Printer Friendlier VersionThank you for visiting this web site! The purpose is to provide visitors with a clear, simple understanding of the causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also known as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) and the related conditions Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (PVFS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) (sometimes incorrectly abbreviated to Myalgic Encephalitis), and a no-nonsense approach to curing these complex conditions.
There is significant evidence to suggest that many of the contributory factors of the above conditions may also be major factors in a wide variety of conditions, such as Fibromyalgia (FM, FMS), Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS), general muscle and tendon weakness, Irritable Bowel Disease (such as Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's disease), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and even Gulf War Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Autism and Cancer. If you suffer from any of these conditions, then this web site may also be valuable.
The information on this site is intended to help sufferers of CFS, friends or relatives or sufferers, or those who just wish to have optimal rather than mediocre health. This site shows the general, universal, investigative approach and principles that may help to identify the causes, and then steps that could be taken to treat them, to enable a full recovery for the patient. It looks at the main methods of treating each condition available. It offers high level, general information, drawn from a wide variety of sources, and is meant to inspire further study and consultation with a specialist to engage in testing and the correct type of treatments. It is intended as an aid to help patients understand their treatment process. The level of detail is meant to help the sufferer to understand the nature of the causes and the treatments, but is not intended to be used as an 'self-prescribed remedy obtained from the internet'.
Some of the tests and treatments described are based on solid scientific principles. Other treatments described may be described as 'complementary medicine', some of which have undergone some form of scientific trials, others which have not. BlackSpy has not described any type of treatment on this site which he has not personally undergone himself and cannot personally vouch for. BlackSpy has tried to keep the content on the site as scientific and credible as possible, and has tried to avoid making bogus claims for products or treatments. However, BlackSpy has tried to keep an open mind, and where complimentary medicine has been included, it is from (as objective as possible) personal experience, and has been evaluated as critically as anything else would be (i.e. not 'wishing it to work' but simply observing the effects and under what conditions any progress is made). Pseudo-science has been avoided as much as it is possible, without compromising the actual content of what is being conveyed. It is BlackSpy's wish that the medical community puts these complimentary medicine type tests and treatments through rigorous scientific 'double blind' type testing (free from the placebo effect) to validate them and to provide them with greater credibility (or not). It is clearly up to the individual as to what content they wish to take on board and what content they wish to ignore. There are certain treatments and concepts that BlackSpy did not find convincing, but through personal direct experience, has (at first reluctantly) later included.
In addition, the topics covered also relate to areas where the majority of the population could do with some improvement in, to improve general health and to prevent premature aging. In short, highlighting areas to explore to potentially increase one's energy levels and general wellbeing, regardless of whether one has ever had CFS or not. Unfortunately, not many people prioritise these areas as society and consumer culture in general does not place such high importance on them, and often it is only those who have actually lost their health at one time who place great importance on it over convenience, laziness, unwillingness to break patterns of conditioning and short term pleasure.
The site advocates that all identification and treatment is conducted by a qualified specialist. Please see the terms of use page.
This web site grew out of a series of blogs BlackSpy wrote from 2004 to 2006 mainly on the subject of psychology (based on notes written since 1996) but also CFS. This web site was launched in March 2006 and at that time was really just intended to provide a list of subject areas that anyone suffering from chronic fatigue should investigate, with a paragraph or so of explanation under each topic. Since then it has steadily grown to what you see today, BlackSpy periodically revamping whole sections that he felt were not explained fully, and continually updating each relevant section everytime he has learnt something new - to keep it as up to date as possible. Whenever BlackSpy has been asked questions, he has tried to incorporate the answers if not explained clearly enough (or at all) into the text in the relevant section of the web site to help other readers.
Where did all this information on health come from?
BlackSpy's initial source was Dr Jacob Teitelbaum's excellent book on CFS entitled 'From Fatigued To Fantastic'. BlackSpy felt that this book more than any other he had come across gave a good overview of CFS and contributary factors. However, he felt that it could be presented more clearly in some respects, and also that it lacked fundamental information on detoxification. BlackSpy also included his own experience with oriental medicine and specialists, a variety of different diets into the content of the web site. These included many conversations with a variety of practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (including Europe's top acupunturist Dr Lily) and Shiatsu and practitioners of Osteopathy and Body Stress Release. Subsequently, BlackSpy has met and is friends with a number of good specialists in the field of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, including Dr Michael Culp, Dr Damien Downing, and Dr Nyjon Eccles. Their credentials and web sites are listed on the links page. Cutting edge knowledge gained from these very different specialists has been included in this web site. BlackSpy has also drawn on some of the work of Dr John McLaren Howard. BlackSpy has also included information from a variety of laboratory reports.
