Chronic Fatigue Symptoms

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complicated illness with an unknown cause. Once called ”Yuppie Flu”, its prevalence is difficult to ascertain because there are no specific laboratory tests or clinical signs for it. Though, chronic fatigue itself is a ubiquitous symptom, occurring in as many as 20 percent of patients attending a general medical clinic, the chronic fatigue syndrome is far less common. The center for disease control and prevention (CDC) has estimated that there are as many as 500 000 people in the United States, who either suffer from CFS or have CFS-like symptoms. Studies have revealed that patients with CFS are twice as likely to be women as men and are generally 25 to 45 years old, although cases in childhood and in middle age have also been described.

An analysis of chronic fatigue symptoms

The most prominent symptom for chronic fatigue syndrome is debilitating fatigue. Accompanying this unexplainable fatigue, are a variety of physical, constitutional, and

neuropsychological complaints. Typically, chronic fatigue symptoms arise suddenly in a previously active person. The triggering event may be, either an otherwise unremarkable flu-like illness or some acute stress. Unbearable exhaustion is left in the wake of this incident. Other symptoms, which indicate the persistence of infection and a need for medical assistance, are headache, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, muscle and joint aches and frequent feverishness. Over several weeks, other symptoms of the syndrome as disturbed sleep, difficulty in concentration and depression, become evident.

Table-2 Segregation of chronic fatigue symptoms for working out the definition of syndrome

At times, depending on the dominant symptoms and beliefs of the affected individual, additional consultations may be sought from allergists, rheumatologists, infectious disease specialists, psychiatrists, ecologic therapists, homeopaths and other professionals, but these consultations frequently provide unsatisfactory results. Once the patterns if the illness are established, the symptoms may, somewhat fluctuate. Individuals suffering from CFS commonly assert that excessive physical or emotional stress exacerbates the chronic fatigue symptoms. The protracted course of illness may be marked by isolation, frustration and pathetic resignation of the patient. When the impact of reassurances by the physicians, proffered during the initial evaluation of the disease gradually fades away, many patients begin to believe that the physician does not have the capacity to either acknowledge or resolve their plight,. Fortunately, chronic fatigue symptoms, usually recede with time and many patients experience gradual improvement and eventual recovery.