Q When Should You See A Doctor For Your Fatigue
A. Talk to yourprovider as soon as you or those around you experience any amount of concern.Simply expressing the problem should lead to a discussion about thetopic.
Your provider will likelywant to evaluate you to determine the severity of your symptoms and potentialcauses. Typically, the evaluation starts with a thorough history and physicalexam.
Doctors also use specificquestions to measure how tired you feel. Terms like feeling tired,experiencing fatigue, having lack of energy and feeling especially sleepyare often used interchangeably. However, its important for your provider todistinguish between them to figure out the cause.
Based on your responses,your doctor can figure out the appropriate approach for diagnosing you. You mayneed additional testing, such as lab work, imaging or sleep studies, todetermine the cause. Once your provider gets to the bottom of the fatigueissue, they can work with you on how to solve it.
What Else Could It Be
Many people who have ME/CFS have other conditions, too. If you get treated for those, it might also improve your chronic fatigue.
ME/CFS can look a lot like âmonoâ , Lyme disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, sleep disorders, or depression. It affects about 2.5 million Americans, but experts believe only about 20% are diagnosed.
How Your Family Can Help
Always remember that youre not alone. Support from your family can make your condition easier to bear by spending time with you on good days as well as the bad days.
I try to make family members a partner in treatment, he says. When you just want to spend the day in bed watching TV because of fatigue or pain, a family member can encourage simple, fun activities to help get you moving.
Whether your diagnosis is chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia, a doctors role in treating the disease small. A doctor is there as the coach and can help you with the first 10% to 15% of improvement, while you have to help yourself manage the remaining 85% to 90%.
If youre suffering with chronic pain and/or fatigue, talk to your doctor. A diagnosis can put you in a better position to manage your symptoms even if there are still some mysteries surrounding your disease.
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Children Young People And Me/cfs
ME/CFS can affect people of all ages, including the very young. Young people with ME/CFS, especially children under the age of ten, might have trouble knowing or articulating that something is wrong. They may not realise that their loss of stamina, or other symptoms they are experiencing, are not normal. Alternatively, they may not have the words to describe what they are feeling.
For both younger children and teenagers, schooling can be affected but ME/CFS is not school refusal. While school refusal can often be accompanied by physical complaints , and these complaints may tend to disappear when the young person stays home, the pattern is different with ME/CFS. In a young person with ME/CFS, some symptoms never ease and symptom exacerbation is triggered by activity. In ME/CFS, symptoms are likely to be worse after school attendance, and can reduce with pacing and rest, which includes time away from school or during holidays.
Some young people with ME/CFS can continue to attend school, and others may be too unwell for regular classroom attendance. Parents, healthcare providers, schools and the child or teenager need to work together to come up with a plan for the young persons continued education. This plan needs to take into account the energy limits of ME/CFS. Being creative and flexible is key and might include things like fewer subjects or school from home.
What Causes Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The cause of CFS is not yet fully understood, but it is likely that several factors contribute to its development. There are changes in the immune system and body chemistry.
CFS is usually triggered by a viral infection, such as glandular fever or influenza, but any infection may be the trigger. It is likely that the potential for getting CFS is genetic and runs in families. Some people experience ongoing effects of COVID-19 infection, known as long COVID, which are very similar to the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Other factors that may contribute include:
- emotional or physical distress
- multiple joint pain without joint swelling or redness
- headaches of a new type, pattern or severity
- unrefreshing sleep
- tiredness that can last for more than 24 hours after physical or mental effort.
Some people also report a range of other symptoms such as nausea, loss of appetite, irritable bowel syndrome , bloating, diarrhoea, irregular heartbeat, chest pain, jaw pain, night sweats, increased sensitivity to alcohol or medication, chronic cough, dizzy spells or dry eyes.
The severity of symptoms can vary from day to day, or even within a day.
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What Are The Treatments For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
There is no cure or approved treatment for CFS, but you may be able to treat or manage some of your symptoms. You, your family, and your health care provider should work together to decide on a plan. You should figure out which symptom causes the most problems and try to treat that first. For example, if sleep problems affect you the most, you might first try using good sleep habits. If those do not help, you may need to take medicines or see a sleep specialist.
Strategies such as learning new ways to manage activity can also be helpful. You need to make sure that you do not push and crash. This can happen when you feel better, do too much, and then get worse again.
Since the process of developing a treatment plan and attending to self-care can be hard if you have CFS, it is important to have support from family members and friends.
