What will my Chronic Fatigue Treatment Program look like?

Before you embark on this treatment method for your chronic fatigue, no doubt you’re interested in knowing what your treatment program is likely to entail. This way you can make an informed decision on whether our clinic is right for you.

It is important to understand that one of the key benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is its ability to be fine-tuned to your circumstances, health and type of fatigue. For this reason, no two treatment courses, herbal prescriptions or set of recommendations are identical, but based on the large number of patients I have successfully treated, the following will give you a guide as to what the next few months might look like for you, should we start working together.

Firstly it is important to understand that the treatment for your chronic fatigue will come in the form of a ‘course’ or ‘program’. Just as you did not develop your condition overnight, nor will it disappear that way.

Treatment options & herbal medicine

Supported by diet and lifestyle advice and recommendations, Chinese herbal medicine will nearly always be the focus of your treatment. However, depending on your type of chronic fatigue (which we’ll ascertain in your initial consultation), acupuncture may be used throughout your treatment course to supplement the herbs.

Your program can be made up of a series of ‘in clinic’ consultations (the clinic is located in Darlinghurst, Sydney, just near Hyde Park). ‘Distance’ consultations, done over the phone, are available for those who can’t physically make it to the clinic. Your condition will be discussed in detail and your herbal medicine prescription adjusted during each consultation, but obviously acupuncture would need to be done in the clinic. We can tailor based on your situation, the frequency of your herbal medicine consultations and/or acupuncture visits.

Initial consultation

Regardless of your distance from the clinic, an initial visit in person is highly recommended. This allows me to conduct a number of physical checks, including examining the tongue and reading the pulse, both important diagnostic tools in Chinese medicine. In addition, we will spend the initial appointment discussing the history of your condition and your general physical condition and symptoms in great detail. Nothing going on in your body is ‘unrelated’ to your chronic fatigue from a TCM perspective.

This initial diagnosis will give me a fairly clear idea of what type of health imbalance you fall into. Based on this, we can discuss your recommended treatment program.

How long is a typical treatment program?

Again, difficult to answer as everyone is different, but as a very rough guide I’d recommend the following:

• 3-6 month program for mild chronic fatigue
• 6-9 month program for moderate chronic fatigue
• 12-18 month program for severe chronic fatigue

What does the treatment program look like?

Weekly sessions are recommended in the first 4-6 weeks (either in clinic or by distance) to allow us to fine tune your herbal medicine prescription as we see how you react. If acupuncture is a regular part of your treatment program, I recommend weekly treatments for the first 4-6 weeks to build “momentum” (the effects of acupuncture for most conditions are cumulative). It is important to note that if you can’t come regularly to the clinic for whatever reason, good results can still be achieved using herbal medicine alone.

Once we are established in the program (usually after 6 weeks), we can slow the frequency of consultations to every 2, 3 or 4 weeks depending on your condition and response.

Generally I would recommend treating for a month or two beyond the disappearance of symptoms to ensure the work we have done is cemented. It’s important to remember that the symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg that we see above the surface. The deep health imbalance that has caused your chronic fatigue was probably there for some time before you started to see symptoms, and likewise may still remain after symptoms disappear.

When will I start to see results?

It can take up to 4-6 weeks to see an improvement in your energy levels. You can certainly notice a lift sooner than this, but stubborn cases will require some patience.

Future treatment course top-ups

Our aim in working together is to build up your energy levels to a point where we can pull treatment away completely and allow the body to continue on its own. It is possible that further down the track (perhaps in 12 months, or 2 years) that an additional short course top-ups may be required. Future treatment courses are usually much shorter, you respond much faster and the following “remission” is more extended.

Remember….

It’s important to be aware that healing is really a roller coaster ride. You take 2 steps forward, think you’re doing really well (which you are) and that the treatment is a huge success (which it most likely is), but then you take one step back. That’s when you think that maybe you’ve reached the end of the line with this treatment, or that it’s not working any more. These ups and downs are natural, and are part of the recovery process. The majority of my patients go through this a number of times. It’s important to stick with it – another week will show that you’ve taken 2 steps forward again. Especially early in the treatment there will continue to be periods of low energy, but as long as there’s a general upward trend, that is that your average energy levels are increasing, then the treatment is proving effective.

As you see energy levels start to increase there will still be down days but we want to see over the course of months of treatment that the crashes slowly become less frequent and less severe and of shorter duration. You will also start to notice, as your strength gains, that the things that would have sent you into downward spiral (for example a late night or a demanding period at work) don’t  leave you as depleted as they once would have.