Friday, March 22, 2024

Is There Medication For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Must Read

When To Call A Doctor

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome | Triggers, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment

It’s important to talk to your doctor about any symptoms you may have.

  • Severe fatigue that lasts longer than 2 weeks, causes you to limit your usual activities, and does not improve with rest.
  • Sleep problems that last for more than 1 to 2 months. These problems may include being unable to fall asleep or stay asleep, tossing and turning, and waking up feeling tired or not rested.
  • Swelling in the glands in your neck or armpits that lasts for at least 2 weeks.
  • Severe fatigue along with frequent urination , extreme thirst, weight loss, or blurred vision. Fatigue that occurs with some or all of these may be a symptom of undiagnosed diabetes.
  • Severe headache that does not improve with home treatments.

Treat The Worst Symptom First

Start by listing your worst symptomsthe ones that make it hardest to get through the day. With your doctor, focus first on treating those symptoms. Decide whether a specialist might be helpful for any of them.

The most common ME/CFS symptoms can also be the most treatable.

Symptoms worse after activity .

Learning how to manage your activity can help you be as active as possible without causing your symptoms to get worse. This includes:

  • Estimating how much energy you have on a given day. This is sometimes called your “energy envelope.” You spend only that much energy, and not more.
  • Estimating how much energy an activity takes and how long you can do that activity. You stop when you reach that time, and then take a break.
  • Not pushing yourself to get more done on days you feel well.
  • Adapting activities to make them easier. One example is sitting down while doing the dishes.
Sleep.

Good sleep habits can help improve the quality of your sleep. If you also try medicine for sleep, it’s best to start on a low dose. Certain antidepressants help with sleep, mood, and chronic pain, so your doctor may suggest trying one.

What Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Exactly

Chronic fatigue syndrome , also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis , is a chronic, debilitating condition characterized by extreme fatigue that doesnt improve with rest.

Many body systems are affected by ME/CFS, which is a serious, long-term disorder. People with this condition are often not able to do activities that they typically enjoy or find easy because of severe fatigue.

CFS may severely fatigue or confine people to bed. Additionally, those with ME/CFS often have difficulty sleeping and thinking clearly, also known as having brain fog.

To make matters worse, attempting to do too much can actually exacerbate symptoms of ME/CFS, also known as post-exertional malaise .

The Centers for Disease Control claims that the number of individuals suffering from ME/CFS isbetween 836,000 and 2.5 million in the United States. However, the majority of them have not been diagnosed.

Don’t Miss: Weight Loss And Fatigue Cancer

Living With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Although experts have not yet found a cure for CFS/ME, many people who have the illness are able to make lifestyle changes and find treatments that allow them to reduce or manage their symptoms. Improvement is possible by living within your limits and working with a doctor to find treatments that help you. There are also many CFS/ME support groups both online and in-person. Meeting with such a group might prove to be helpful.

  • Was this article helpful?

Housebound Or Bedbound With Me/cfs

The Relief Products® » Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Therapy

About 25% of people with ME/CFS are housebound or bedbound. Those who are housebound may be able to undertake minimal daily tasks for themselves, such as brushing teeth, cooking or using a computer for short periods of time, but they have to pace their activity and often use aids to help them . They are unable to leave the house, often because this requires more energy than they have available. When they do leave the house, they often need mobility aids such as a wheelchair or mobility scooter, or other assistance . Recovery from a trip out of the house can take days, or longer.

Some people are so severely unwell that they are bedbound some or all of the time. The most severely unwell may be unable to undertake even simple tasks, like eating or going to the toilet by themselves. They may require additional medical devices, such as feeding tubes, to help them get enough nutrition and fluids, and can be totally dependent on carers.

Read Also: Blood In Urine Diarrhea Fatigue

How Can I Overcome Chronic Fatigue

How can I overcome chronic fatigue? 4 Steps to OvercomeChronicFatigue Syndrome Step 1: Eliminate Food Sensitivities and Allergens Step 2: Increase Your Vitamin B Intake Step 3: Increase Potassium and Magnesium Intake Step 4: Build Peace and Relax

What is the cure for chronic fatigue? There is no cure for chronic fatigue syndrome, so treatment is aimed at managing symptoms. Treatment usually involves a combination of medication and lifestyle changes such as preventing overexertion, reducing stress, managing diet, and nutritional supplements.

What are the best supplements for chronic fatigue? The following specific supplements can support the activities of the immune system and adrenal glands and are, therefore, frequently prescribed to people with chronic fatigue syndrome: vitamin C. beta-carotene. pantothenic acid zinc. magnesium adrenal extract.

