Michael Osborne's story of Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Fibromyagia / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is characterized by extreme fatigue that lasts longer than normal fatigue and typically gets increasingly severe. It may be accompanied by stomach pain, back muscle pain, joint pain, eyes that feel hot, rectal itching, nasal itching, inability to concentrate and in women, vaginal yeast infections.
Please be aware that I am NOT a doctor, but an Information Technology professional and the medical information presented is my own experience and should be used for informational purposes only.
I cannot assume medical or legal responsibility for the use of any of this information.
My hope is that others may benefit from my experiences and avoid the unnecessary debilitation of their health.
1990
I have had Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 1991. Until 1990, I had been very healthy with an occasional cold. I had Mononucleosis in 1977 and was hospitalized for 3 weeks and had to stay at home and rest for another 3 weeks. In August 1990, at age 34, I had Chicken Pox twice in a row in two months time. A few months later, I started to feel a little more tired than usual but I didn't think anything of it.1991
In June 1991, my fatigue started getting to the point where it interfered with my normal movements, however slightly. As the months went on, I grew increasingly tired and by August was taking a nap every evening before bedtime after supper. I went to my doctor and he checked everything he could and ran every test he could, but could not find any problem areas. He sent me to several specialists and they tested me, ran an MRI, and checked my neurological pathways for any obstruction, but found nothing wrong. They knew that I didn't have arthritis, MS, or other 'normal' dieases, but could not tell what was the cause of my pain and fatigue. My doctor was puzzled as to his findings and could not explain why I was so constantly tired and in pain. By September, I was in constant pain in my back muscles and in my joints, especially my knees and hand knuckles. I also had rectal and nasal itching very frequently. I was beginning to find it hard to concentrate and felt 'foggy' in my head. I was getting sicker every day.In July, we had a new Pastor begin his ministry at my church after our previous pastor became President of Trevecca Nazarene University. He expanded our Sunday morning altar prayer time to include prayer and anointment for physical healing at the ends of the altar. I was trusting in myself and my doctor and stubbornly refused to be prayed over, until October, when my pain was becoming unbearable. In October, I went to the healing part of the altar to be prayed for and anointed and I surrendered my healing process totally to my Lord, Jesus Christ. The following Tuesday night, I was bent down looking in the refrigerator to get something to eat and my right knee collapsed. It was very sore and I could not put any weight on it when I walked. On Wednesday, one of my customers at work came in to pick her equipment and asked why I was limping. I told her about my knee collapsing on me the night before. She asked if my eyes were hot and I told her that they were. She asked if the inside of my nose itched and I said that it did. She asked if my back was hurting and I said "Yes it does, how do you know all this?" She told me that she had been sick like this herself. She asked me if I would buy a book called the "The Yeast Connection" by Dr. William G. Crook and take the test in it and call her and tell her what the results are. I bought the book and took the test and scored a 325 (under 60 means there's no yeast connection). I called her and she gave me the number of the doctor that had successfully treated her. She had been so sick, that she had been tired for several years and bedridden before she received treatment. I later knew that the Lord had sent her to me to start my healing because of my surrender to Him the previous Sunday. I called her doctor, Dr. A. and got an appointment. In the meantime, I started on the sugar free, yeast free diet outlined in "The Yeast Connection" at her suggestion. The doctor examined me and asked me a lot of questions about my background.
- What type of diet had I eaten for the past several years?
- fast food and sweets.
- Did I crave bread or sweets?
- yes, I could not go 1 meal without bread or sweets (until I started the yeast free, sugar free diet).
- Had I ever taken antibotics for long periods of time?
- yes, at least twice a year since I was 17 for sinus infections and almost constantly the previous 18 months.
- Had I ever taken Ceclor, Amoxicillin, or Keflex or other broad spectrum antibotics?
- yes, for the past several years, these were the only ones I had taken.
- Had I been sick the past few years?
- yes, Chicken Pox in 1990, twice in a row.
