Using the martial Arts for healing.

About 10 year ago I contracted Glandular Fever which then resulted in me being diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), a serious and debilitating illness that can last for years, and sometimes for life. Symptoms of CFS/ME include overwhelming exhaustion, both physical and cognitive, memory and concentration impairment, an intense 'flu like feeling, muscle pain, sleep disturbance, headaches, disturbance of balance and other symptoms. There is no effective treatment for CFS/ME.

The main symptoms of CFS/ME are persistent profound weakness, extreme tiredness after any form of exertion, disrupted sleep, pain and neurological and cognitive (thought related) problems. Other symptoms include:

* Orthostatic hypotension (a sudden drop in blood pressure when you stand up)
* Orthostatic tachycardia (increased heart rate when you stand up)
* Palpitations
* Shortness of breath with exertion
* Muscle twitching
* Sensitivity to light, touch and sound
* Nausea
* Gastrointestinal and urinary problems
* Sore throat and tender lymph nodes
* Marked weight change - extreme loss or gain
* Not coping with temperature changes.

As you can see this would and still does to some effect, have an impact on my training and capacity.

Exercise is often a problem for people with CFS because physical activity may worsen their symptoms. Some people with CFS, especially in the weeks or months following onset, are unable to perform the most basic activities, such as showering or walking from one room to another. In such cases of extreme exhaustion and pain, the person may be confined to their bed. As time passes, they may feel a little better and attempt regular exercise. However, aerobic activity can cause a relapse of symptoms.

It gets worse, as a result of the CFS/ME I went on to develop Bi-Polar Depression. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives. It is mainly caused by a lack of serentonin in the brain. Bipolar disorder is a lifetime illness.

This had a devestating effect on not only my training but my life, causing great grief for my family, and it could have destroyed my marriage had I not been urged to seek out help. It almost destroyed me. I have seen the darkness of humanity and myself.

As a result of the Bi-Polar condition and the CFS/ME I have had to re-structure my whole life (which includes my training and teaching). I have cut back on my teaching schedule and only now teach a small select group of people who I really like. With Medication daily, correct eating and training in Chi-Kung and the forms of my style etc I now have a normal (Whatever that may be!) life. I balance the effects of this disease by good diet, good training (smart training) and Chi-Kung practices which are a part of my style.

I also use Chinese traditional herbs including Monk Wine (500 year old recipe). There is no Western "cure" for ME.

I am now much more happier than ever.

I realise that many out there have it much worse than me.

Hike at a rapid pace...for hours every day, no matter how tired you feel, breath fresh air, eat lots of veggies, and drink a lot of ginseng tea and Shizandra.

Oh, and try to sleep 10 hours a day for a a few months if you can. Even if it's 8 at night, and a 2 hour nap during the day.

Get up, hike, nap. You could also add Qi gong and do 20 minutes of some sort of moderate to intense cardio about 1/3 into your hike. Hike to your favorite outdoor training spot for instance, train, and then continue hikeing.

HALF your diet should be raw fruites and veggies.

Do this daily and in a few mnths you will be your old self again.

royal dragon is right
but bi would leave the hiking till u can mange it
so as to avoid a relapse
lol apart from the jinseng tea and the hiking thats basically my life just add a whole lot of MA

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Originally Posted by Royal Dragon

Hike at a rapid pace...for hours every day, no matter how tired you feel, breath fresh air, eat lots of veggies, and drink a lot of ginseng tea and Shizandra.

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I respect you and your posts so don't take this as an attack that will degenerate the entire thread. That said, if you are referring to ME, you are talking bullocks.

Maybe you know someone with mild ME. My wife has it and is recovering a bit at the moment. She has had it since she was 15, she is 24 now. She also had Annorexia and depression which seem to go hand in hand with alot of cases of ME. She has had it so severely that a few times she has been bed bound, not even able to lift her head from the pillow! About 2 years ago she spent 6 months like this.

The idea of hiking is laughable. She would love to be able to but at the moment is unable to walk 100 yards unaided. The best approach, for her, has been structured light exercise which is gradually increased. This started as two steps unaided per day adding another step per week. Thats it. We also had to daily stretch her Achillies Tendon as it had schrunk due to the bed rest.

The other thing that has helped has been, as you said, a healthy and balanced diet. The thing that has helped her the most however has been having our son. Pregnancy with all its changes to the body gave her a great energy boost and the gradual increase in Aeron's ability has slowly increased Suzanne's abilities.

