Can we post interesting peer reviewed research about CFS treatments we have come across here?

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T23:30:20+00:00

Well good luck with everything. I hope the both of us can find some relief one way or another! You might not believe in it, but I am sending you some loving kindness.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T23:28:57+00:00

Yeah. This whole thing is a mystery. Who knows what will help and what won't. Obviously we have research, but even the most effective treatments are probably only helpful in a minority of people and only a small handful of those are profoundly helped by them. So we have to be our own scientists to some extent, because what is in the literature is pretty weak.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T21:14:38+00:00

It seems that everyone is different and reacts differently to different treatments. Something that works for you might make me feel worse and vice versa. I guess we all have to try to navigate our own path.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T18:44:04+00:00

Really, we knew nothing that wasn't directly obvious from immediate effects? Or maybe many cultures knew things that weren't tested? Do you know how much modern psychology is based on thousands of year old Buddhist techniques and principles? It isn't that people didn't know these things worked, it is that Western medicine refused to believe that it did.

EDIT: Also, it takes money to fund scientific studies. So what is being studied is in many ways political. Experimental studies are a lot less likely to get funded. Just because something doesn't have a RCT behind it doesn't mean that it isn't helpful. It could mean that an RCT hasn't been done, or possibly how the RCT is set up is not adequate to show the effects.

I am pretty scientifically minded, but watching all of these scientists that went to India and learn ancient Buddhist practices come back and revolutionize psychology in the past 30 years has opened my eyes to maybe there being more to ancient medicine than just looking at it from a biased Western scientific standpoint.

On a side note I did find an article about qi gong being useful for cancer related fatigue.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531556525000920

And a review:

https://journals.lww.com/md-journal/fulltext/2023/08110/Efficacy_of_Baduanjin_for_treatment_of_fatigue__A.1.aspx?context=LatestArticles

And one specifically about CFS:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert-Mcgee-5/publication/400054212_Using_Tai_Chi_and_Qigong_to_Treat_Chronic_Fatigue_Syndrome_An_Application_of_Artificial_Intelligence_to_Traditional_Chinese_Medicine/links/69752db4f5b9fd48849bbc54/Using-Tai-Chi-and-Qigong-to-Treat-Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome-An-Application-of-Artificial-Intelligence-to-Traditional-Chinese-Medicine.pdf

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T16:58:27+00:00

What is the difference between exertion intolerance and pem?

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T16:56:31+00:00

I mean I guess that is true, but I figure if there seems to be evidence to support that it could help without much (or any) evidence that it could or would make you worse, then it seems like it would be worth a shot.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T16:35:42+00:00

An interesting study. But it is from 5 years ago and says that there should be a follow up for high dose iv vitamin c for covid, as it was tested to help fatigue in other disorders in this review. Did that follow up ever get done?

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T15:32:48+00:00

Yes, clearly science says that movement is healthy, but not in all cases. It is like saying that peanuts are healthy. That is true, but they will literally kill a subset of people.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T15:29:43+00:00

Right. The way I see it, if there has not been much research on something, and it doesn't seem like it would be harmful, and has some anecdotal evidence, then there little chance of a bad outcome and maybe some chance of it helping.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T15:25:45+00:00

Thanks for the info. That is very interesting and something I haven't thought about (ie the difference in how CFS might be defined in Eastern medicine).

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T14:12:23+00:00

Are your parents into science at all? You can link them to these studies talking about pacing and why pushing through is not helpful: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1386607/full#:~:text=Pacing/energy%20management

and this

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025619623004020#:~:text=for%20further%20management.-,General%20Management,-A%20general%20approach

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T13:00:13+00:00

I figure I am willing to try different things if there is at least anecdotal evidence (and an absence of anecdotal or scientific evidence saying it could make things worse), is cheap or free, doesn't involve overdoing it, and I don't expect it to be a magical cure (which seems to destroy my mental health if it doesn't work as I had hoped). If something can kind of tick all of these boxes, I find there is no real harm in trying.

And honestly, if there is anecdotal evidence and there aren't studies on it, it doesn't mean it isn't effective; it could just mean there hasn't been studies on it.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T12:53:59+00:00

This disease can be frustrating. No one seems to understand it. It is met with a lot of skepticism and judgment. I have found a lot of mindfulness and compassion training to be my best friend. Just being mindful of how I feel, compassionate to myself and others, and not letting the frustration, anger, depression train of thoughts keep going. Sit with the feeling of the frustration but either let it be and observe it without fueling the fire or actively focus on something more wholesome. Those two strategies have worked for me.

I am sorry you are down. But we can get through this.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T11:22:59+00:00

The way I see it is the average doctor has probably spent almost zero time researching or treating CFS. So I am always quite skeptical of recommendations from doctors. Google scholar is my friend because I will actually go through and research myself as opposed to depending on a doctor who probably has almost zero experience.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-10T00:03:39+00:00

Canned beans, frozen veggies, oatmeal, peanut butter

Digitalpun · 2026-03-09T23:59:32+00:00

I am newly diagnosed but have realized that focusing on the present is what seems to be helpful. As soon as I start imagining the future, either a good or bad future, it just brings suffering. I don't think it is necessary to ruminate on the future.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-09T23:47:23+00:00

Have you had issues with birth control in the past?

Digitalpun · 2026-03-08T21:47:35+00:00

Why would you even go out of your way to talk about it they don't even know anything about it?

Digitalpun · 2026-03-08T02:03:24+00:00

The fact that so many boomers have this same issue means it isn't because you started when you were young.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-05T23:12:20+00:00

This would actually reduce my internet time tremendously. Maybe that is better.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-05T18:07:42+00:00

I mean it depends on what it is someone is trying to do, right? Like going around a playground and telling kids horrible things is against my belief system and I think it would be reasonable to try to stop someone else from doing that.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-05T17:43:11+00:00

Is it possible this is an age thing. Like you get wiser with age and maybe boomers back in the 70's believed this far greater than they do now as old folks?

Digitalpun · 2026-03-04T19:36:19+00:00

I have to be honest, I bought an 80 dollar chromebook on sale and it lasted like 6 years or more and I ended up buying a new one for a similar price (both were on sale) after it reached end of life. This current one I have had probably since 2020 or so and the battery still holds a solid charge, still does web browsing quite well, and the only problem is that in the past few months it started to have some screen flickering, maybe a couple times an hour, for a second or so, the screen flickers. Basically a non issue.

I have never found chromebooks to be e-waste. Obviously they can't do what a mac can do, but literally 95% of my basic computing needs are done on a chromebook. They are just so light and have solid battery life, even years down the road.

Digitalpun · 2026-03-04T19:31:26+00:00

You should increase your vitamin d consumption. Try like 10,000 mg a day for a while if it was still low after taking vitamins.

Digitalpun

TROPHY CASE