Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – CFS – Diagnosis and Symptoms

A disorder that can be described best as the persistence of the feeling of being fatigued for more than 6 months is called chronic fatigue syndrome, or also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis. This syndrome can include a long list of symptoms and typically involve everything from basic muscle pain and joint pain to the inability to do even the slightest activities.

The diagnosis of CFS is determined when the symptoms of one individual patient are measured against two groups of symptoms that are typical of the disorder.

A doctor or health care professional will determine that the symptoms felt are unrelated to any underlying condition that can cause this exhaustive feeling but has not yet been found. Since those suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome have very little tolerance for feeling tired or fatigued, they are literally wiped out from even the smallest or least demanding physical feats. Actually, you may find it quite common for someone with this disorder to feel drained simply moving their body physically from place to place.

With the extension of energy to do minor tasks, a chronic fatigue syndrome sufferer will often feel ill or sick for days or even up to several weeks after physical activities. Low intensity activities can even lead to the feeling of flu like symptoms.

There is a set criteria to be met to get a chronic fatigue diagnosis. Having four out of the following symptoms can lead to a diagnosis. Those symptoms are muscle pain or myalgia, severe headaches, joint pain in several parts of your body, reoccurring sore throat, tenderness of auxiliary lymph nodes or cervical lymph nodes, short term memory or concentration troubles, general malaise after physical activity and sleep disruptions.

There are other symptoms that can tie into chronic fatigue syndrome. Some of theses include, dizziness, nausea, bloating, abdominal pain, dry mouth and eyes, shortness of breath, chest pain, weight loss, psychological problems like anxiety, depression, panic attacks and irritability. Other physical issues that can occur are diarrhea, problems with alcohol, and tingling of the skin.

All of the listed symptoms have to be unrelated to any other issue that may plague you before a diagnosis can be reached. Because of the versatility of the symptoms and how they can indicate other disorders or physical ailments, it can be long road to a chronic fatigue diagnosis. Fatigue just simply ties into so many other ailments and chronic conditions. There is also no visible sign that clearly indicates CFS either, which makes it an atypical disorder.

To add to the difficulty in determining if someone has chronic fatigue syndrome is the fact that there is simply no test for it. There are neither diagnostic nor lab test which can clearly state that someone has the disorder. The levels of severity of symptoms and the unpredictable combination of symptoms also add to the difficulty. However, by disqualifying other factors or disorder, many doctors can arrive at a correct diagnosis. The factors that doctors may eliminate from the mix are:

• The presence of another condition that expectably results in fatigue or a decrease in activity level. Hypothyroidism is one such condition and it results when the thyroid does not produce enough of the thyroid hormones. Lupus and lyme disease, along with multiple sclerosis, mononucleosis, bipolar disorder, and depression are also conditions one could suffer from which have very similar symptoms to chronic fatigue syndrome.

• Medications that have the side effect of fatigue must also be ruled out. Many drugs out there today have tiredness as a side effect.

• Diseases such as cancer can present themselves as fatigue when they first reoccur. Extreme exhaustion also fits in this category.

• Excessive alcohol consumption or substance abuse can easily mimic the symptoms of CFS

• Having a body mass index greater than 45 will result in feeling fatigued.