How Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Doctors Treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:

By Cara Lan, N.D.

Naturopathic physicians look for the root causes of illness and do their best to address those causes. We tend to dig a lot deeper than conventional physicians when it comes to looking for contributing factors to ME/CFS.

A Naturopathic physician will likely order blood work similar to a conventional doctor (see previous page for helpful conventional laboratory work up).

Along with the conventional blood tests, Naturopathic doctors will often also suggest specialty testing to look deeper for other root causes of chronic fatigue including food sensitivities, nutrient deficiencies, stool analysis, genetic testing, organic acids testing, toxins from mold, and environmental toxins, among other specialty tests.

ND’s also use a combination of the following to address any positive findings found on testing:

• Nutrient repletion via supplements or nutritional IV’s

• Removal of food sensitivities through dietary modifications, teaching improved dietary habits including how to choose foods and read labels, and giving whole foods recipes

• Treating infections found in the blood, urine or stool with antimicrobial herbs, supplements, pharmaceutical antibiotics, or other alternative therapies such as ozone therapy or high dose vitamin C IV’s

• Supporting genetic variations with nutrients and supplements

• Supporting detoxification pathways with nutrients, herbs, hydrotherapy, lymphatic massage, etc.

• Helping to bind and eliminate toxins produced from mold or pathogenic bacteria

• Helping bind and eliminate toxins from chemicals and other environmental pollutants

• Helping to reestablish a healthy microbiome with nutritional counseling and supplementation with pre and probiotics

• Helping the body to detoxify and rebalance with non-supplemental interventions such as hydrotherapy, infrared saunas, and acupuncture

• And other alternative therapies in which the practitioner may have an expertise

These treatments can be very, very helpful for many in recovering from ME/CFS. However, some may find these therapies too costly to afford (especially specialty lab testing and more invasive therapies like IV medicine) or intolerable given that some people are especially sensitive to most external substances including herbs and supplements.

If you can relate to either of these scenarios see my next blog, ‘Using Homeopathic Medicine to Treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’ to get more information about this effective, affordable and gentle form of medicine that has helped so many of my patients heal from ME/CFS, depression, anxiety, and many other issues without the negative side effects of conventional medicine.