Chronic Fatigue Syndrome | What is Lyme Disease?

ME/CFS

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also known chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) is a very difficult condition for patients which causes many symptoms including extreme fatigue.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a debilitating medical disorder generally defined by persistent fatigue. It is characterized by a group of symptoms lasting a minimum of six months, not due to ongoing exertion, not relieved by rest, nor caused by other medical conditions.

Although classified by the World Health Organization under Diseases of the nervous system, the cause of CFS is unknown. There is no diagnostic laboratory test, but research is being done and they are learning more about what may cause ME/CFS.

Recently a study showed indications of metabolic alterations in ME/CFS,. It showed a demonstration of the metabolomic deficiencies that characterize the disease. They define a clear metabolic ‘signature’ that accurately distinguishes patients from healthy individuals. This signature was consistent even among patients with different symptoms or disease-initiating events. These findings are exciting news for both patients and researchers. Read more on this groundbreaking research here.

Symptoms

Post-Exertional Malaise

Unrefreshing Sleep

Muscle and Joint Pain

Sore Throat

Headache

Cognitive Difficulties

Severe Exhaustion, mental and physical

Orthostatic Intolerance

Digestive Disturbances

Sensitivity to Light and Sound

Depression

Chronic Fatigue Disorder Facts

There is no diagnostic laboratory test or biomarker for CFS.
National Health Organizations have estimated more than 1 million Americans and approximately a quarter of a million people in the UK have CFS.
CFS occurs more often in women than men, and is less prevalent among children and adolescents. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1079668/?tool=pmcentrez
The name “chronic fatigue syndrome” itself is controversial as many patients and advocacy groups, as well as some experts, want the name changed as they believe that it stigmatizes by not conveying the seriousness of the illness. http://books.google.com/books?id=OYrErhPFFLwC&dq=+The+social+psychology+of+politics+By+Victor+C.+Ottati&printsec=frontcover&q=name+change+survey+results&hl=en#v=snippet&q=name%20change%20survey%20results&f=false
More women than men get CFS — between 60 and 85% of cases are women; however, there is some indication that the prevalence among men is underreported.
The CDC reports that more than 1 million Americans have CFS and approximately 80% of the cases are undiagnosed.
The illness is reported to occur more frequently in people between the ages of 40 and 59.
There is no direct evidence that CFS is contagious, though it is seen in members of the same family; this is believed to be a familial orgenetic link but more research is required for a definitive answer.
The name chronic fatigue syndrome was used in the medical literature in 1987 to describe a condition resembling “chronic active Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection” but which presented no evidence of EBV as its cause.
The initial case definition of CFS was published in 1988, “Chronic fatigue syndrome: a working case definition”, and displaced the name chronic Epstein-Barr virus syndrome.
Multiple chemical sensitivity, Gulf War syndrome and post-polio syndrome have symptoms similar to those of CFS, and the last is also theorized to have a common pathophysiology. http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(98)00161-2/abstract
Pacing is an energy management strategy which encourages behavioral change while acknowledging patient fluctuations in symptom severity and delayed exercise recovery.