Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalitis: It's Mitochondria, Not Hypochondria - by Sarah Myhill

This is a book published by Chelsea Green Publishing, 2018
ISBN 160358787X, 9781603587877
Length 413 pages

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells, essential for the production and management of energy at the cell level. Dr. Sarah Myhill has spent years studying the relationship between mitochondrial malfunction and one of the most common problems that leads people to the doctor's office: fatigue.

In Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalitis, Dr. Myhill examines this essential role of our mitochondria in energy production and why it is key to understanding and overcoming Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and the inflammation that often accompanies it: Myalgic Encephalitis (ME). She explains the importance of healthy mitochondria, how we can assess how well they are functioning, what we can do to keep them healthy, and how to restore them to health if problems arise.

Since publication of the first edition in 2014, new research and new clinical findings have shed further light on a condition that is debilitating to those who suffer from it, but "all in the head" to many doctors. The second edition of this groundbreaking book includes new insights and chapters on why CFS/ME is the most poorly treated condition in Western medicine, the role of the gut, allergy and autoimmunity, Lyme disease and other coinfections, reprogramming the immune system, reprogramming the brain, and the roadmap to recovery.

Info from/at https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IzhODwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y&hl=en

 

How much does a study like this support her dietary recommendations? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321471/

I know people who've benefited from keto for epilepsy and ME, but I'm curious as to whether there's much science behind it.

As for the role of mitochondria: Ramsay himself said they probably accounted for the muscular fatigability in ME, so I think she's on the right track, but I suspect it's just part of the picture.

We'll probably see the same pattern of mitochondrial dysfunction across fatiguing illnesses. So it's not so much that the mitochondrial dysfunction causes ME, than it is that the dysfunction causes fatigue itself (or is a consequence of it, since correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation).

 

Does it say anything about eating chocolate cookies at night, though?

 

I think that's covered by the comment about addiction.

 

Ah ha ... but you won't know what has been put in the biscuits! OR at least not initially

 

Keto would work for those who have pyruvate/ glycolysis issues- fats being an alternative energy source. Also good where insulin resistance / glucose metabolism is affected.
However there is a subset whose lipid metabolism is affected and who could not manage keto.
Whilst the focus is mitochondria, it is more that this is a consequence, and that some combinations of diet and supplements can help address some of the underlying issues ( most likely relative to lack.of substrate and methylation). There is info on endocrine imbalance, ROS etc.
It is an accessible read and does offer explanations for many aspects.

 

I seem to have some glucose regulation issues or something to do with energy metabolism, nothing major, but keto has been harmful whenever I've tried it. Last time I tried it I also had episodes of abnormal brain activity at night ("a storm in the head"). Do you think this suggests an issue with fats used for energy production?

 

I wouldn't particularly have a problem with her advice, except that it's phrased as the roadmap to "recovery." That's a nasty and exploitative expectation to create.

 

If this narrative of people with ME all being type A, over-achieving perfectionists were true, than wouldn't we have the best organized and most effective advocacy movement and fundraising machine in the world and wouldn't find ourselves among the most marginalized / harmed by health care systems with the least amount of research funding?

(Also, I'm not a perfectionist because that would be a flaw. )

 

Those were pretty much my thoughts Ramsay and Hyde mention 'derangement of glycolysis' throughout their work. This would presumably address that, and might help the busted energy systems. I think it'd be a very hit-and-miss treatment, though, since some people have fat issues, as you and @strategist seem to indicate.

@ScottTriGuy The fact we're all knackered, ill and brain fogged doesn't help, I'm sure.

 

any particular reason why this thread is in Members only?

 

Thanks everyone, I'm off to eat a dark chocolate covered rice cake.

 

we probably would if we had the normal energy levels and brainpower of our well selves. But being hampered with cotton wool heads and string muscles is our downfall. That's why it's so amazing to have the power of super @dave30th to deliver messages intelligently for us.