"Exhaustion", Retrovirus (XMRV), Chronic Fatigue; Dr Oz, December 3

First and foremost, we ask everyone reading this to spread the word that this is a resource online for everyone to read.  AND we encourage you to utilize the 'Comment' area at the bottom of the page of this blog post.  In October when the Dr. Oz show had Dr. Teitelbaum on, I was asked for months by MANY people what the show covered, because many people didn't see it -- maybe it wasn't shown in their area -- and nobody could find it on the internet's usual places, such as YouTube.  I looked at the Doctor Oz.com website in order to provide a link from Lumigrate to the information people were asking about and could find no reference to it other than Dr. Teitelbaum being in the 'Experts' tab.  Now it appears their website has had quite an update, and Dr Oz did refer in the show to content available on the website about sleep hygiene.  Please note the website address is 'doctoroz.com' and not 'droz' -- someone else has that domain, which is unfortunate and having a year ago created a website and the trademarked name "Lumigrate", I understand the 'process'.   (Sunday we were included in a message on facebook about part of the segment being available on YouTube and the link for that is below with the other links for your information -- I encourage you to watch, as it has an excellent graphical/ animated representation of how retroviruses happen).   But for those that want to read -- continue on here!  

I also understand chronic fatigue syndrome well -- 20 years ago I succombed to a 9 year "up/down but overall gradual decline from wellness to having what in those days was called 'chronic Epstein-Barr virus'.  I had gone most of my 20s becoming allergic to cigarette smoke, cats, having headaches, becoming chemically sensitive to photocopiers and exhaust fumes (and 'per fumes'), gaining weight (then losing it when eliminating certain food types), and requiring more sleep and never really feeling vigorous the way I used to (or do now mostly).

I'm fortunate that my primary doctor in Fort Collins, Colorado knew that an Ear Nose and Throat specialist there had progressive information from National Jewish in Denver about what he thought I had going on when I went in to him regarding ear/hearing changes.  That doctor took one look at me and said 'I think I know what is wrong with you -- is it normal for you to have puffiness under your eyes? (which was not normal for me).  He ordered blood work that showed that my Epstein-Barr (causes mononucleosis) titres were high.  He prescribed some things that helped and told me that 'I know it seems impossibly hard, but the trick to getting better is to exercise'.  My husband really picked up the slack in what I normally would do for the house and yard, I cut back to 7 hours a day of work (from 10-12 average) and one beautiful summer evening when he wen for his cherished walk around our neighborhood I decided to go with him -- just half a block, and come back.  I was really wobbly weak, but once I sat I realized at some level 'I feel better'.  So that began a very long journey of many longer and shorter walks and productive days over the last 20 years, AND my delving into health information in order to light my path to health and well-being. 

In order to get something up here for people wanting to read in a reasonable amount of time, I'm going to do my best at a general transcription of Dr. Oz's initial overview and then the highlights of the guest (MD/medical expert) and a woman who was in the study referred to in the show.  This might not be verbatim what was said, but the content and intent should be accurate. 

Dr Oz: "We have a fun show for you today because we're going to talk about something that millions of women suffer from: exhaustion.  But it might not have anything to do with sleep at all, it may be infection caused by a new retrovirus that could be inside of you right now ready to strike.  What is a retrovirus and how

"There's a brand new virus in town, and it has your doctor very alarmed.  It causes debilitating symptoms that can last for years.  There is no cure for it.  And most shockingly, it is now linked to one of the most baffling and misdiagnosed diseases in women."  Dr Oz continues to communicate that  

The virus is called XMRV and it belongs to a small but stealthy family of viruses scientists call 'retroviruses'.  Here's why they are dangerouses.  Viruses such as the flu go into your body and then leave, but retroviruses worms it's way into your DNA and then stays there forEVER.  The best known of the retroviruses is HIV which causes AIDS.  Others have been linked to leukemia and lymphoma.  But HERE's the SHOCKER:

Scientists say that newest retrovirus ( was found in more than 95% of a sampling of patients previously diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  

Insideous and contageous retrovirus was also found in nearly 4% of health Americans.  That means that 

10 million of us could already be carrying this retrovirus deep inside of us putting every one of us at risk with it for developing chronic fatigue syndrome. 