Dont try any new treatments without talking to your health care provider. Some treatments that are promoted as cures for CFS are unproven, often costly, and could be dangerous.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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What Fatigue Really Feels Like
Think about these scenarios:
- You had the flu and it knocked you out for a short period. You were too sick to get much done, and definitely too sick to work or play with your children.
- You had too much fun and a few too many drinks one night, then couldnt get off the couch the entire next day. You felt so weak and tired that you had to call in sick with some made-up illness.
Chronic fatigue resembles these situations, but its worse because it doesnt get better with medicine, rest, caffeine, a greasy breakfast, or time.
Indeed, Dr. Barlett told me that Im not alone in these descriptions.
People with RA will often describe their fatigue as a feeling of being completely wiped out or utterly exhausted or how I feel when Im coming down with the flu, she says. This type of fatigue does not seem to improve with sleep or rest, and very often is a sign that disease activity is increasing. Indeed, in work we did across many countries, almost everyone we spoke with mentioned extreme fatigue as the first and most reliable signs that they are about to have a serious disease flare.
Our fatigue is always there, nagging away.
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Causes Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Despite considerable research, the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome remains unknown. Controversy exists as to whether there is a single cause or many causes and whether the cause is physical or mental, but either way the symptoms are very real to the person.
Some researchers believe the syndrome ultimately will prove to have several causes, including genetic predisposition and exposure to microbes, toxins, and other physical and emotional factors.
How Can I Help My Child
To help your child cope with the emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome:
- Encourage your child to keep a daily diary to identify times when he or she has the most energy and help plan activities for these times.
- Have your doctor plan an exercise program to maintain strength at whatever level is possible. This can help your child feel better physically and emotionally.
- Help your child to recognize and express feelings, such as sadness, anger, and frustration. Its OK to grieve the loss of energy.
- Get support from family and friends because emotional health is important when coping with a chronic health problem.
- Allow more time for your child to do things, especially activities that take concentration or physical exertion.
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Can I Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome How Can I Know
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HealthTap doctors are based in the U.S., board certified, and available by text or video.
What Can I Do To Cope With Me/cfs
Talking about your feelings with a friend or family member can help. Sometimes it also helps to talk with people who are going through the same thing. Consider joining an ME/CFS support group. See the “ME/CFS Organizations” section at the end of this fact sheet for a list of organizations that offer additional information on ME/CFS and can help you find ME/CFS support groups.
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What Is The Outlook
The long-term outlook varies from person to person. Although some people recover or have a long period of remission, many will need to adapt to living with /CFS. The outlook is better in children and young people than in adults.
CFS affects everyone differently and its impact varies widely. For some people symptoms still allow them to carry out some activities, whereas for others they cause severe impacts on different aspects of the lives of people with CFS and their families and carers, including activities of daily living, family life, social life, emotional well-being, work and education.
How Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Treated
Treatment is determined by your healthcare provider and based on:
- Your overall health and medical history
- Extent of the condition
- Your tolerance for specific medicines, procedures, or therapies
- Expectations for the course of the condition
- Your opinion or preference
- Medicine, including corticosteroids, antidepressants, and others
- Light-intensity aerobic exercise
- Dietary supplements and herbal preparations
- Psychotherapy and supportive counseling
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British Columbia Specific Information
Many Canadians are affected by complex chronic diseases . CCDs are illnesses that last a long time, require treatment and management, and often do not get better on their own. Fibromyalgia , Myalgic Encephalomyelitis , which is also called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome , and Chronic Lyme Disease are examples of complex chronic diseases.
To learn more about fibromyalgia, myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic Lyme-like disease, visit HealthLinkBCs Complex Chronic Diseases health feature.
Home Remedies And Lifestyle Changes
Making some lifestyle changes may help reduce your symptoms.
Limiting or eliminating your caffeine intake can help you sleep better and ease your insomnia. You should limit or avoid nicotine and alcohol too.
Try to avoid napping during the day if its hurting your ability to sleep at night.
Create a sleep routine. Go to bed at the same time every night and aim to wake up around the same time every day.
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Do I Have Me/cfs Quiz
Take our short quiz, based on the criteria presented in the Institute of Medicine report Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Redefining an Illness, to see if you may have ME/CFS.
ME/CFS is a chronic, complex, neuroimmune disease that profoundly limits the health and productivity of patients and, like Long Covid, is often triggered by an infection. Because it is not yet fully understood, there is no cure for ME/CFS, nor are there any FDA-approved drugs or treatments. The main symptoms are extreme exhaustion , cognitive dysfunction and unrefreshing sleep. Other symptoms may vary.
While we cannot provide medical advice, we hope this simple quiz, which is grounded in science, is useful.