1992
From March 1992 to June 1993, I didn't have Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms at all. I didn't eat any sugar or bread at all and I continued to take Nystatin to keep the yeast in check. My health was very good and my energy level was at it's highest in years. I ate mostly vegetables in my diet and only veered from this occasionally. Once for my birthday in April, 1992, I ate a piece of my birthday cake because I was feeling so good. It was the last piece of cake I have eaten since because my back muscles hurt intensely for 3 days afterward. In August 1992, I took a job a Network Systems Analyst.1993
In February 1993, my Stepfather passed away. In May 1993, my Grandmother passed away. In 1993, my job as Network Systems Analyst required a lot of overtime in order to complete a project on time. I worked about 70 to 80 hours a week from March 1993 to June 1993. We worked until about 9 or 10:00PM Monday through Thursday and until between 1 and 4 AM on Friday. We also worked Saturday from 9:00AM to about 6 or 7:00PM. It was very hectic and stressful plus the stress of losing my Grandmother and stepfather was wearing on me. In late June 1993, I started feeling tired all the time again like before. I was in constant pain in my back muscles and in my joints, especially my knees and hand knuckles. I also had rectal and nasal itching very frequently, again. I changed to my most restrictive vegetable diet and increased my Nystatin intake to what it was when I was sick before. Through July and August, I only got sicker. Finally in September, I collapsed, totally exhausted. I had been sleeping evenings after supper before bed in August. I could only stay awake a few minutes at a time in September and slept almost all day and night for several weeks. In September, I went to the healing part of the altar at church to be prayed for and anointed and I surrendered my healing process totally to my Lord, Jesus Christ. I would have went back to Dr. A., but he had moved out of state. I got an appointment with Dr. S. and she said that she had never treated anyone with my symptoms before. She said she would do what she could to help and prescribed Diflucan which is a stronger yeast killer that Nystatin. She also thought that I been taking Nystatin so long that it could not have much effect. About a week and a half after begining to take Diflucan, I felt dramatically better. My energy level was headed upward again. I had to rest a few more days and was out of work for about three and one half weeks. I got progressively better and my energy level was back to normal in January 1994 and stayed that way until September 1995.1994
In February 1994, I changed jobs and took a job a Network Administrator. My Fibromyalgia / CFS symptoms were not happening and my energy level was very high. I felt very good. My energy level and health continued to be very good until September 1995.1995
Earlier, in March 1995, my job as a Network Administrator had begun to be more stressful than previously. As my stress level increased, my Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue began to reappear. In July 1995, I began to get very tired again and the other symptoms began to reappear. In order to try to prevent the reoccurance of Fibromyalgia / CFS symptoms, I went to Dr. R. in December 1994 and started taking vitamins and herbal supplements in order to build up my immune system so that it could resist the Fibromyalgia / CFS symptoms. I was taking 1000 mg of Vitamin C at every meal, as well as Zinc, Biotin, Vitamin B6, Acidophilus, Plant enzymes, Betaine HCL, Garlic, and Magnesium. Dr. R. prescribed an additional treatment of colon cleansing or colonics in order to rid my system of the toxins that had built up in my colon. In September, I went to the healing part of the altar at church to be prayed for and anointed and I surrendered my healing process totally to my Lord, Jesus Christ. I didn't get as sick as I had in previous bouts but was very tired at work. I didn't miss very much work this time. I started feeling a lot better in late October and my energy level shot up dramatically again. My energy level continued to improve along with my health. From December 1995 until September 1996, I felt very good.1996
In June, July and August of 1996, I had to work a lot of overtime on projects that were very stressful. In September 1996, I started to get very tired again. In September, I went to the healing part of the altar at church to be prayed for and anointed and I surrendered my healing process totally to my Lord, Jesus. I also prayed about my job situation and the effect of the job related stress on my health. In October 1996, I began to feel all of previous symptoms: constant pain in my back muscles and in my joints, (especially my knees and hand knuckles), and rectal and nasal itching. In addition, this time I had a new symptom: Thrush (yeast on the sides of my tongue). In October 1996, I changed jobs again and became a Network Manager. I went back to Dr S. and she gave me Diflucan in November 1996 and I made some improvement, but didn't get completely well, like before.1997
In January 1997, I got a little worse after working a lot of stressful overtime on a crashed file server. I went to Dr. S. and got another Diflucan prescription and got a little better. I had continued to stay on a vegetable diet and take vitamins as before, but didn't get completely well, like earlier bouts. In mid February 1997, I got a little worse after working some stressful overtime on a crashed file server. I was still on my strict fresh vegetable only diet and was still taking Diflucan and the vitamins and supplements. In March 1997, I was feeling a little better, but had not made much improvement. I began to go to Ms. R for Colon Cleansing treatments in order to rid my system of toxins. Dr S. changed my medicine in late March to liquid Nystatin. In April, I went to the healing part of the altar at church to be prayed for and anointed and I surrendered my healing process totally to my Lord, Jesus Christ. The liquid Nystatin seemed to help my Thrush symptom and then I got a little more tired and felt yucky. I believe it was yeast die-off. Then a couple of weeks later, I got a little more tired and weak and Dr. S changed my medicine to liquid Nystatin and Diflucan. I got a little more tired and felt yucky again like another yeast die-off. I've never had 2 yeast die-offs in one bout before, but then I never had the symptoms linger from September to April before, either. I have a little more energy that a few weeks ago, but I've still got a ways to go before I feel normal energy levels. By summer I felt my energy levels were back to normal.2000
