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There is sig­ni­ficant concern about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as CFS. In fact, there are criteria patients must meet in order to be dia­gnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Receiving the dia­gnosis may be dif­ficult for some patients because the guidelines for dia­gnosing are very specific. The fatigue must have been present at least six con­secutive months and the cor­res­ponding symptoms must have developed after the fatigue. A clear definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, its symptoms, and treatment options will help suf­ferers get a clearer under­standing of the syndrome.

What is Chronic Fatigue?
The basic definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome does not make suf­ferers feel much better. The syndrome is unex­plained and is marked by weakness, fatigue, muscle pain, lethargy, trouble sleeping, and even fever and swollen lymph nodes. There is no known cause for the fatigue that is present in an indi­vidual that has no relation to over-​​exertion and is not rec­tified by rest.

Symptoms
Some of the symptoms asso­ciated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have been dis­cussed. However, there is a very long list. There are a variety of symptoms that patients are very aware of and then there are other symptoms only doctors seem to notice. Regardless, when the symptoms are present for a period of time for no apparent cause and seem to have no remedy then Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a frequent diagnosis.

Some of the frequent symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome include:

- Muscle Aches
– Per­sistent Fatigue
– Inter­mittent Fatigue
– Depression
– Tiredness
– Headache
– Swollen Lymph nodes
– Depression
– Memory Loss
– Weakness
– Dif­ficulty Con­cen­trating
– Achy Joints

Fre­quently Chronic Fatigue Syndrome begins during periods when indi­viduals have been sick, under a tre­mendous amount of stress, or for no apparent reason at all. Many indi­viduals have noted that after bouts with the flu, mono, a cold, bron­chitis, hep­atitis, and other similar ill­nesses CFS arises. Unfor­tu­nately, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome persists for months, sometimes coming and going and other times con­stantly affecting the patient. Other ill­nesses begin to clear up after a few days or weeks, but Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sticks around with no clear cause.

Dia­gnosing Chronic Fatigue
Doctors find it very dif­ficult to diagnose Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The reason why is because so many of its symptoms are symptoms of other ill­nesses. This is why many doctors like to see patients with the same symptoms that began after the fatigue for at least six months before giving a dia­gnosis. Obviously, suf­ferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome find the lack of an early dia­gnosis dif­ficult to bear on top of their symptoms. However, doctors like to rule out diseases like Lupus and Multiple Sclerosis, as well as other diseases, before dia­gnosing Chronic Fatigue.

Addi­tionally, researchers and doctors are becoming more aware of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and are more likely to make an earlier dia­gnosis based on fewer symptoms than ever before. That is not to say that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is easy to diagnose, because it is not. However increased awareness and new defin­itions are helping doctors and patients of Chronic Fatigue each and every day.

Treatment Options
The treatment options for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are varied and include alternative as well as pre­scription alternatives.

Some of the alternative care man­agement options for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome include avoiding stress and under­taking light exercise. Other treatment options that work for some indi­viduals include massage, aquatic therapy, chiro­practic therapy, yoga, self hypnosis, tai chi, and even acu­puncture. Psy­cho­therapy has also proven helpful to suf­ferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome because it helps suf­ferers learn to cope with their symptoms.

Pre­scription treatment options for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have not been approved by the FDA. There are however other pre­scription med­ic­ations that are used to treat the symptoms presented with Chronic Fatigue. Fre­quently, the primary use of the medicine is sec­ondary and its side effects are what benefit Chronic Fatigue suf­ferers. Medicines like anti­fungals, anti­de­pressants, anti­virals, cardiac drugs, anti­histamines, immun­o­globulins, cor­ticoids, anti-​​inflammatories, and anti-​​convulsants among others are fre­quently pre­scribed to CFS sufferers.

Do You Have CFS?

If you are worried you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or have some of the above stated symptoms for months on end then you should make an appointment with your physician. It is a good idea to keep a journal of your symptoms, when they began, and if new ones appear. This will help your doctor make the proper dia­gnosis and help receive some relief from your symptoms sooner.

This article was ori­ginally pub­lished on www.HypnotherapyClinic.info by Con­sultant Clinical Hyp­no­therapist & Pys­cho­therapist Noel Bradford

Ori­ginally posted 2009-​​03-​​29 19:58:10.

Tags: Aches, acupuncture, bronchitis, chiropractic, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Depression, fatigue, FDA, fever, hepatitis, hypnosis, lethargy, Lupus, massage, Memory Loss, Multiple Sclerosis, pain, physician, psychotherapy, tai chi, Tiredness
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