Nearly 800,000 patients are affected by chronic fatigue syndrome, and it is about 3 times more common in women than men
If you have chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), no amount of sleep helps you feel more awake. While activity, both mental and physical, may make you even more tired.
You may also endure muscle pains and weakness, memory problems and other symptoms with no detectable source. Fatigue, sore throat, headaches, and fatigue lasting more than 24 hours following exertion are classic symptoms
Do you experience severe muscle and joint pain, headaches and sore lymph nodes? On top of that, perhaps you can’t concentrate, and you’re tired, really tired, most of the time – a sense of exhaustion that just won’t go away, no matter how long you sleep.
Called chronic fatigue syndrome, this illness comes with a varied list of symptoms and complaints.
The scope and causes of chronic fatigue, and even its existence is hotly debated.
This condition is widely misunderstood by doctors and patients alike.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is defined as the following:
* at least six months of severe, lingering exhaustion without any other medical explanation
* presence of four or more additional symptoms, including
o memory or concentration problems
o sore throat
o tender lymph nodes
o muscle or joint pain (without swelling or redness)
o headaches
o unrefreshing sleep
o post-exercise malaise that persists more than a day
The symptoms must have recurred across six or more consecutive months, and they must not have predated the onset of chronic fatigue.
Only about 4% to 5% of people say they’re exhausted for six months straight. Many of them have non-medical reasons for their fatigue – job stress or a new baby, for example.
“It’s not a normal tired,” a CFS sufferer from Virginia says. “You run into a wall. You can’t keep your head up or your eyes open.” She describes it as “having bricks tied to your arms and legs, to your eyelids and the back of your head.”
The crushing tiredness apparently is universal, but other symptoms are not the same for everyone, says Leonard Jason, director of the Center for Community Research at DePaul University in Chicago and a member of the federal government’s CFS Advisory Committee.
Some sufferers feel faint when they stand up, others have feverish symptoms, and for some, inflammation is the hallmark. Their illness takes different paths to the same endpoint: “They feel very, very sick, extremely sick, extremely debilitated,” he says.
Medical treatment generally focuses on relieving whatever a person’s specific symptoms might be, but it also can include such options as exercise, lifestyle changes and behavioral therapy. Since there is no known cure CFS, treatment is aimed primarily at symptom relief. No single therapy exists that helps all patients. Lifestyle changes, including increased rest, reduced stress, dietary restrictions, gentle stretching and nutritional supplementation, are frequently recommended.
Many persons find alternative and complementary therapies such as acupuncture, tai chi and other treatments such as alternative food and herbal supplements to be helpful. Treatment may incorporate any, or all, of the above categories as you seek to improve your condition and life.
References: CFIDS Association of America; PreventDisease.com; Donnica Moore, M.D.