What is M.E.?
M.E., medical term means Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Myalgic means muscle pain, and encephalomyelitis means inflammation of central and peripheral nerves, although the inflammation has not been proven. M. E. is a disease of modern day which affecting 25% of general populations in the UK and USA. As its main symptom is fatigue, therefore it is also named as “chronic fatigue syndrome” or “post-virus fatigue syndrome” because most of people suffered from M.E. Followed by a common cold or flu.
What symptoms does M.E. have?
M.E. is a disease characterised by disabling fatigue and exhaustion together with a diverse range of symptoms. The typical symptoms of M.E. are mental and physical exhaustion, muscle pain and weakness, insomnia, palpitation, distraction, eye pain and light sensitivity, gastrointestinal disturbance and abdominal pain, fever, chills and night sweater.
What causes M.E. in terms of Western Medicine?
No body knows so far what causes M.E. in terms of western medicine although many studies have been done to investigate its cause. There may be a general vulnerability and persons who have suffered from depression previously appear to be at great risk. Very stressful lifestyles may be a risk as well. Many patients report that their flu-like illness suggesting that the illness is triggered by a virus or other infectious agent.
What causes M.E. in terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine?
External pathogenic factors, which cause disease in terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) include: wind, cold, heat, damp, dry, fire. The root cause of M.E. is dampness. The nature of dampness is heavy and turbid, and a damp disease is usually marked by heavy sensation as lassitude, heavy sensation of head and body, and aching and sluggishness of limbs. This may match with the M.E. patients’ major complaints.
Pathogenic dampness is differentiated into external and internal dampness: External dampness is usually due to damp climates, wading in water or being caught in rain, as well as damp dwelling environment. Internal dampness is usually caused by the dysfunction of Spleen leading to impairment of water transportation and water metabolism. External and Internal dampness can influence each other and can be independent. Some other factors are also liable to the accumulation of the internal dampness. Overtake of dairy products is a typical one. Dairy products are usually damp in nature. They burden the Stomach and Spleen in one aspect and directly attack the Spleen to cause its dysfunction in fluid transportation and transformation, in turn the retention of dampness in the body. Over-use of antibiotics during viral infection can be another factor to cause the accumulation of interior dampness. Antibiotics are always cold in nature because of their intended function. In terms of TCM, such as persistent cold disturbs the Spleen and Stomach and therefore results in the deficiency of Spleen Qi (energy flow). This is why we usually feel upset of stomach when taking antibiotics.
The pace of lives in nowadays increasingly competitive society contributes greatly to the high occurrence of M.E. cases. Today we tend not only to over-use our body and brain, but also try to break the physiological balance, which the human body needs. We sleep less, eat unhealthy food, become addicted to smoking and drinking, physical exercise less and less, work more and more and stress more and more. The extreme of such action may cause the deficiency of spleen Qi and in turn, result in the accumulation of interior dampness.
Diagnosis and differentiation of M.E. by TCM
Based on the pathogenic factors, many types of M.E. can be differentiated by TCM. However, the most common types are damp type, damp-heat type and cold-damp type.
The damp type is usually occurs in those who are physically deficient.
The damp-heat type is most common in younger patients, or in those who were healthy before having M.E., or those who have addictions to smoking and drinking.
The cold-damp type is most common in patients who have cold constitution.
The pathogenic dampness, pathogenic heat and pathogenic cold cause M.E. independently or in combination.
It should also be mentioned that M.E has two stages in general: acute and chronic stages.
In the acute stage, patients have the symptoms of initial disease besides the M.E. symptoms. This stage is usually short from a few months to a year.
In the chronic stage, the symptoms of initial disease are less apparent. The main symptoms
are lack of energy and drowsiness. This stage could last for year.
The Treatment of M.E. by TCM
M.E. is usually referred as a modern disease. As a result the modern treatments are not always effective. However, the TCM based ancient treatment may tackle it. According to the TCM theories, M.E. can be differentiated to different types as above. After the proper diagnosis, the principle of treatment is very clear-invigorating the spleen and expelling dampness. From the rich TCM classics, a great number of treatment formulas can be referred to reach the appropriate treatment principles. Pathogenic heat and cold mingled in the syndrome are then treated by adjusting the prescription in each respect.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are suitable for the treatment of M.E. syndrome. Clinical results indicated that herbal medicine is more appropriate for this condition. However, acupuncture is needed at the beginning of treatment or for the severe cases besides the herbal medicine. For the mild cases, and for the
maintenance after the initial treatment, only herbal remedy is enough for the treatment.
Self Help
1. Try to live in a sensible way, plenty of rest and relax, appropriate diet, appropriate exercise if possible, avoid to be exposed to dampness.
2. For damp-heat type, try to eat less hot food such as chilli, curry or lamb (hot in nature), avoid smoking or alcohol, and try to control bad temper.
3. For cold-damp type, keep warm in general and avoid taking cold drinks or cold food.
For more information, please contact the Central Practice Clinic. The Central Practice Chinese Medicine Clinic 22 Central Avenue Waltham Cross Hertfordshire EN8 7JH TEL:01992 711 772