- Question three*
Post-exertional malaise is a hallmark of ME/CFS. PEM occurs when even mild exertion or normal activity results in the loss of physical and mental stamina and the worsening of other symptoms after exertion. Post-exertional malaise can sometimes occur immediately but is generally delayed for 24 or more hours following exertion.
Do you experience post-exertional malaise after physical or mental exertion or normal daily activities?
Making Breakthroughs Possible
How Do I Know If I Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
As the pandemic continues, some COVID-19 survivors are experiencing a variety of health issues such as severe exhaustion, headaches, muscle pain and cognitive issues. These experiences have some medical professionals believing there may be a connection between COVID-19 and chronic fatigue syndrome .
We know that viruses have been implicated in chronic fatigue syndrome, said Syed Zaidi, MD, a family medicine provider with OSF Medical Group.The diagnosis is more than six months of profound chronic fatigue, so do we have patients coming near that six-month point? They got this early and are just recovered from COVID, but their life still isnt where it used to be and that is where this conversation is coming from.
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Can I Win Disability Benefits If I Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Getting tired is just a part of life. Every human follows the natural body clock known as the circadian rhythm. This means that they are alert and fresh when they wake up in the morning and they are tired late at night. However, some people are always tired, even when they wake up after having slept for at least 8 consecutive hours. You may be one of these people and you should know that you can hire a personal injury lawyer in Barrie to help you win disability benefits. You just need to know the following:
What Are The Symptoms Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Symptoms of CFS often mimic the flu. The following are the most common symptoms of CFS. However, each person may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
- Sensitivity to light
- Low-grade fever
The symptoms of CFS may look like other medical conditions. Always talk with your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome , also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis , is a debilitating and potentially disabling illnessFootnote 1-7 that affects over half a million Canadians Footnote * .Footnote 8 CFS/ME is not yet fully understood, but it is known to affect multiple systems of the body. Footnote 1-7
Support And Coping Skills
The young person with ME/CFS needs to learn to adapt to the reality of the illness, and integrate it into a meaningful life despite sometimes severe physical limitations. Above all, the young patient needs to develop a sense of achievement in her/his life, however, small.
All aspects of the young persons life might need to be addressed. She/he might need to deal not only with physical and cognitive limitations, but also with misunderstanding of the illness, fear, grief, anger, guilt and isolation. Sometimes having ME/CFS can result in abnormal illness behavior, such as denial of the reality of the illness.
A patients needs early in the illness might differ from her/his needs in later years, as health improvement is being achieved. Young patients should be encouraged to verbalize their fears and needs. Only the young person her/himself knows how she/he really feels. For instance, many young people fear getting behind their peers academically, never being able to catch up, and consequently losing friends. There should be opportunity to talk things through with a trusted professional who understands the illness. Although the parents can be present, the discussion should be primarily with the patient, so that she/he is also involved in decision making and feels part of the team approach. Teenagers usually need an opportunity for discussion without a parent present.
Our experience suggests that the following elements of basic supportive therapy can be helpful:
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Alternative Or Complementary Medicine
Since there is no standard treatment for CFS/ME, people often consider alternatives to traditional medicine or use non-traditional treatments to complement their other medications. Commonly used alternative and complementary treatments include:
- Mind-body treatments, like qigong, tai chi, and meditation
- Trigger point therapy, called myofascial release
- Chiropractic treatments
Complementary therapies have received mixed results when scientifically studied. Before beginning an alternative or complementary treatment, talk with your doctor to ensure that you arent trying something potentially dangerous.
Hiv #i: Compare Hiv To It
I can tell you without hesitation, chronic fatigue syndrome is much worse than HIV. HIV/AIDS Patient
Have them read a Huffington Post piece written by a person with an aggressive form of HIV/AIDS taking care of his partner with ME/CFS. Despite having a particularly scary form of HIV, he was more worried about his partner.
You see, Franky has lived the majority of his life with a little-understood chronic illness, which relapses and fluctuates without warning. This illness is ME/CFS and it is often referred to as the great invisible disease of our time.
After his ear surgery, Frankys illness kicked in with the force of a dragons venom. He had violent thrashing vertigo and seizures, along with bone-crushing pain that spread up and down his every fiber. He could not move without assistance. I had to spoon-feed him and bathe him. As a person living with HIV, watching the daily suffering of my partner who has chronic fatigue syndrome, I can tell you without hesitation, chronic fatigue syndrome is much worse than HIV. Its unfathomable that his disease is even named something as belittling and dismissive as chronic fatigue syndrome.
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