The Student Room Group

Herbal remedies for constant fatigue

I'm always, always tired... have been for at least four years, maybe more. I've seen a couple doctors about it but they've done blood tests and found nothing wrong.

Does anyone know of any herbal remedies (or anything else) that actually helps with chronic fatigue?

I found a site that recommends the following...

Flaxseed oil, one tbsp daily. Should be taken in the morning.
Siberian ginseng, 100-300mg two times daily.
Panax ginseng, 100-250 mg two times daily.
Vitamin C, 1,000 mg thrice daily. If diarrhea develops, reduce the dose.
Vitamin B complex, one pill two times daily with meal (B-50 complex with 400 mcg folic acid, 50 mcg vitamin B12, 50 mcg biotin, and 50 mg of all other B vitamins).
Amino acid complex, one pill two times a day on an empty stomach.
Magnesium, 400 mg daily for eight weeks. Take with meal. If diarrhea develops, reduce the dose.



Has anyone with my problem tried any of these?


:frown:
Are you supposed to take all of those together? :confused: That would work out pretty expensive. You could try just taking multivitamins for a while and see if that helps?
Reply 2
One of my friends was recently diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and she has been taking this herbal stuff for a while... says it works wonders for her. Will try and find out what it is. It wasnt any of those on the list, it was something in a bottle you could buy ready mixed.
fleur de lis
Are you supposed to take all of those together? :confused: That would work out pretty expensive. You could try just taking multivitamins for a while and see if that helps?


I've tried that, and I've tried a Vitamin B complex for awhile. No luck.

One of my friends was recently diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and she has been taking this herbal stuff for a while... says it works wonders for her. Will try and find out what it is. It wasnt any of those on the list, it was something in a bottle you could buy ready mixed.


I would really appreciate that. Thank you.
Have you been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome? My aunt has this and was prescribed antidepressants which have helped her a lot.
I haven't been diagnosed with anything. The last doctor I went to was just like, "I can't find anything wrong with you, but maybe when you're married and have children and are working full-time you'll feel less tired." Uh, right...
Reply 6
I cant find that thing my friend told me sorry, I had it written down and cant find the piece of paper, typical :rolleyes:

I believe it is an African remedy that comes in a bottle, costs about £30 for a bottle but works wonders and lasts for ages. Dont know any more than that Im afraid.

Theres some info on this website that might be helpful (scroll to bottom)

http://www.teachersupport.info/index.cfm?p=2352

I definately recommend homeopathy if you can afford to see a registered homeopathist, I found it really good, it did actually work.

Do you ever go out/drink etc?


Rarely drink... no going out of the clubbing/pubbing sort

There are however certain behavioural and mental type things that seem to help a lot of people.


What are these? thank you
-x-Nina-x-
Your aunt will have been prescribed antidepressants for the mental effects of the illness, not the physical ones.


That's not actually true, or not as my consultant explained it to me - could be a different doctor would think differently, as seems to be the case with most things regarding CFS/ME! I've also been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (which has well and truly bolloxed up my med course, let me tell you :rolleyes:) and I was told the antidepressants can actually have some helpful effects on your physical condition as well. Haven't tried them yet because I'm on a graduated exercise programme which seems to be helping (thank God, I was getting well sick of getting ill every time I walked five hundred yards). More adventurous, I'd suggest maybe trying swimming. I started that and my doc said it was a good idea because it's low impact. I've gradually been doing more and I am getting stronger/more able to do things (e.g. I can walk into town from uni now, which was way beyond me just two months ago) - I have tried multivitamins but to be frank they've done naff-all for me, total waste of money and I didn't notice any improvement.

Eating carbohydrates does make me sleepy, though I've no idea if that's anything to do with CFS or not.

One piece of advice that everyone seems to hold in common is that you shouldn't push yourself too hard, as it can really set back your recovery. Good news is I've noticed significant improvement in a very short time.

Hope some of this was helpful and I'm going to keep an eye on the thread in case anyone comes up with something I haven't tried yet!

:smile:
There are however certain behavioural and mental type things that seem to help a lot of people.


You're referring to cognitive behavioural therapy, right? Apparently it's really good for breaking the can't do anything - feel demotivated - physical condition deteriorates - can do less - feel worse - etc cycle, but it's an absolute arse trying to get it on the NHS. The waiting list can be years long! CFS is known to cure ITSELF inside a year in some cases, I mean WTF? :p:
no not the courses, there is some info freely available on the internet, i will find the links soon (just came on to see if ppl had replied). but yeah dont push yourself. because they said id be ok in 6 months i kept thinking i was getting better and then suddenly relapsed because i was doing too much
I would be really, really careful about who you ask for advice because if you're getting desperate you are a prime candidate to be conned and it happens to the best. Homeopaths etc are brilliant at their jobs, i.e. selling stuff that has no real evidence whatsoever to prove that it works, by using pseudo-scientific language to blind people who, through no fault of their own, know no better than to believe what they are told because a few long words were thrown in. If you have any kind of scientific education (as opposed to arts subjects) past GCSE that will have come across as incredibly patronising so I apologise, but understand that it's well meant and also that it's a blanket sentiment that I would say to anyone. The very nature of alternative medicine is that its effects are dubious, simply because if something can be shown to work effectively and consistently, it becomes normal medicine. The treatments you will be offered in Holland and Barratt for example, as opposed to prescribed drugs, will be sold on the basis that some people thought they worked at some point. By contrast, any scientific solution to an illness will have been tested scientifically, i.e. instead of looking for evidence to support the hypothesis that it works, the researchers look for any possible evidence to disprove the hypothesis. Only if the drug can be shown to work after these rigorous tests and studies can a medicine be licensed. The only "herbal" thing I could possibly recommend is anything containing a source of iodine, which is a component of the thyroxine molecule (responsible for "energy" levels) and so may help your thyroid gland to produce more of this hormone. I think Boots do a tablet which has kelp as its active ingredient. But multivitamins etc will not have any effect other than possibly as a placebo. I imagine your doctors will have tested for anaemia (and come to think about it hypothyroidism too) as well as any other obvious causes of fatigue so if standard medicine seems to have failed you, instead of turning to the snake-oil trade of alternative medicine, I am with Nina and personally would recommend both persevering with finding an official diagnosis and perhaps trying something along the lines of cognitive behavioural therapy, where at least you can get help and advice from someone with an actual medical qualification rather than a daylight robber posing as a harmless old hippie.
by the way I did look at CBT and the course people i know went on is £560, which is quite expensive, but I don't think its really that much for the changes in quality of life it has given people, including my friend. If I had the money, I'd pay it in an instant because it gets to the point where you are just so desperate to live a vaguely normal life that you just dont care anymore. I'm tempted to do some fundraising stuff to see if i can get the money that way. Its something to think about - although I think the one I was looking at required you to be diagnosed , in which case you would still have to go back to a doctor.
just found the website addy its www.fatigueanswers.com The free report is about the whole boom/bust cycle. I'll be honest thats the only bit i bothered to get. It might help some people.