Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a condition characterized by prolonged, persistent debilitating fatigue. In general, a diagnosis for CFS requires that the tiredness is severe enough for at least a 50% decrease in the client’s ability to participate in ordinary activities.

What causes CFS?
The exact cause of CFS is unknown. A distinct or direct cause has not been positively identified. Some studies have shown that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome may be caused by inflamed nervous system pathways, Mycoplasma bacterial infection, or viral illness (such as Epstein-Barr) complicated by an inadequate or dysfunctional immune response. Like most autoimmune illnesses, CFS most commonly occurs in women, usually ages 30 to 50.

What are the symptoms of CFS?
Many of the symptoms of CFS are similar to those associated with the flu (muscle aches, headache, and fatigue). However, unlike the flu, while with CFS these symptoms may flow and flow, they never go away. (Imagine dealing with flu symptoms on a daily basis and you know how someone with CFS feels on a good day.)

What other symptoms are sometimes present?
Additional symptoms include:

• Constant headaches, different those previous in pattern, quality, or severity
• Feeling unrefreshed after normally adequate sleep
• Forgetfulness, cognitive impairment including confusion or difficulty concentrating, or irritability
• Joint pain, often moving from joint to joint, without joint swelling or redness
• Low-grade fever (101F or less)
• Lymph node tenderness and swelling in the neck or armpit
• Muscle aches
• Exercise intolerance: Muscle fatigue that lasts more than 24 hours after an amount of exercise that would normally be easily tolerated
• Muscle weakness, all over or multiple locations, not explained by any known disorder
• Sore throat, red but without drainage or pus

Everybody gets tired! How is the fatigue of CFS different?
The fatigue of CFS is all encompassing. It involves not only the feeling of having gone without rest (even after getting a full night’s sleep, for those that are fortunate; disrupted or irregular sleep patterns is often another side effect of CFS); the fatigue includes muscle weakness, cognitive impairment, and ongoing headaches of varying degrees. Tests have shown that many CFS victims already start off with a lower-than-normal oxygen level in the brain, and exercise, instead of increasing it, actually makes it go lower.

What are the complications of CFS?
CFS causes what might be considered lifestyle restrictions. For people for whom the fatigue is so severe or unpredictable that they are essentially disabled and homebound during much of the course of the illness, this leads to social isolation and an inability to maintain steady employment.