Veronica Griffin: My personal story

Chronic Fatigue is NOT a Sentence!  My personal story

Thirty years ago when  living in a quiet country town in Victoria, I  was never too concerned about the sickly sweet chemical smell wafting across the paddocks from my neighbour's cabbage farm or apple orchard. After all, living in the country was considered to be the healthiest option. Besides which I was too busy  running a thoroughbred stud and at the same time studying psychology and nutrition. Nobody talked about the possibility of agricultural spray drift harming our health because   we were told that these chemicals were safe!  However, the smell started to bother me more and more.

I started to suffer from frequent headaches, nausea and often debilitating joint pain for no obvious reason. As a very fit sports women I put it down to overwork.  However, I noticed  that most of the children (and many adults) on the farms in the area had  patterns of recurring health problems. Many came to me for help which I could not give them in those days.  Two children living on a large apple orchard had severe problems. One little boy was severely intellectually impaired, and  his sibling was physically disabled and in and out of hospital. Their father  sprayed on a regular basis and I found a lot of dead birds on our boundary fence!

My own health eventually declined to the point where I decided to seek medical assistance.  A GP friend   diagnosed  'fatigue and depression'. I could agreed with the first, but definitely not with the second -- remember I was a psychologist!   After more searching a colleague introduced me to a holistic medical practitioner who had done  studies in Orthomolecular Medicine in the USA.  She  diagnosed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and put me on a comprehensive nutrition and supplement program. In those days Complementary Medicine was in its infancy and rejected by most mainstream doctors. Nobody  had heard of Orthomolecular therapy, successfully practised in the USA, Canada, and Germany by specialists trained by Dr. Linus Pauling (two Nobel Prizes). 

The road to recovery was often slow, as  the  remedies were limited to a hand full of vitamins and minerals. Also, practitioners did not know what to look for. Often called the Yuppy flu, a direct link to chemical poisoning was not considered.  No reliable testing methods had been established. Many CFS cases occurred after a bout of flu. This has changed dramatically as other contributing factors, such as  chemical exposure, poor nutrition, malabsorption due to gastrointestinal problems, alcohol, smoking, recreational and medical drugs, food additives, stress, etc. can now be connected with clusters of symptoms.

After my own experience I decided to study nutritional science and complementary medicine in Australia and the USA, then moved to Queensland and opened a Holistic Health Clinic on the Gold Coast.  I have  successfully managed to contain my CFS and enjoy excellent fitness and high energy levels. Fifteen years ago my husband and I moved to Cairns where I opened another holistic health clinic.

My own journey has included a lot of hard work, continuous studies, and many trips to the USA and Europe for professional updates,  I can now say confidently that Chronic Fatigue is NOT a life sentence.  Yes,  relapses happen, especially when exposed to certain chemicals and fumes, but with the correct remedies they may be quickly  reversed.


Twenty years of clinical experience and continuous professional upgrades have given me the opportunity to help a lot of clients regain their health, energy, quality of life, and self esteem. Our clinics  in Cairns and on the Atherton Tableland provide a range of personalized services for  problems such as Chronic Fatigue, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, allergies, heavy metal and chemical toxicity, poor memory, weight problems, digestive disorders, stress, anxiety,  as well as ADD/ADHD and a range of degenerative and immune system disorders. 

The common denominator for all these conditions is a malfunction at the cellular level. Certain chemicals and medications can actually cause depression! This is why CFS sufferers should avoid antidepressants. It is easy to understand that a person with prolonged fatigue feels depressed.  Antidepressants can only add insult to injury, without addressing the real cause. Besides, herbicides and pesticides have been associated with a number of health problems including depression, poor memory,   Parkinson's Disease, lethargy and fatigue, poor immunity, and cancer!
 
I  proved to myself and many others that CFS and chemical poisoning are not a permanent liability. But they are  certainly  a challenge. Often sufferers are too lethargic to take responsibility, get up and try to improve their lot. They often do not know where to turn, as many medical practitioners still seem to think that it is 'all in the mind'  if blood tests do no show any gross abnormalities. It is important to realise that there is no quick fix.  I takes commitment and dedication and close co-operation between patient and practitioner.

We cannot escape the herbicides and pesticides in our environment and have to be forever vigilant.
A recent article in ‘Environmental Health Perspectives’  states:

‘Children who are exposed to agricultural pesticides while developing in the womb are six times more likely to develop autism.’
Researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in the USA made the connection after studying 465 children with autism born between l996 and l998 in California.  On average the risk increased six-fold, depending on the amount of pesticides and the distance of the mother from the farms.
 
In other words, environmental/agricultural and chemical poisoning will have devastating effects on future generations. It is safe to assume that CFS/MCS was the first wave of an epidemic. The next one will be neurological and genetic defects due to exponential accumulation of toxins and cross-reaction of different chemicals we use on a day-to-day basis without even considering the risk!

This presents the next big challenge for research and public education. So if you think I am absolutely passionate about improving people’s health, you are right.

My final piece of advice is that when you feel "off” without being able to identify the reason, that’s the time to take action and go looking for the cause. Procrastination is said to be the thief of time…it is also the thief of long-term good health----for you and most importantly, your family as well.

“Take care” in this instance is not a throw-away phrase!