Day 4

Good morning! (Almost afternoon here.) I’m feeling a little dizzy and stumbling around like I’ve had too much to drink. My cats look at me cautiously. They know on morning like this, they are safer to stay out of my path. I had my appointment with my new CFS specialist, Dr. Michael Powell. It was a long 5 hour day for me including the drive both ways, and I missed lunch, so I wasn’t feeling the greatest when I came home. Overall I think the appointment went very well.

I had an easy rapport with him, unlike many other doctors I’ve met. I felt comfortable talking with him, and felt like I’ve known him for awhile. He is a medical doctor, who believes in using natural substances for treatments whenever possible. He is very intelligent and when he speaks to you scientifically, you can feel that he has a true interest this illness and in treating his patients.
I was feeling pretty fuzzy by the time I got to the doctor’s office, and my brain was not able to process a lot of the information it was given. Thankfully, he gave me handouts to read when I am feeling a little clearer. Without getting into all of the scientific jargon here, his theory is that people with CFS and/or FM are in a “walking hibernation.” This is as a result of certain signals being sent to that person’s body. If you can reverse the signals, you can “wake them up.” Well, that would explain why I feel so much worse during the fall and winter! He reverses it with the SHINES protocol I wrote about previously.

A couple of things of interest to me, he gave me a B12 shot before I left the office. It took me about 2 hours before I noticed its affect. I could use one of those every day! After getting one of those I didn’t feel as mentally fatigued. Unfortunately, the effect did not last long. I was tested for Fibromyalgia. He pressed on various points on my body and had me rate the pain I felt on a scale of 1-10, he drops the 1s and 2s and adds up the rest to come up with a score. I was 3 points shy of being classified having FM. This doctor also believes CFS and FM are really the same illness, but you get diagnosed with one, the other, or both depending on your symptoms. I am going to get some more blood work done tomorrow, and for the first time being tested for various viruses I have never been tested for before like Epstein Barr. I will also be tested for Natural Killer Cell function and Vitamin D levels.

I am keeping a positive frame of mind. I believe in Dr. Powell’s ability to heal me, and I believe in my body’s ability to heal itself!

Until tomorrow…
Linda