Fatigue (CFS, ME) and Ginseng

One of several brands of Ginseng available here in the U.S.

A few years ago I had some fatigue.

I was working, finishing college, and I also had a part time position heading the news department of a small community radio station, where I trained people to read news on the air, and I was responsible for the news broadcasts. It was the rough equivalent to having three part time jobs.

I was in a relationship which was deteriorating at the time, and my stress level was through the roof.

Of course, it was a recipe for wrecking my health -- which it did.

I found myself tired all the time, but sleeping like crap also.

One night I had just had finished dinner, and my head was literally spinning like a top -- I was tired and dizzy. I went to the doctor, and he found I had walking pneumonia. When the medications got rid of the pneumonia, I was still tired all the time, no matter how much sleep I got.

I felt like there were lead weights all over me.

The doctor did some tests and could find nothing wrong except a marker virus for chronic fatigue.

In the United States the condition is also known as "C.F.S.", where in Europe apparently it's known as "M.E." Both are acronyms for a condition of fatigue and exhaustion.

My doctor suggested vitamins, exercise, and time. I got back into exercising more, and took vitamins. I improved, but still wasn't back to normal.

I started looking into natural, herbal products, hoping that something could get rid of the fatigue for good. I'm a black tea drinker by nature (my Canadian grandmother drank Red Rose brand black tea, and got me hooked on the tea habit), but caffeine -- whether from tea or coffee -- just wasn't doing the job.

Coffee and caffeine would buzz my head up, but I would still feel fatigued.

At the local health food store I found several brands of ginseng, an Asian herb that is said to promote energy. I tried it, but it seemed to do very little.

A month or so later I got a book on it, which had extensive information on Russian, Chinese and Japanese studies on the herb. After reading that book, I decided to give ginseng another try. This time it worked.

An excellent book on both Korean and Chinese Ginseng, and Siberian Eleuthero (eleutheroccocus senticossus), both herbs studied extensively in Asia and the former USSR.

Ginseng was the only thing I'm aware of that got me out of fatigue-land and placed me back in the land of the living.

Since then, I've tried other herbs and supplements for various reasons, and I believe in many of them. I've taken Bilberry and seen my night vision improve. I've taken some supplements and seen them help my workouts. Ginseng was the first supplement I tried that worked.


If I have lower energy than usual for some reason, I'll take a few ginseng capsules. Different types of ginseng have slightly different effects on the body. Asian Panax Ginseng seems to have a warming effect, and Siberian Eleuthero (formerly known as 'siberian ginseng') seems to increase my workout stamina, and sharpens my thinking a little. Different people, of course, may have different results.

There are other supplements some people use to help them combat fatigue, and to give them more energy. However, I have not tried any of those.

Not all supplements I've tried have given the desired effect. Everybody's body is different. There is information on the web about various supplements -- The NIH's (National Institute for Health) PubMed website has some, and so does WebMD, which is apparently run by medical people. I usually check these two websites when considering a supplement.

Different brands of ginseng have different strengths, and each person has their own tolerances to herbs -- so anyone trying herbs should always, always, always listen to your body. And if you are taking prescription medicines, or have a medical condition, always talk to your doctor before trying an herb or other supplement.

Legal disclaimer: Of course -- I am not a doctor, and this blog post is not intended as medical advice.