My name is Catherine Morgan, I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. I'm also living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and other chronic illnesses. I hope this will be a site where patients, family, and medical professionals can find information, ideas, inspiration, and hope.
It seem that Oprah has ruffled a few feathers while explaining her recent bout with thyroid problems. Some are saying that she is just using a thyroid problem as an excuse for a recent 20 pound weight gain. Others find her method of treatment [a one month trip to her Hawaii estate for total relaxation and healthy eating] to be a bit grandiose, and not exactly a treatment available to the average woman with thyroid disease. And then others are a bit taken back by her “expert” Dr. Northrup, and her attempt to blame the patients (mostly women) for their thyroid disease.
A New Drug Treatment For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is On The Horizon — by Catherine Morgan
For a condition that many doctors still claim doesn’t even exist, the idea of an actual “treatment” becoming available in the near future is so exciting to me. Currently, there is no treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Sure, I take a bunch of medicine…But these medications are only to help with the symptoms of this disease, not to treat it.
Questioning The Motives of the Chocolate Industry — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at CatherineBlogs.com)
When I first posted on this new claim of dark chocolate being helpful in treating patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I said I was a bit skeptical, and that I would do more research on the subject. So I did, and here it is…
Fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice, shame on me. Could dark chocolate be good for your? Could it help lower your blood pressure? Cure symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
Could dark chocolate help relieve some symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome? A new study says it may.
According to the scientists from Hull York Medical School who carried out the pilot study, it is possible the dark chocolate is boosting levels of serotonin, a brain chemical. They also stressed that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) patients should consume moderate amounts of chocolate.
Recently dark chocolate has also been found to be beneficial in helping lower blood pressure. Of course it’s not recommended as a treatment, and should be used in moderation. I love dark chocolate, so if this turns out to be true, I’ll have no problem munching on a bit of dark chocolate each day.
Finding Acceptance When You Have An Invisible Disease — by Catherine Morgan
When you have a chronic illness, acceptance of your diagnosis is key to your successful treatment. But for patients with CFS, acceptance doesn’t come easily, and that’s because they are surrounded by people that minimize their condition. Even though the CDC has said that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is as debilitating as MS and Lupus, when you tell someone you have CFS, they either assume you are lazy or that you just need to get more sleep. Everyone from medical professionals to friends and family, have advice about what you should be doing or what you are doing wrong.
A patient with CFS ends up fighting not just the disease and it’s symptoms, but also the stigma of this disease. That might not sound like a big deal…But people with chronic illness, are generally much more successful at managing their disease, when they have support from the people in their life (friends, family, doctors). However, many patients with CFS don’t have the luxury of a strong support system (or any support system at all), due to the stigma surrounding this diagnosis. For this reason, the sooner this disease is legitimized by the medical professionals, the better it will be for those of us who suffer with it.
Tides are turning, and more research is being done…Where there was once no hope, there is now a glimmer.