The last thing I want to add is that PEOPLE WITH M.E./CFS ARE NOT FAKERS OR JUST PLAIN LAZY. I have met many people with ME now and the common thread amongst them seems to be that they were all intelligent over achievers who are very driven people with a desire to succeed. They don't want to lounge around at home sponging off the state. They want to get better and work and live a life worth living.

Michael

Royal Dragon, Thanks for the posts. I wish it was that simple.

Laugarkuen (Michael), I hope your wife gets better.

ME is a debilitating disease but can be managed if one has the will. I can now function at a near normal level but if I do a heavy workout or teach a seminar, it can take me days to recover and I am then literally zapped of energy for days afterwards.

I am much better now then I was 10 years ago when I first contracted the disease.

With good eating, vitamins and daily Chi-Kung I am managing this disease.

I am a high achiever with a strong creative streak so I found your comments interesting

Which chi kung exercises do you do? If they are particular to your style do you have any clips please?

Thanks,

Michael

Hey man thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate it.

It has been a long journey to hell and back and I have seen the darkness of humanity and myself but all in all it has made me a better person.

Originally I sought out professional medical help in dealing with the CFS and its diagnosis. From there on it was coming to terms with what I could and could not do. This was very hard as I am normally a very involved and active person. I had to re-structure aspects of my life to fit the effects of the illness. I am much better and much more active now through correct eating, exercise, Chi-Kung and a positive mental attitude.

The Bi-Polar Depression was a whole new ball game and for a while had the potential to ruin my life. Thankfully through the help and kindness of a good Doctor and my family, friends and students I have beaten this aspect of my life. Again correct medication coupled with a change in lifestyle has helped greatly. I guess my will to beat this has helped greatly.

As for Chi-Kung, I do the Three Circle Standing Chi-Kung from Yang Taiji as well as advanced Chi-Kung from my style (Minghequan - Calling White Crane) "Embracing the Moon in arms" is one that has helped greatly with my Chi flow and energy buildling.

Thanks for your comments!

I've worked with a number of CFS patients, mostly in combination with chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia (a somewhat contentious label, for certain)

in my experience, in one practicewhere I workedm, we had good success with many patients using a combination of massage (superficial and deep point or something they called "fibrocytic" which was basically intense skin rolling over sensitive areas using cooing spray to numb the pain - crude, but surprisingly effective for many people), then 20 minutes of muscle specific electrical stimulation (10 minutes tetanic contraction, 10 minutes pulsed contraction), and then a very gentle exercise protocol designed by the late Hans Kraus, MD, which consisted of various simple range of motion movements done slowly for about 3 to 4 reps, changing muscle groups every time so as not to induce fatigue; of course, this didn't work for everyone, and some people would then get trigger point injection (dry needling by MD), followed immediately and for several days thereafter with the e-stim and exercise protocol; they also had biofeedback, psychological counseling, life skills stuff and nutrition as well

I also worked for many years in a practice after that using mostly osteopathic manual therapy, including cranial work, visceral manipulation, counterstrain, muscle energy, adjustments and the protocol I learned at the previous place - this was also very helpful for many people, especially the cranial work, which is very good at helping systemic issues, most likely because it seems to have a rebalancing effect on the autonomic nervous system, which is what I believe mediates stuff like CFS and FM, largely in combination with a whole body immune / inflammatory response, which the system seems to get "stuck" in, and just can't seem to resolve

anyway, just some observations...

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Originally Posted by laugarkuen

t. The thing that has helped her the most however has been having our son. Pregnancy with all its changes to the body gave her a great energy boost and the gradual increase in Aeron's ability has slowly increased Suzanne's abilities.

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I agree - not so much that the pregnancy necessarily gave her an energy boost, but in a sense it distracted her system in a way that made it "forget" about its older pattern of "dysfunction" for what was, in a way, a new one (it's like what they used to do in ancient Roman medicine, where if you had one thing wrong somewhere, they'd scratch you somewhere else to "distract" the system from the original problem, or something like that) - point is, it kicks the organism out of one pattern and into another - hopefully by the time the pregnancy ended, the system didn't go back to the old habits (and it sounds like the demands of parenting prevented that, so cool)

you are also right re: the observation of there beng a significant psychological component to CFS - yet another credible example of mind/body interraction...

the problem is that some people mistake a general overall better condition of health due to exercise as a form of mystical healing.

As for sucking down "eastern" medicine, it seems there have been quite a few studies on some of th most popular "cures" and "remedies" and these are starting to fall flat on their faces.