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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) |
Chronic fatigue syndrome can be misdiagnosed or overlooked because its symptoms are common to other many disorders. Fatigue, for instance, is found in hundreds of illnesses. The nature of the symptoms, however, can help distinguish CFS from other illnesses.
Primary Symptoms
As the name chronic fatigue syndrome suggests, this illness is accompanied by fatigue. However, it's not the kind of fatigue we experience after a particularly busy day or week, after a sleepless night or after a single stressful event. It's a severe, incapacitating fatigue that isn't improved by bed rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity. It's an all-encompassing fatigue that results in a dramatic decline in both activity level and stamina.
People with CFS function at a significantly lower level of activity than they were capable of prior to becoming ill. The illness results in a substantial reduction in occupational (work-related), personal, social or educational activities.
The fatigue of CFS is accompanied by characteristic symptoms lasting at least six months. These symptoms include:
•difficulties with memory and concentration
•problems with sleep
•persistent muscle pain
•joint pain (without redness or swelling)
•headaches
•tender lymph nodes
•increased malaise (fatigue and sickness) following exertion
•sore throat
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