Thursday, 7 May 2015

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Image: blogs.pros.org

 Feeling tired all the time.
You wake up and feel tired.
You go to bed still tired. Even in your dreams you are tired.
And it does not go away...even after sleeping an entire weekend. 



 Chronic fatigue syndrome
A disease characterized by profound fatigue, sleep abnormalities, pain, and other symptoms that are made worse by exertion.
The fatigue is not due to ongoing exertion, not relieved much by rest, and is not caused by other medical conditions ~ meaning it is not due to pushing your boundaries a couple of times, nor as a result of getting sick for a short while.
Severity can vary: Some persons with CFS lead relatively normal lives; others are totally bed-ridden and unable to care for themselves.
Fibromyalgia occurs in a large percentage of CFS patients between onset and the second year, and some researchers suggest fibromyalgia and CFS are related.

Symptoms (lasting 6 months or longer)
¢The main symptom is fatigue for over six months which is unrelated to exertion, is not substantially relieved by rest, and is not a result of other medical conditions.
The fatigue often worsens with activity, but doesn't improve with rest.
¢Widespread muscle pain (myalgia) and joint pain (arthralgia).
¢Chronic and severe mental and physical exhaustion.
¢Headaches of a type not previously experienced - unusually painful or does not respond to usual pain medication.

Additional symptoms
Additional symptoms may be reported, including:
*muscle weakness
*increased sensitivity to light sounds and smells
*problems standing up
*digestive disturbances
depression
*painful and often slightly swollen lymph nodes

Why visit your doctor
It is recommended that persons with symptoms resembling those of CFS consult a physician to rule out several treatable illnesses:
*Lyme disease
*sleep disorder
*major depressive disorder
*alcohol/substance abuse
*diabetes
*hypothyroidism
*mononucleosis (mono)
*lupus
*multiple sclerosis (MS)
*chronic hepatitis and various malignancies.
*Medications that can also cause side effects that mimic symptoms of Chronic fatigue syndrome.

Management:
** Many people do not fully recover from CFS even with treatment.**

¢ Cognitive behavioral therapy: which tries to help patients understand their individual symptoms and beliefs and develop strategies to improve day-to-day functioning and is thought to help patients by eliminating unhelpful illness beliefs which may perpetuate the illness.

Exercise: Graded exercise therapy
** exercise therapy is not a cure for CFS
Randomized trials found that patients who received exercise therapy were less fatigued after 12 weeks than the control participants, and the authors cautiously conclude that GET shows promise as a treatment.

Pacing
Pacing is an energy management strategy (based on the observation that symptoms of the illness tend to increase following minimal exertion).
The principle behind pacing is to avoid over-exertion and an exacerbation (to make worse) of symptoms.
It is not aimed at treating the illness as a whole.
Those whose illness appears stable may gradually increase activity and exercise levels but according to the principle of pacing, must rest if it becomes clear that they have exceeded their limits.

Other
Medications thought to have promise in alleviating symptoms include antidepressant and immunomodulatory agents.
However many CFS patients are sensitive to medications, particularly sedatives, and some patients report chemical and food sensitivities.
Multivitamin and multimineral supplements are thought to help relieve various symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Social issues:
A study found that CFS patients report a heavy psychosocial burden and state that they struggle for recognition of their needs.
Individuals with CFS may receive a poorer quality of social support than in those with other illnesses.

*Some in the medical community do not recognize CFS as a real condition, nor is there agreement on its prevalence.


Sources:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_fatigue_syndrome

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