• Fatigue for instance, is found in hundreds of illnesses and 10% to 25% of all patients who visit general practitioners complain of prolonged fatigue.
• The nature of the symptoms, however, can help clinicians differentiate CFS from other illnesses.
Primary Symptoms
Other Common Symptoms Clinical Course
• As the name Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome suggests, this illness is
accompanied by
fatigue. However, it's not the kind of f
fatigue patients experience after a
particularly busy day or week, after a
sleepless night or after a stressful
event. It's a severe, exhausting fatigue
that isn't improved by bed rest and
that may be exacerbated by physical or
mental activity. It's an all
encompassing fatigue that results in a
dramatic decline in both activity level
and stamina.
• People with CFS function at a
significantly lower level of activity than
they were capable of prior to becoming
ill.
• The illness results in a substantial
reduction in occupational, personal,
social or educational activities.
• A CFS DIAGNOSIS should be
considered in patients who present
with six months or more of unexplained
fatigue accompanied by other
characteristic symptoms.
These symptoms include:
• Cognitive dysfunction, including impaired memory or concentration malaise lasting more than 24 hours (exhaustion and increased symptoms) following physical or mental exercise
• Unrefreshing sleep, joint pain (without redness or swelling), persistent muscle pain
• Headaches of a new type or severity tender cervical or axillary lymph nodes sore throat