Could this be lurking inside of you?  Do you know the symptoms?  Do you know how to protect yourself. 

Could this retrovirus be the secret reason you are exhausted?  Then he set up that they'll go over the warning signs and what to do about it.   He introduced guest expert Dr. Donica Moore (MD, woman's health expert and authority on chronic fatigue syndrome)

Dr. Moore:  This is a groundbreaker.  We can look at the millions of women (and men) who have this and say withi confidance 'this is not all in your head'.  We know you don't 'depression' and this is not a 'midlife energy crisis'.  What we do know is that this is a serious, potentially debilitating, neuro-immune disease that has an infectious component. 

She goes on to say that what concerned her the most when she heard about this is that we know it does not transmit through the air, so we can 'rest assured' about that.  We CAN detect XMRV in the white blood cells of people who have it, so there is the potential that this could have impacts on the blood supply. 

Dr. Oz then reviewed how a retrovirus works (the virus goes into the 'blueprint of the cell/DNA, and it 'snaps it up' and becomes who you are.  He has a nice graphical example presented behind them of it).  Dr Oz also stated here that they "Didn't know this existed in 'organized medicine' until recently."

He then moves rapidly along to ask Dr. Moore about symptoms.  She states that if a person is fatigued and they'd feel better with a three day vacation and a babysitter, it's not chronic fatigue.  "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" is a very specific clinical syndrome -- there is no blood test, but there are clinical criteria:

1. Six months of a new-onset fatigue that is persistent -- it may be relapsing/remitting, but it is NOT relieved by rest or attributed to any other medical or social condition, such as having a baby.  Dor Oz interjects and takes over the list from here.  Extreme fatigue even after a full night's sleep.
2. Pain in the muscles, joints, headaches.  There is a chronic pain syndrome that goes along with chronic fatigue syndrome.
3. Significant memory loss.  "Brain Fog" as Dr. Moore calls it.  "It's not forgetting where you put the keys, it's forgetting what the keys are for"

This is a condition seen 2-4x as commonly in women than men.  So while women maybe are coming to doctors more often than men, they also appear to have more occurrence.  (see more information at the Dr Oz. website). 

They then had a woman named Gina who was one of about 300 participants in this 'groundbreaking new study' that the results 'just came out about' (ABC aired something on their morning show with one of their medical experts in early October) on who was previously very active and proactive about her health.  She explained what many we know at Lumigrate's Forum areas (and facebook fan pages), which has been identical to what we found two years ago in the previous live educational forum I co-created and lead with Dr. Chris Young here in Grand Junction: We generally went on a scary and expensive wild goose chase going to a physician looking for assistance and being referred to one specialist who wouldn't be able to help, then on to another, back to primary care -- round and round.  This concept is presented by Dr. Young in our free video here at Lumigrate.com on Health Management.  I encourage everyone to take the time to download and watch this one hour, $0 video.  The adjunct video about Insurance and Health Care would likely be beneficial to watch for most as well.  If you aren't sure if you and your equipment can 'do downloading', please read my previous blog which I've been told completely alleviates any difficulties anyone has had. 

What I felt really concerned about is that obviously for several years now, I have realized that the providers and patients involved in these issues are getting into a quagmire -- that's the purpose of Lumigrate.com -- to teach YOU how to navigate your way out and offer a place for many hands to come and grab the oars and steer the boat of health in a better direction. Overall I personally have had the benefit of being proactive and tenacious and moving to a place with exceptionally progressive doctors and in a state which allows me to have health insurance even though I have a condition with deems me 'uninsurable'.   In Gina's case, even knowing she had been in the study and had the XMRV virus, the doctor she approached referred her to psychiatry.  Unless you have a mental health provider who is aware of what this type of medical condition is and the many components to treatment (such as are offered at Lumigrate.com via our 'integrative health model'), this could be a dead-end.  

