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If you have fibromyalgia, then you’re almost certain to have chronic fatigue problems as well. You may even have chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in addition to your fibromyalgia. While they are not the same, they do appear to be related. Of course, we don’t know the cause of either condition. Can you guess what follows if we don’t know their causes? It means we don’t know how to cure them either. All we can do is try to manage them. Another frustrating aspect of these conditions is that they effect everyone so differently. So that means treating your fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue will likely take quite a bit of trial and error.

Before we explore some treatment options, however, lets be clear about one vitally important direction: unless you have already been diagnosed with chronic fatigue and/or fibromyalgia, it is absolutely imperative that you see your healthcare practitioner before you start any kind of self-treatment. Why? Because your symptoms could be the result of other conditions that would require very different kinds of treatment. Furthermore, certain conditions that have similar or related symptoms to CFS and fibromyalgia can cause more damage to your body if left untreated or not treated properly. None of these conditions are anything to mess around with or guess at, folks. Take them seriously and get a diagnosis or at least some testing to rule out anything dangerous.

Chronic fatigue treatments

Common CFS Treatments

With that in mind, be aware that your physician may be inclined to place you on medication. This can be a great option for many people. However, fibro patients tend to be highly sensitive. So, it’s not uncommon for them to have adverse reactions to certain medications. In face, we have discussed some options here in the past such as anti-depressants and ADHD medications that are used as chronic fatigue treatments.

We have also highlighted the use of psychological therapy to treat the pain associated with both chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. The purpose of this kind of therapy as chronic fatigue treatments is to change the patient’s perspective of the pain. Doing so allows them to feel less pain and take their lives back. But even the the Mayo Clinic acknowledges that its effectiveness depends on the individual: “Not everyone who has severe chronic fatigue…. responds to treatment in the same way. People who have a better chance of treatment success tend to have less impairment, focus less on symptoms, comply with counseling programs and pace themselves to avoid overexertion and underexertion.”

What About Alternative Options?

You’ve no doubt come across several alternative therapy options for fibromyalgia. And some of them will also be familiar to those suffering from CFS too. You may have tried some and found that they worked wonders or that they failed miserably. Well, there’s a reason for that. You see, the symptoms of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia are linked to mood. And that changes daily, even more so for people dealing with these conditions. So, that means that a treatment option that works great on Monday may not even be noticed if you tried it again on Thursday.

Outside of herbal and mineral supplements, there are typically three very common treatment options recommended that are considered alternatives to traditional Western medicine. These include yoga or tai chi, acupuncture, and massage. All three options work to loosen chemical build up within the muscles to decrease tension, among other things. Westerners sometimes mistakenly associate yoga, tai chi, and acupuncture with religious practices of some sort. However, those treatment options have nothing at all to do with religion. Rather, they are rooted in far Eastern medical practices that are thousands of years old and highly effective.

A Way of Life

It is important to note that none of these options will suddenly fix your fibromyalgia or CFS symptoms with a single treatment or practice. To be effective, chronic fatigue treatments must become a way of life. Because remember, there are no actual cures for these conditions. In fact, you will likely find that many of these options work best when they all or several of them are incorporated into your life. That doesn’t you do them all every day. It just means that they become a regular part of your life in order to get the most out of them for helping your CFS and fibromyalgia symptoms.

As discussed above, everyone is different in their responses to various chronic fatigue treatments. What works for you may not work for your neighbor and vice versa. Effectively treating these conditions requires you to try various options. In fact, one treatment may work really well for a while, then stop working over time. So you try again. And again. Something will work. Have you found a treatment that’s working particularly well for your CFS and/or fibromyalgia symptoms right now? Please tell us about it!