lumbar puncture to determine if the blood/brain barrier had been broken thus causing the cognitive impairment. When the result came back and the barrier had not been crossed he lost interest

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