Chronic Fatigue doctor/naturopath Dublin area

Sorrento2017 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone could help me. I am suffering from severe cfs the last 10months. So far tests have turned up nothing with my GP and he has no advice to offer. Would like to know the name of any doctors in Dublin with an interest in CFS or anyone who has found a good naturopath with good knowledge?

I read so much detail online but have no practitioner to guide me or help me with in depth tests

Hi Sorrento2017,

It's very difficult for GPs to look after patients who have ME/CFS. It's not like diabetes or high blood pressure where you can do a test and you get a diagnosis.

The most important thing to remember is that there are many people out there who will try to convince you that some sort of "natural" treatment or magical technique will cure you. Unfortunately, that is all guff, so stay well away. There is absolutely no evidence that naturopathy or the Perrin technique or any other "alternative" therapy works for ME/CFS. You will waste many thousands of euro and many years of your life if you go down that rabbit hole.

Whoever you see, make sure that they are qualified medical consultants with some experience in the area. There is at least 1 in Dublin, but I don't know if I can share on here.

Best of luck.

Dr Joe Fitzgibbon, The Hermitage Clinic, Lucan

I'm a bit late to the party here but I'll give you my experience which may be of help in the off chance that someone reads this.

I was a very fit, active and healthy 18yr old lad starting college in Sept 2002 and I got a cold which I couldn't shake off. By March 2003 after going through every test I was diagnosed with CFS. I can remember going up the stairs in our house and having to sit on the top step to get my breath. It was a scary time for me and i cried myself to sleep many nights. I was put on anti depressants which helped me a little but not much. I stayed at home for a year hoping to get better but didn't. During that year my dad brought me all over the country to all sorts of witch doctors desperate for a cure.

My symptoms were, exhaustion, breathlessness, dizziness, no concentration, panic attacks and palpitations, nauseous and certain food made me feel sick, extreme muscle tension in my upper back between shoulder blades..

In 2004 I went to see Dr. Joe Fitzgibbon(allergy specialist) after a neighbour had told me about him. He gave me a diet and exercise plan to stick to which did help and I saw some progress. I came to a point where I stopped making progress and he told me he could do no more for me. He got me well enough to attend college and I'm grateful for that.

In 2009 my aunt rang me and told me about her friends daughter who had CFS for a year and tried Mickel therapy. After a few months she was back to her old self again. So I googled Mickel therapy and interpreted it as a form of counselling which I felt was a waste of time as my problem was physical. Anyway for my aunt's sake I made an appointment with the therapist. The therapist sent me a link via text or email of a video of Dr David Mickel explaining the therapy and I was to watch the video before I saw her. So when I watched the video something clicked and I ended up watching all the videos of him. I went to see the therapist and she was lovely, she got me to keep a diary every day with as much detail as possible, I also had to take note of how good or bad my symptoms were during the day. After a week I felt much more positive and after maybe a month I was going for longer walks and able for more while my symptoms were kept at bay. I'd say 3months I was out and about regularly taking interest in things again.

My problem was I had become accustomed to bottling up emotions and not dealing with them. I was able to see from my diary that my symptoms became worse almost every time someone said something or did something to me that annoyed me. So rather than bottling my annoyance up I would react to it by saying or doing something...I started at home, there were issues with my uncle which I sorted, any digs made against me I responded. Then I quickly realised that one of my closest friends was a really negative person and ultimately I just stopped contact with him.

All the doctors that I seen asked me if I suffered any traumatic experience in my past or if I was put under any great stress as it's believed this can be the underlying cause of CFS. For me, I was 17 and finishing school, teachers were putting pressure on and I was being constantly reminded about careers. I hadn't a clue what I wanted to do and it played on my mind. At that time I became obsessed with sports and fitness and I trained really hard because for me it was my escape.

I had 3 sessions with the therapist at 100euro per session. Each session lasted 1hr 30mins. I'd say im about 85% back to normal ever since.. I still like my sleep..

Best of luck