Alcohol : How Badly Can It Affect Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Sufferers?

Posted by in Affect Chronic on August 4, 2011

Alcohol : How Badly Can It Affect Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Sufferers?The wonders of alcohol.

The achilles heel for many people. The ‘norm’ for some others. And poison if you have CFS/PVFS/ME …

I remember when I first got Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome/CFS back in 1995, I thought that having a drink or two wouldn’t affect me any differently to my PRE-CFS days. Unfortunately I didn’t realize what I was doing to myself.

I didn’t know how badly alcohol can affect the severity of this CFS …

Nowadays I don’t touch alcohol at all, and haven’t done so for a few years now. I’d rather see at least a few hours in the day instead of being bedridden for weeks on end because of one alcoholic drink!

Because when you have CFS/M.E., you might as well be pouring arsenic down your throat…

——SIDE NOTE——-

Okay – so that comparison might be a little ‘dramatic’, but you get what I mean right?

—–SIDE NOTE——-

You see when you have CFS/M.E., you are likely to develop **alcohol intolerance**…

The smallest alcoholic drink – even a tiny bit,

can send you into a relapse – as I learnt the hard way many years ago.

Having an alcoholic drink now and again was enough to tip the severity of my PVFS/CFS over the edge and put me in bed indefinitely.

When a **normal** person gets drunk they may feel a bit bad for a day or so, after which, they’re back to ‘normal’, bouncing back and raring to go. But when a person with M.E./CFS gets drunk – or even has just one drink, they’re likely to feel like ‘death warmed up’ for what seems like an eternity!!!

Personally, I don’t actually like alcohol much so I don’t miss it. But even if I did,
I have realized that alcohol no longer makes me feel the way it used to before I had CFS…

Drinking alcohol now feels like I’m feeding myself poison, and my body reacts accordingly – i.e. a flare, or worse, a relapse – and I suffer the consequences for a long, long time afterwards.

Unfortunately, most of us CFS sufferers are just not strong enough to resist the poisons of alcohol.

So for most of us, it’s unfortunately a case of accepting it, or getting much, much worse.

As Dr Shepherd writes in his book ‘Living With M.E.’:

“Some people who previously enjoyed and tolerated regular consumption of alcohol without any adverse effects, now find that even small amounts make them extremely unwell.”

– p214, Dr Shepherd, ‘Living With M.E.’ –

So if you have M.E./CFS, it is likely that you may have developed an intolerance to alcohol.

And that’s not forgetting that alcohol also affects the effects of antidepressants (often prescribed to CFS sufferers to treat their fatigue and to help sufferers sleep)! So if you’re taking antidepressants, it’s definitely something to bear in mind.

Having CFS/ME can be a very lonely and devastating experience and depression can be a very real and serious symptom for some CFS sufferers. So the last thing you need is to take substances that make you feel worse.

And guess what?

Yep, you’ve guess it, alcohol is also a depressant. So it’s not a great thing to drink if you’re depressed!

And according to Dr Shepherd, many sufferers sadly do turn to alcohol…

But alcohol is no answer. Apart from probably making you feel depressed, you could also develop an alcohol dependency!

What’s more, if you **are** alcohol intolerant, then it would make it much harder for you to recover from M.E./CFS (pretty much impossible even), while you keep putting alcohol in your body.

And here’s some more ‘food for thought’…

When you think about how badly a CFS sufferer can be affected by **one** alcoholic drink, then how badly could alcohol be affecting you if you’re drinking more???

So there you go – a whole list of reasons why you might think twice about drinking anything remotely alcoholic while you have CFS/M.E.

While you may no longer be alcohol intolerant once you have recovered from CFS/M.E., it may well be a major culprit for preventing you from **recovering** from your CFS/M.E while you still have it.

I didn’t know about the possible effects of alcohol when I first had Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome …

… and I suffered the consequences. My illness got worse. A lot worse. And I was only having a couple of drinks now and again! So I hope this article arms you with enough info for you to make an educated decision about alcohol either way.

You never know – it may well make the difference…

To find out more about diet and nutrition for ME/CFS visit:

http://www.sleepydust.net/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-nutrition-supplements.html

And to read reviews of my favorite supplements & items for ME/CFS, visit:

http://www.sleepydust.net/ME-CFS.html

Copyright, Claire Williams, 2003-2005. All Rights Reserved.

——-

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Claire Williams is editor of sleepydust.net and has suffered from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome since 1995.

She created sleepydust.net to help ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia sufferers deal with their condition – from handling their money worries, to recovering from their illness…

To subscribe to the newsletter in which this article was first published, please go to:

By Claire Williams

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The Different Types of Addiction Treatment

Posted by in Addiction Treatment on August 4, 2011

The Different Types of Addiction TreatmentWhen it comes to getting treatment for your addiction, the fact that you’re working to get better is a great sign and shows a desire to improve yourself. However, given how many different types of treatment there are, choosing the right type for yourself can be a daunting task. Here are a few of the different types of treatment to help you choose what’s right for you.

