Tired All the Time — What to Do?

 
You get plenty of sleep, but you’re still tired all of the time. Could you be suffering from CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) even though your doctors, employers, friends and family all tell you that you’re not sick? The US government recently released the results of a study showing that CFS is much more prevalent than previously thought. This article explains more about what used to be called “Yuppie Flu” …
 
 

“People with C.F.S. are as sick and as functionally impaired as someone with AIDS, with breast cancer, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” said Dr. William Reeves, the lead expert on the illness at the disease control agency, who helped expose its misuse of chronic fatigue financing.

Chronic fatigue syndrome was first identified as a distinct entity in the 1980s. (A virtually identical illness had been identified in Britain three decades earlier and called myalgic encephalomyelitis.) The illness, which afflicts more women than men, causes overwhelming fatigue, sleep disorders and other severe symptoms. No consistent biomarkers have been identified and no treatments have been approved for addressing the underlying causes, although some medications provide symptomatic relief.

Patients say the word “fatigue” does not begin to describe their condition. Donna Flowers of Los Gatos, Calif., a physical therapist and former professional figure skater, said the profound exhaustion was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

“I slept for 12 to 14 hours a day but still felt sleep-deprived,” said Ms. Flowers, 51, who fell ill several years ago after a bout of mononucleosis. “I had what we call ‘brain fog.’ I couldn’t think straight, and I could barely read. I couldn’t get the energy to go out of the door. I thought I was doomed. I wanted to die.”

Here’s more about the causes and symptoms of C.F.S.:
 
 

Studies have shown that people with the syndrome experience abnormalities in the central and autonomic nervous systems, the immune system, cognitive functions, the stress response pathways and other major biological functions. Researchers believe the illness will ultimately prove to have multiple causes, including genetic predisposition and exposure to microbial agents, toxins and other physical and emotional traumas. Studies have linked the onset of chronic fatigue syndrome with an acute bout of Lyme disease, Q fever, Ross River virus, parvovirus, mononucleosis and other infectious diseases.

Under the most widely used case definition, a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome requires six months of unexplained fatigue as well as four of eight other persistent symptoms:
– impaired memory and concentration,
– sore throat,
– tender lymph nodes,
– muscle pain,
– joint pain,
– headaches,
– disturbed sleeping patterns, and
– feelings of malaise after exertion.

If you have been experiencing 4 or more of these symptoms, then it is important to talk to your doctor, have him do a blood test, and get the help you need!

Source: David Tuller