I've found many people engaged with Lumigrate are finding success when they utilize a model such as ours, which includes nutrition and supplementation, pharmaceutical medications when necessary and properly chosen and prescribed and looks at the body/mind/spirit whole-istically.  (Holistic is the proper spelling, but it's fun to break the word up as done here.).  Gina's trail of referrals to specialists took her to believing she might have a type of cancer or even HIV at one point. She revealed she was close to suicide.  I spent about a month in 1995 between suspicious MRI and lumbar puncture then results thinking it was looking like M.S.; naturally I did not want that diagnosis but to be told by the neurologist she had no idea what it was when it wasn't M.S. was disturbing as well.  (I then pursued food allergy testing via a progressive M.D. who had a small integrative clinic and eliminating a few foods made a tremendous improvement).  

She did a most heartfelt and strong confession of how difficult it is to feel so fatigued and know that you have to get out of bed, work to pay your bills -- there IS no calling in sick because you're feeling like this ALL the time.  (It is comparable she and most say, to how one feels when they have the flu.  I'll attest to that except I had a fatigue to the muscles that was beyond anything I ever have experienced when having the flu and in the mornings literally would not be able to get out of bed until about 9 am).  I commend her and the show for having the wisdom to bring up and 'integrate' into the discussion many of the points they did, including that as a string of doctors see they cannot find what is 'wrong', they will attribute it to something outside of their realm of expertise.  I was fortunate that the MD who I consulted about food allergies said 'You need to see how proactive you are and not let anyone tell you this is in your head".  I've very fortunate to have heard that to never have a provider dismiss me.  Many times they didn't exactly hit things right and for years things languished because not enough doctors know enough about any of this 'stuff', but at least I wasn't made to feel like it was 'in my head'.  Gina clearly was angry about being referred to 'a shrink' --

I hope that as they continue to make more people aware they also provide people with the tools of education and empowerment about what our home page 'You' model shows:  as Dr. Oz said today: If you think this is something going on with you, don't let anyone talk you out of it. 

If 10 million people have it and half don't have symptoms, it tells us that it's lying dormant.  There's something that seems to trigger it:  So how do you get tested.  There is a test available that is $400 and can be ordered online.  You then get a Rx from a doctor to get a blood draw and sent to a lab, and we're not sure if insurances will pay for it or not.

There are antivirals on the market now due to our investment in HIV/AIDS research, so thinking of that as paving the way.  Now we need CDC, NIH, drug companies, anyone who needs a research project to focus on this retrovirus and medications that can help, not only for those millions that are infected now but those in the future that will.  95% of people say they have something that triggers the onset, like an illness, it was stated on the show, and that factor is an important consideration. 

Nutrition -- none of the diets have been shown to help except a good balanced diet.  Many people take salt tablets who have this, ... power drinks....  Patients with brain fog may benefit from omega-3s DHA 400mg a day and people with GI symptoms may benefit from probiotics. 

Sleep is absolutely essential, so sleep hygiene -- things like having an hour of darkness prior to bedtime so the brain produces melatonin.  These tips are at their website (www.doctoroz.com).  He noted that people with CFS have difficulties with normal sleep. 

Exercise... even if walking to the mailbox slowly to keep muscle strength and flexibility to keep up with this illness.

Blog about how to download (it's very easy if you have fast speed and a fairly recent computer:

www.lumigrate.com/blog/how-get-video-lumigratecom-documentation-comes-easy

Link to Dr. Young's video on Health Management: www.lumigrate.com/product/health-management-dr-chris-young

Link to a portion of the Dr. Oz show which is on YouTube as of Sunday, Deccember 6 midday in Mountain Time Zone: www.youtube.com/watch

Please join us on facebook: Friend request Lumigrate Webucation or become a Fan of Lumigrate or Lumigrate: Fibromyalgia (we're attempting to have very specific areas for each type of interest to be able to 'do their own thing').  We love to have your input and work to make it fun, streamlined, valid, and progressive!