Court Mandated

Technically this isn’t a treatment type so much as a sentence, but given the public perception of it, it seemed right to at least mention it here. Court mandated treatment is either a punishment or a chance to get help, depending on your point of view, but either way it’s the court’s way of telling you that you need to seek treatment. The terms of the treatment can be dictated by the court (typically in-patient or out-patient), or may be set by the terms of a plea deal.

In-Patient Treatment

This treatment method is immersive and involves isolating the patient from outside influences so that they can focus on beating their addiction. Activities, therapy sessions, and meals are all planned and monitored so that the patient only has to worry about getting healthy.

While some in-patient facilities are little more than hospitals, others are more like a resort, featuring various activities that can range from outdoor excursions such as horseback riding and hiking to indoor activities and amenities such as saunas, pools, and extravagant kitchens with professional chefs on staff.

With either type of facility, therapy is still a key component of the treatment center to help the addict identify their destructive behavior and to take steps to correct it.

Out-Patient Treatment

Unlike in-patient treatment, those in an out-patient treatment program are not isolated while they seek treatment, but instead have regularly scheduled visits to receive therapy. These sessions can range in occurrence from every day to once a week.

Much like in-patient treatment, therapy is the key component of the treatment, but unlike the former type of treatment, the patient will spend time away from therapy, making them even more responsible for their own recovery. In some cases a judge may only allow out-patient treatment with the conditional use of an electronic tracking anklet, with some of them able to detect the use of alcohol, an especially effective addition for those battling alcoholism.

Getting the Help You Need

No matter what type of treatment that you choose (or is chosen for you), focusing on getting healthy is of paramount importance, so make sure that you and those around you commit to the treatment and that you get the help you need, because there’s nothing to be gained from being addicted to something like gambling or alcohol.

Aiden Owens has struggled with his own addictions, including gambling addiction. For his alcoholism he attended Williamsville Wellness, a Virginia alcohol addiction treatment center. To learn more about Williamsville Wellness and their programs, visit them online at: AlcoholismTreatmentCenter.org.

By Aiden Owens

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The Increased Prices of Prescription Drugs

Posted by in Medicine on July 21, 2011

By Richard B Snyder

The Increased Prices of Prescription DrugsDo you feel as though your pharmacy bill seems to be getting larger by the day? If so, it probably is. The last four years have seen a major hike in prescription drug prices compared to other medical services and products. The Government Accountability Office, a non partisan group, submitted a study to Congress which requested they take a careful look at the data. In 2009 nearly $78 billion was spent on prescription drugs by the federal government. That is about 31 percent of the US total of $250 billion.

The study found that prescription drug prices grew at the rate of 6.6% annually from the year 2006 until 2010. However, the medical consumer price index is much less than the growth rate of prescription drug prices, which only saw an annual increase of 3.8%.

The GAO report shows a similar pattern of drug price hikes from previous years. In 2007 a growth was seen in commonly used prescription drug brands and from January 2000 to 2007 prescription drug prices had grown approximately 6% per year.

Thankfully not all prescription drugs fell into the price hike category. The latest study conducted by the GAO on 45 generic drugs and 55 frequently used brand drugs showed that the prices of generic drugs fell at the rate of 2.6% annually, although the rate of brand drugs grew at the rate of 8.3%. There seems to be a gap existing between the generic drug prices and brand drugs, which goes to show that patients are opting to purchase generic versions. The increase in sales of generic drugs means that the active ingredient prices paid only increased by 2.6% annually, instead of the previous increase of 6.6%.

So which drugs have experienced a big price hike? Boehringer Ingelheim drug, Flomax (enlarged prostate), saw the biggest price hike in the last four years at a rate of 17.6%. Sanofi-Aventis’s Ambien used for insomnia came in second place with a price hike of 15.2%. Merck’s Clarinex, the allergy pill, came third on the list with a price hike of 12.5%.

The Affordable Care Act and Prescription Drug Price Hikes

Is there a connection between the Affordable Care Act and prescription drug price hikes? Well, it seems to be the case when reviewing data in the study conducted by the GAO. The study reveals allegations that drug prices were jacked up in March 2010 before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed. The GAO study found that drug prices grew at the rate of 5.9% during the discussion of the Act, between 2009 and 2010. This rate, however, is lower than the price hikes seen in previous years, though still higher than 2006.

There is no control act on general drug prices in the health care law passed in 2010. Beginning 2011, seniors are given a 50% discount on brand drugs when they reach the ‘donut hole’ in Medicare. This donut hole can become a major gap sometimes costing seniors as much as thousands of dollars in drug prescription expenses. It is hoped that this gap will close by the year 2020.

Health has always been one of our most crucial concerns but nowadays, despite all the great advances in medicine, health concerns and concerns about the cost of healthcare are more common than ever. With so much information out there these days and so much conflicting advice and opinions it can often seem impossible to find out what’s good for you and what’s bad for you. That’s why at Advisory Journal we’re committed to giving you frank and honest advice on health issues as well as keeping you up to date with news on important health topics.

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