Alison Adams - Chronic Fatigue, ME and Fibromyalgia

Alisons journey to good health should be an inspiration to all. En route she has challenged every modern-day paradigm and explored all possible therapies to oust what must be one of the most complex and least understood diseases of the 21st century. It is rare to see such a spectrum of therapies and concepts discussed in one book. Detailed explanations of human physiology sit comfortably alongside eloquent descriptions of how energy and emotions affect our health.

Alison has set out to leave no stone unturned in her quest to produce what will become the definitive guide for sufferers of chronic fatigue.

Alessandro Ferretti, Dip ION, mBANT

Lecturer and clinical nutritionist

This book is for anyone who wants to feel better. Drawing upon the knowledge she gained in resolving her own health issues, Dr Adams, in an informative and understandable fashion, gives the fundamental and underlying causes of most disease. She then gives you the tools and information you need to tackle your own health problems.

Dr Mark Breiner, DDS, FAGD, FIAOMT

US holistic dentist and author of Whole Body Dentistry

A tour de force comprehensive, well researched and well written. An extraordinary self-help guide.

Jane Thurnell-Read, MSc, KF Fellow

Kinesiologist and author of Allergy A to Z, Geopathic Stress and other books

A very comprehensive and important guide for both sufferers and practitioners. As a practising mercury-free dentist, I can confirm that the release of mercury from dental amalgam is one of the biggest underestimated factors affecting general health today.

Peter Mendelsohn, BDS (Sydney)

This is an impressive book because it argues from experience and will be of great help to people who have had these problems without being able to find help. This book charts new thinking in this important subject.

M E Clarke, BA, BSc

Nutritionist

This is an extremely well written and informative book that deserves to be read not only by fatigue sufferers, but also by natural health practitioners. Understanding the cause is the first step to recovery. This book will bring hope to those suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Lesley Sarson, KF (Assoc)

Complementary health practitioner

The Natural
Recovery Plan

Alison Adams

BDS (Lond.), MS (Michigan), KFRP,
Dip I K, Dip Class K, MRAT,
H I Dip (Complementary Therapies),
Dip Life Coaching, Dip Past Life Therapy

List of Illustrations

The information in this book is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are suffering from any medical conditions or health problems, it is recommended that you consult the appropriate medical professional. If you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant or are breastfeeding it is expressly recommended that you do not undertake any detoxification including that outlined in this book. The protocol suggested in this book is intended for adults and is not suitable for children, for whom appropriate professional advice should be sought.

Neither the publishers, the author, nor others associated with this work accept liability or responsibility for any person or entity for any loss or damage caused or claimed to have been caused directly or indirectly by or from the information or ideas contained, suggested or referenced in this book or from any errors, misstatements, inaccuracies or omissions in the content whether inadvertent or not, that may be found in the text. Every individual is unique and no method of treatment is effective for everyone. You are strongly encouraged to become informed and take responsibility for your own health-care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health-care professional and neither the author nor publishers accept liability for readers who self-prescribe. All supplements should be kept out of the reach of infants and small children.

This book is dedicated to my husband Mark, who made it possible by supporting me financially and emotionally and who never doubted that I was gravely ill.

I extend this dedication to all those who have suffered throughout history and who continue to suffer at the hands of the medical and dental professions.

I wish to acknowledge all those on whose shoulders I stand, many of whom have been pilloried and worse, but who chose to stick their heads above the parapet because it was the right thing to do. I also wish to recognize the efforts of the many committed natural therapists over the years who have toiled away often without much recognition or reward. I would particularly like to thank the developer of kinesiology, Dr George Goodheart, who left the world an incredible tool with which to understand health and disease. Some people know that they have touched your life, but a great many others do not. Of those who are possibly unaware of their impact I would especially like to acknowledge the work of Dr Dietrich Klinghardt, Dr Hal Huggins and Louise Hay. Of those that are aware of their role in my life I would like to thank all my many teachers over the years including Jackie Norton and Pauline Noakes for their wisdom, experience and patience. Finally, I would like to especially thank Vicki Edgson for writing the Foreword, Dr Mark Breiner, Dr Peter Mendelsohn, Jane Thurnell-Read, M E Clarke, Lesley Sarson and Alessandro Ferretti for their endorsements, and Dr Dietrich Klinghardt for permitting the use of figure 6.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

Firstly, for anyone who has suffered from any form of long-term illness, and been through the desperation and indignation of not being heard, you will recognize, in this superb book, compassion from a fellow-sufferer that goes way beyond her practitioner experience. Alisons personal experience draws you in from the first page, and persuades you to follow her every painstaking step of the way, to a road of recovery.

Furthermore, for those who have been unfortunate enough to fall down any one of the myriad routes that lead to chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, post-traumatic stress syndrome, or others, such a recovery is not easy it flies in the face of the opinions of every medical practitioner you may have come across to date, every tried and trusted professional and specialist, even your own GP (especially your own GP, as he/she may well have referred you to many of the professionals whose waiting rooms you have sat in nervously, anxiously praying for an answer to your problems). But even more challenging will be the barrage of disrespect for your decision to take the alternative route as absurd, risky, inconsiderate and potentially life-threatening, by the very people for whom your recovery should be so important. As one of those alternative practitioners myself, I would urge you to follow your instinct, as Alison did, despite all the professional knowledge on offer, and start to enquire about some of the other remedial techniques on offer that can allow your body to start to heal itself.

The first principle of naturopathic medicine is Do no Harm, as the author so rightly points out appreciating that your body is the most incredibly complex and sophisticated collection of organs that were designed to interact with each other on a moment-to-moment basis of ultimate survival. What has happened on your journey may not be the same as Alison Adams, or mine, but the result is the same confusion and intoxication of the very systems in your body that were designed to work synergistically for your survival. Undoing the harm that has occurred by removing many of those self-imposed toxins (as well as some that you were not aware of in your surroundings) is the first step in responsibility that you can take for yourself. But first you need a guide (or several!) to show you exactly what may have intoxicated your body, and how you might start unravelling the damage. In doing this, you will be talking to your body and letting it know that you are willing to help it to help you.