Tag: Cfs Fatigue

Do You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Taking care of one’s health is the best thing that one can do to avoid all the physical illnesses. It may be painful to some to do it but it is in fact the simplest way if you don’t want to be affected with health disturbances. One of the most common illnesses that people complain about is the CFS, or chronic fatigue syndrome.

It is sometimes called post-viral fatigue, Epstein-Barr or myalgic encephalomyelitis disease. At other times, this is referred to as the chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, or simply CFIDS. This CFS illness is often considered yuppie flu, or hypochondriacal behavior. Recently, health experts agreed that the illness is distinct and has physical symptoms.

The most common symptom is an unexplained fatigue feeling, in which it can not be easily relieved by some rest. Other physical symptoms are:

Muscle or joint pains or weakness
Unexplained headaches
Bowel problems
Poor concentration
Confusion
Forgetfulness
Difficulty in sleeping
Poor temperature control
Arthritis
Fibromyalgia

Some Causes

It was never understood what causes chronic fatigue syndrome. However, there are conditions which believed to trigger chronic fatigue syndrome such as toxins and virus infection. In some studies, the disease can be related to physical inactivity, immune system problems, low blood pressure, hypoglycemia, overwork, stress, hormonal imbalance, brucellosis, and colitis. Regardless, chronic fatigue syndrome is not a simple health case that can be ignored as it can provide major disturbance on the patient’s quality of life.

Not Easy to Diagnose

It is often hard to detect if one is suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome. In many cases, it would go for years before a patient is found to have the illness. The reason is there are not any laboratory tests that can confirm or diagnose such illness. The diagnosis can only be made if the patient exhibits no other causes, including drugs’ side effects.

If the patient suffers four from the eight symptoms stated below, they can be diagnosed with chronic fatigue illness.

Short-term memory impairment or difficulty in concentration
Tender lymph node
Sore throat
Multi-joint pains
Muscle pains
Headaches
Un-refreshing sleep; and
Fatigue that lasts more than a day.

If four, or more, of the above symptoms are suffered by the patient for six consecutive months, they will be officially and medically diagnosed with the syndrome. Otherwise, the condition will be most diagnosed as another illness, the idiopathic chronic fatigue. Chronic fatigue syndrome may not sound serious to others, but this can be frustrating illness to others as the effects can be so much troublesome to most especially it entails daily life style. What is worse about is it can affect people of all walks of life, whether children or adult.

The problem with diagnosis is also the reason why there is no known exact number of people suffering from the syndrome. Only an estimation of half million Americans were suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. Women are found to suffer more than men, though the statistic is not clear whether the illness affects more women due to a different condition and lifestyle or if only that women report their condition more than men do.

Regardless of which, it is always advised that proper health care is practiced all the time as it is one way to avoid CFS, or any illness, for that matter.

Chronic Fatigue Treatment Options

Patients of CFS or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome respond differently to various treatments. Some of them recover after drastic changes in lifestyle, some of them are more responsive to pharmacological treatments. Here are the most common treatment modalities to which CFS patients are subjected and to which most of them respond well.

Self-Care/Management Techniques
Some patients can facilitate self-care treatments. This can be done by monitoring the level and pacing of activities such that prolonged and extreme levels of exhaustion are prevented. This can also be done by preventing the urge to rest. Since CFS is not relieved through rest, regardless of the duration, health care professionals do not advise the patients to rest excessively. Some form of physical activity must be maintained. This is oftentimes recommended by the physician. When trying to manage the symptoms of the disorder by yourself, it is best to keep the pacing and the level of the activities under control. Otherwise, symptoms may occur at a more debilitating rate.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psychological therapy that delivers relief of symptoms but not necessarily cure. This helps the patients understand their conditions and can therefore better guide them in forming their beliefs, perception and attitudes towards the syndrome. It is believed that through a more accurate depiction of the condition, the patient can better respond to the symptoms and they can cause lesser inhibition of the recurrence of their symptoms.

Graded Exercise Therapy
This therapy involves the introduction of incremental changes in the patients’ levels of activity. While concrete evidence are yet to be established, many experts believe that integration of activities is very important in managing the disease. Under this therapy then, the patient will have to monitor his own activities and exercises. As the therapy progresses, he moves to higher intensities until he gets back to the doing activities he normally participated in prior to the onset of the condition.

Pharmacological Treatments
Managements of the conditions through pharmacological treatments can involve the following medications:

Antidepressants are primarily used to manage mood swings and secondary depression. Low dosage antidepressants, on the other hand, are helpful in managing sleep disturbance and pain.

Autonomic nervous system stimulants are used to help improve concentration and short-term memory which are greatly affected by the disorder.

NSAIDs or Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs are prescribed to CFS patients to relieve them from muscle and joint pains.

Anxiolyticagents are used to target symptoms of anxiety.

CAM or Complementary and Alternative Medicine
The use of dietary supplements in managing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is central in alleviating the symptoms of CFS. According to some pilot studies, supplements of Carnitine, essential fatty acids, Magnesium and polynutrient supplements have shown strong indications of symptom reduction among patients.

Because the origins of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are not yet fully understood, treatment options are more directed to managing the symptoms and not really in curing the disorder. The main objective in producing relief from symptoms is to reinstate the conditions of the person as well as his well-being prior to the onset of the disorder.

As a result, majority of sufferers do not fully recover and even if they do, they recover gradually. For people who expect better and faster recovery, frustrations often ensue which for most of the cases, worsen the condition. It is therefore recommended to undergo a treatment at a very slow but well-managed pace.