Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome: A Hidden Cause of Fatigue and Brain Fog
Dr. Brian Rogers explains how this overlooked condition may be affecting your health and energy levels
What Is CIRS and Why Should You Care?
Are you constantly battling unexplained fatigue? Does brain fog make it difficult to concentrate or remember important details? You might be one of the countless individuals suffering from Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)—a condition that many physicians miss.
As Dr. Brian Rogers, Medical Director at Longevity Medicine, explains: "CIRS is a relatively newfound disease that has been studied since about the year 2000. What has been found is that to get CIRS, you need two things: a genetic predisposition and exposure to a toxin."
These toxins can come from various sources:
Mold exposure
Bacterial infections like Lyme disease
Viral infections including COVID-19
Brown recluse spider bites
Exposure to toxic fish or algae blooms
The most troubling aspect? Even after you've removed yourself from the initial trigger, CIRS can continue to affect your body.
Recognizing the Symptoms of CIRS
CIRS manifests through a constellation of symptoms that can easily be misdiagnosed as other conditions. According to Dr. Rogers, the most common symptoms include:
Fatigue (the primary symptom)
Brain fog and cognitive difficulties
Body and muscle aches
Joint pain
Sudden weight gain that's resistant to diet and exercise
Frequent urination
Increased static electricity shocks
Watery eyes
Food sensitivities
Abdominal pain
What makes CIRS unique is that unlike conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia (which are often diagnosed by ruling out other possibilities), CIRS can be definitively identified through specific laboratory testing.
How CIRS Is Diagnosed
Dr. Rogers emphasizes that CIRS diagnosis follows a clear protocol:
"CIRS is unique in that there are certain lab tests. There's a couple screening tests—a questionnaire that's been medically validated and a visual contrast study. These are screening tests, and if you fail both of these, you have a 98.5% chance of having CIRS."
For a definitive diagnosis, doctors look for:
Genetic testing results showing predisposition
Abnormal neuropeptide levels including VIP, MSH, MMP-9, transforming growth factor beta-1, and VEGF
Complement factors like C3A and C4A
Hormone imbalances in anti-diuretic hormone, cortisol, and ACTH
Osmolarity changes
Clotting and bleeding factor abnormalities
Potential autoimmune markers such as anti-nuclear antibodies
Dr. Rogers' Personal Journey with CIRS
What makes Dr. Rogers' approach so empathetic is his own experience with CIRS. During his medical training, he found himself unable to stay awake during afternoon sessions of conferences he had paid substantial money to attend.
"I had to stand up in the back of the room in order to see what was going on," he recalls. "I realized at that time my thyroid was off, and I fixed that, but it didn't take care of everything."
It wasn't until he attended a lecture by Dr. Andrew Hayman on CIRS that things clicked. After testing himself and following CIRS treatment protocols, Dr. Rogers experienced a remarkable transformation:
"As I started following the treatment for CIRS, things started getting much better and it turned my life around. I became much healthier, had much more energy, and my brain fog went away."
This personal experience drives his passion for helping others with similar symptoms.
The Three Pillars of Longevity Medicine
At Longevity Medicine, Dr. Rogers focuses on three essential aspects of health:
1. Reversing Chronic Illness
"We can't live longer and healthier if we have disease and chronic illness," Dr. Rogers states. The first priority is addressing and reversing conditions like CIRS that drain energy and diminish quality of life.
2. Preventing Major Health Events
The second pillar involves preventing life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and Alzheimer's disease through targeted testing and lifestyle modifications.
3. Extending Health Span and Life Span
Only after addressing the first two concerns does Dr. Rogers turn to traditional longevity approaches, including supplements and biohacking techniques to improve both health span and life span.
"It's no good to live longer if you're not healthy, so we want to make sure health is a big part of this."
Hope for the Chronically Fatigued
Dr. Rogers has seen countless patients who have spent years and substantial amounts of money seeking answers from multiple physicians without relief. Too often, these patients hear that their symptoms are psychological or untreatable.
"I have seen these people who have had chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, joint pain, muscle pain, abdominal pain—all these types of things—and there is a cause, and it's been well studied, and there is a treatment."
His message is clear: Don't give up hope. Proper diagnosis and treatment can help restore energy, mental clarity, and quality of life.
Dr. Rogers' Top Health Recommendations
While addressing specific conditions like CIRS requires medical intervention, Dr. Rogers offers these universal health tips:
Reduce stress through meditation, relaxation techniques, or walks in nature
Exercise daily, even if it's just a simple walk
Eat healthy by avoiding sugar, processed carbohydrates, and focusing on vegetables and fruits
Get Help for Your Unexplained Symptoms
If you've been struggling with unexplained fatigue, brain fog, or any of the other symptoms mentioned in this article, Dr. Rogers and his team at Longevity Medicine may be able to help.
You can contact Longevity Medicine through their website at LMthrive.com, by phone at 385-243-1615, or by visiting their office in Woods Cross at 1414 South 600 West.
This blog post is based on information provided by Dr. Brian Rogers and is intended for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Have you experienced unexplained fatigue or other symptoms mentioned in this article? Share your story in the comments below.