BlackSpy has tried to bring together the work of these different specialists, and also to use the principles gained from these practitioners to do a little experimentation and testing of various related products or treatments to further his understanding. Where there were gaps or shortcomings in recommendations given, BlackSpy has researched the areas himself. BlackSpy has in specific cases learnt from the oversights or lack of knowledge in a specific area of a particular practitioner (the hard way! e.g. detoxification). In the spirit of some of the great innovators in medicine over the last few hundred years - self-experimentation (but within safe limits and not working entirely in the dark as in the past)! BlackSpy has followed some recommendations from trusted associates in order to test and evaluate new products or treatments, rather than take someone else's word for it, and where practical, combine this with periodic tests. BlackSpy has also utilised information from a variety of articles, documentaries, respectable web resources and books on nutrition, in particular with respect to vitamins and fatty acids. BlackSpy has selectively utilised information from a variety of 'contrarian' web sites, such as Dr Mercola and Weston A Price Foundation, and tried to present information in as objective a manner as possible, trying to present arguments from both sides, to allow the reader to make up his own mind. BlackSpy has tried to provide a framework for understanding all the different topics described and to try to link them together in a clear format. BlackSpy has not simply 'made up' the content. This web site is under continual revision and updates. BlackSpy would like to apologise for the lack of specific references worked into the text of the health section. This is something he intends to do in the future. BlackSpy also apologises for some of the formatting of information. A complete re-edit is on the cards, but is a huge task and is something that is done step by step, ad hoc.
The site also looks at other topics, such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Neuro-Associative Conditioning (NAC), Psychology, Philosophy, Anthropology and even Religion. These areas are not strictly related to CFS, but are areas that BlackSpy is interested in and sought to include on this site. This web site, whilst primarily about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, has a wider remit and examines a number of different subjects and topics. If you are primarly interested in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, then it is perhaps best to stick to the 'C.F.S, M.E. and Anti-Ageing' section.
This web site examines the main theories of progressive psychology, bringing together a diversity of ideas and techniques, such as NLP and Personality Types, summarising the key areas for you. This section is intended for use by anyone, not just those with an interest in CFS or related conditions. Everyone can benefit! BlackSpy has attempted to integrate psychological theories and ideas from famous authors such as Anthony Robbins (Awaken The Giant Within, Unlimited Power), Dr Richard Bandler and Dr John Grinder (Frogs into Princes: Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Dr John Gray (Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus), Dr Taylor Hartman (The Colour Code), Dr Eric Berne (Games People Play), Dr Abraham Maslow (A Theory of Human Motivation), Dr William Glasser (Choice Theory), Dr Gavin DeBecker (The Gift of Fear), Dr Paul McKenna (Change Your Life in 7 Days) and John Cleese (Families and How to Survive Them). There is some overlap with the concepts of Cognitive Therapy. BlackSpy has also included some basic Social Anthropology theories on identity, ethnicity and race, and how they relate to psychology, and also some of his own ideas and observations on a variety of issues such as drug abuse and romantic relationships. The psychology section is in progress and evolving. BlackSpy hopes you find this a unique approach. BlackSpy is not biased towards 'popular psychology' and acknowledges the usefulness and value of contemporary psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and psychology. Please note that the psychological models and theories presented here are just that. They are perhaps subjective and are difficult to actually prove, as are any theories in psychology. No models are complete and describe a subset of behaviour and processes in a particular individual at a given moment in time. The best one can hope to achieve is modelling that agrees empirically with the majority of survey findings, with a view to further refining theories over time. One could take the view that one should judge a theory is by how well and how effective its application is in treating various psychiatric conditions (in the short term and long term), regardless of the qualifications of the proponent or author.