I hadn't been sick with Fibromyalgia / CFS since 1997 until October 2000. My eyes were temperature hot for several weeks. I did not experience any fatigue or muscle pain though. I changed to a more restrictive diet and I improved in a few weeks.2004
Since 1997, I hadn't been sick with Fibromyalgia / CFS where I had to sleep until August 2004. In August 2004, I got a little more tired and took a few more naps but it was not very significant and I was not experiencing any muscle pain like before. In September I began to experience more fatigue late in the afternoon but it was not really bad and I continued to work. I began to get more tired as things went on. I went to the healing part of the altar at church to be prayed for and anointed and I surrendered my healing process totally to my Lord, Jesus Christ. In late September I awoke one Monday morning in intense pain and very very tired. I went to Dr. D. and he gave me some new herbs with Wormwood to take and thought that I also may have parasites. I was experiencing horrible cramping in my intestines and had very explosive gas and burping constantly. The following Monday the same thing happened. I began to take colonic cleansing treatments again to assist the Wormwood. I was also sick the following Monday. In each case I was unable to work all day on Monday and could only sleep or rest all day. On Tuesday I was unable to work and was very tired but could stay awake longer than on Monday. On Wednesday I could work 6 or 7 hours and was a little tired. I continued to take the Wormwod and colonic treatments and have been making very steady improvements. By late November, the gas and burping dropped from every few minutes to about once a day. The cramping disappeared for the last 2 weeks of the bout. My energy level was almost as good as it was last summer before I got sick and I was not getting tired.2005
My Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue has been slowly starting to try to return the past few weeks since early August. During the fall, I combined colonic hydrotherapy with Lymphatic Massage to purge my system of poisons and toxins. The Lymphatic Massage requires drinking greater than 64 ounces of water per day for 48 hours in order to flush out the lymph glands. With my stricter vegetable only diet and cleansing my system, I never got so sleepy that I fell asleep in the daytime. I never had a yeast dieoff but my symptoms never progressed to the point where I sleep for hours in the daytime. I only got a little more tired than normal.2009
My Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue slowly returned over a period of weeks since early July. Since September, I have also combined colonic hydrotherapy with Lymphatic Massage to purge my system of poisons and toxins. I have not had a yeast dieoff but I had one week in early October where I had a great deal of pain and inflamation in my bronchial tubes in my chest. I began taking Global Health Trax ThreeLac probiotic in late October. I slowly got better from Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but my vertigo has begun to act up again. My vertigo is typically preceeded by a sinus infection that settles in my left ear especially when my Epstein-Barr virus activates as it did in late December 2009 and into January 2010. I noticed a spot on my abdomen that was dark and itched as my Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue symptoms were more severe.2010
My Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue began to slowly return for several weeks since early July. Since August, I have also combined colon hydrotherapy with Lymphatic Massage to purge my system of poisons and toxins. I have not had a yeast dieoff but it seemed as if my symptoms were easing. I began to think I might recover in late October because I was feeling better from my Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms. My Epstein-Barr virus activated in early November and it caused me to miss almost a week of work while I recovered. By mid-December, my Epstein-Barr symptoms have eased. My chest inflamation, swollen glands in my neck, fatigue and slight fever are not as prominent as they were and are almost gone.2011
In mid January, my symptoms began to reappear with increased thrush on my tongue, increased itching on the spot on my abdomen, low grade temperature, more fatigue, inflamation in my chest and swollen glands in my neck.In late August, my symptoms began to increase again. I began to be more tired and the muscle pain and joint pain increased. I also experienced the chest inflamation, swollen glands in my neck, and a stiffness in my neck. These symptoms increased throughout the fall and into 2012. I have been using colon hydrotherapy with Lymphatic Massage to purge my system of poisons and toxins as I have in the past. In October, I tried something new to help alleviate the pain. I went to a community accupuncture clinic and experienced relief from the pain in my chest, joints and muscles.
2012
My symptoms have begun to let up a little in late January, but I am not back my normal energy level just yet. The thrush on my tongue has receded about 50% from where it was in October. The pain in my chest, joints and muscles is not as frequent as in the fall. I am getting better but it is slow which is typical.2014
In February 2014, I began a candida cleanse with help from Dr. Carolyn Maxfield. It has helped a great deal so far and made caused my symptoms to decrease substantially. In June 2014, I was able to stop taking Diflucan which was stressing my liver function and use natural supplements instead to kill the candida.I'm currently taking the following vitamins and supplements once a day:
- 1000 mg Vitamin C
- 100 mg Vitamin B-1
- 100 mg Vitamin B-2
- 100 mg Vitamin B-6
- 100 mcg Vitamin B-12
- 400 I.U. Vitamin E
- 400 mg Magnesium Malate (Malic Acid)
- Nature's Sunshine Probiotic Eleven probiotic capsules
to be continued