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The Nitty Gritty Important Issues Surrounding CFS

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS is a poorly understood ailment. Annals of Internal Medicine in December of 1994 published a definition for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome under the guidance of the Center For Disease Control(CDC). Here is a shortened outline of that definition:

To be diagnosed with CFS the patient must present with new, unexplained fatigue that has been of 6 month duration or longer that can not be attributed to physical exertion, cannot be relieved by rest and limits or reduces the patients activity level.
Four or more of the following symptoms must occur at the same time and have been occurring for a minimum of 6 months and must not have started before the symptom of fatigue.

• Self-noticed short-term memory loss or decreased ability to concentrate that results in a noticeable decease in the person's ability to perform activities.
• Sore throat.
• Tender cervical or axillary lymph nodes.
• Muscle pain.
• Multiple joint pain without redness or without being swollen.
• Sleep disturbance.
• Extreme fatigue following physical exertion.

There is a difference between "Chronic Fatigue" and "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". Chronic Fatigue is where someone experiences the state of being tired, frequently. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a systemic (more than one body system) organic disease that manifests itself in a wide array of symptoms. The fatigue that is experienced by CFS patients is so extreme that the symptom of fatigue is one of the defining elements of the disease.

Chronic Fatigue Fast Facts Support Groups For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Their Importance And How To Find Them Like most things in life, we find great comfort in finding others who share similiar experiences, and can understand what we are going through. Having symptoms like chronic pain and fatigue can really wear you down and knowing that there are others, who really do understand what you are dealing with, can be wonderful. Although not everyone with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) experiences exactly the same symptoms, just sharing with others who can relate to each other is worth the effort of...

Fibromyalgia Syndrome is not the same as CFS. Fibromyalgia Syndrome is a painful, inflammatory disease that affects the connective tissues. The diagnosis can be overlapping, in other words a patient can have both diseases but they are not one in the same disease.

There is no one single test, not even a blood test that can be used to determine if a patient has CFS. A physician will take a detailed medical history from the patient, complete a physical examination and then conduct a series of tests in order to exclude all other causes for a patient's symptoms. When all other diseases and causes for the symptoms have been ruled out, then and only then can a doctor make the diagnosis of CFS.

For More Information:

Centers for Disease Control: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Hotline-(404) 332-4555. This hotline has been established to answer questions about the illness.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health-(301) 402-1663.