The Religion and Philosophy section of this web site is not intended to be a comprehensive study of Religion, but merely reflective of BlackSpy's personal interests in religious texts and how philosophy has influenced a number of fringe religious movements over the last hundred years. This section is perhaps a little controversial, and BlackSpy respects the philosophical, religious beliefs and personal opinions of the individual. BlackSpy has endeavoured to remain as objective as possible. This Religion and Philosophy section is not intended to make the rest of the web site seem unscientific or 'new age', and is really there just for those who happen to be interested in it.
This site is intended to educate and inspire new thoughts and ideas, to encourage readers to ask the right questions, and ultimately inspire action for self-improvement. This web site does not promote being a slave to one's habitual behaviour, nor does it promote mindlessly following other people's psychology techniques without thinking for oneself, without choosing one's own personal style, without using one's heart, soul, feeling or creative thoughts, without spontaneity, and without ultimately taking responsibility for oneself. It is too easy to think the coach or author has the responsibility somehow as you are following his or her techniques to the letter, and passively expecting a result, rather than completely taking that responsibility yourself.
The purpose of the site is to stop needless suffering and spread empowering knowledge to people of all religious and political beliefs, backgrounds and locations; to eliminate ignorance about mind and bodily health in a direct, but fun and respectful manner. The site is continually growing and new information is being added on a daily basis. Any pictures used on this site are here for entertainment purposes only, and have been reproduced with kind permission, and are not intended to be taken seriously nor to convey any message or meaning in any capacity. I hope you enjoy this web site, and if you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to visit one of our forums and leave some feedback. Thank you.
To begin browsing the Health (CFS/ME) section of this web site, please click on the 'CFS/ME' hyperlink in this yellow left hand margin and select the page of your choice. It is recommended to start with the 'Overview' page first.
On occasion, some of the longer pages may not load properly, or may take a long time to load. This should not occur and is a problem with the ISP. If this does happen (i.e. only the top half of the page is displayed with a message at the bottom of the browser to say that it is still loading), then click on refresh or reload to reload (from the view menu) the page again. This will fix the problem (may require a couple of refreshes). Thank you for your patience.
Please feel free to print off pages from this site to read off-line for personal use (reading from monitor is less relaxing and can cause eye strain). This web site is frames based. The best way to print pages is to click on the 'Printer Friendlier Version' link at the top of the page. This will open that frame into a new browser window. Select the print command on that browser window. Please remember that some pages are updated regularly. Please see the Search page for a list of recently updated web pages. Thank you for your interest.
This website is currently optimised for use with Internet Explorer 6.x. It is constantly undergoing minor updates and improvements. We apologise for any inconvenience. Thank you for your patience. This web site uses a rather rudimentary level of HTML, but BlackSpy has attempted to keep the presentation clean, clear and free of gimmicks. BlackSpy has chosen to spend his free time more on experimentation, his own research and his health regime rather than learning slick HTML/CSS skills! However, if you are an HTML/CSS guru, and would like to help out in improving this web site's presentation, or can suggest any brief and simple commands to solve glaring presentational or formatting issues on this site, and thereby potentially widening the target audience, then BlackSpy would greatly appreciate your input and assistance.
This web site uses http://statcounter.com on the home page to keep track of numbers of visitors. It currently uses 'Unique Visitors' based on IP address rather than 'Page Loads'. Unique visitors is based on IP address and is a truer reflection of numbers of actual individuals who have visited this web site. It is not possible to always exclude return visitors on account of IP address changes, but it screens these out to a large extent. Many sites use page loads, the figure of which is usually much higher, perhaps even twice as high even, but does not really correlate to actual visitors the site has had. Every time a visitor clicks 'refresh', he or she may keep clocking up the counter!
BlackSpy has recently acquired the domain names http://www.HowToCure.ME and http://www.CureCFS.ME and so the old domain name www.health-spy.com will be run in parallel until at least early 2009. Both new addresses still refer to the Health-Spy site. Any impending changes will be announced on the home page of this site as and when applicable.
This web site will likely be completely revamped in the medium term, to increase user friendliness. In the short term, thank you for your patience.
Thank you for your time and BlackSpy offers you a warm welcome to this site and hopes that you enjoy it or find at least something of value here.