What causes extreme fatigue? Infections especially viral infections are among the leading causes of extreme fatigue. Common, short-term viral illnesses associated with extreme fatigue include influenza and infectious mononucleosis. Other possibilities include viral hepatitis, Lyme disease and HIV/AIDS.

How Is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic Fatigue Syndrome Treated

There is no cure for ME/CFS. Treatment goals include managing symptoms and returning you to a higher quality of life. Some people arenât able to regain the level of health and function they had before their diagnosis.

First, your doctor works with you to determine which symptoms cause the most difficulty. Together, you will address those symptoms immediately.

Counseling is helpful for many people with ME/CFS. This type of treatment helps people better tolerate symptoms by changing thoughts and behaviors. Your doctor may prescribe medications, like antidepressants or sleep aids, if your symptoms are especially severe. These medications can relieve symptoms like unrestful sleep for some people living with ME/CFS.

Before prescribing sleep aids, however, your doctor may provide suggestions for improving sleep without drugs. For instance, he or she might suggest that you visit a sleep specialist. Other tips include:

  • Develop a regular bedtime routineâgo to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
  • Do not nap for more than 30 minutes total during the day.
  • Use your bed and bedroom only for sleeping and sex. Take out all electronics.
  • Avoid eating large meals before you go to bed also avoid alcohol and caffeine.
  • Do your exercising at least 4 hours before you go to sleep.

Also Check: What Can I Take For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Recommended Reading: Medication For Psoriatic Arthritis Fatigue

Treatment Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy

  • Graded exercise

  • Drugs for depression, sleep, or pain if indicated

In most cases, symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome lessen over time. However, it often takes years for symptoms to subside, and not all symptoms disappear. People may recover more fully if they focus more on what function they can recover than on how much function they have lost.

Specific symptoms such as pain, depression, and poor sleep are treated. Cognitive behavioral therapy and gradual graded exercise, which have helped some people, may be worth trying.

What Complications Are Associated With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic Fatigue Syndrome

CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment.

For some people, the fatigue associated with ME/CFS makes activities of daily living very difficult or even impossible. Research shows that only half of all people diagnosed with ME/CFS work full-time or part-time jobs.

ME/CFS causes significant depression in many people living with the condition. If you experience depression, talk with your doctor â effective treatments are available.

Don’t Miss: Can Low Platelet Count Cause Fatigue

S To Overcome Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a chronic illness characterized by extreme fatigue that lasts for more than six months. This fatigue cannot be explained away by an underlying medical condition. In fact, one of the diseases principle challenges is that its impossible to diagnose with laboratory tests. However, some professionals believe it is closely related to adrenal fatigue or system wide inflammation of the body.

The process for diagnosis usually begins with ruling out possible underlying diseases and chronic conditions until the only choice left is chronic fatigue syndrome. Left untreated, it decreases stamina, memory and concentration.

Chronic fatigue syndrome can result in strained relationships with friends and family, especially when it remain undiagnosed and/or untreated. Guilt, anxiety and anger are all common emotional responses for those fighting chronic fatigue.

Currently, over 1 million Americans are suffering from this debilitating illness that manifests with a lack of energy and motivation, and women are 24 times more likely than men to be diagnosed.

You May Like: Dealing With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Treatments

Unfortunately, there are no specific treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrom. But that doesnt mean you are going to sit idle and do nothing about it while suffering silently. Since every person has their own individual problems and symptoms, not all forms of treatment are going to be applicable to everyone universally.

Moreover, you can always take steps and opt for a type of chronic fatigue syndrome treatment that can prove to be beneficial to your health. Scroll down and find out all the ways you can treat chronic fatigue syndrome in your body!

Dont Miss: Can The Flu Shot Cause Fatigue

Recommended Reading: Weight Loss Loss Of Appetite Fatigue

Drug And Alternative Therapies

Specific chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms such as pain, depression, and poor sleep are treated.

Many different drugs and alternative therapies have been tried to relieve the chronic fatigue itself. Although many treatments, such as antidepressants and corticosteroids, seem to make a few people feel better, none are clearly effective for all. It can be hard for people and doctors to tell which treatments work because symptoms are different in different people and because symptoms may come and go on their own.

Controlled clinical trials The Science of Medicine Doctors have been treating people for many thousands of years. The earliest written description of medical treatment is from ancient Egypt and is over 3,500 years old. Even before that, healers… read more , which compare the benefits of a drug to those of a placebo , are the best way to test therapies, and no drug therapy has been shown to be effective for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome in controlled trials. A number of treatments directed at possible causes, including use of interferons, intravenous injections of immune globulin, and antiviral drugs, have been mostly disappointing and potentially dangerous. Dietary supplements, such as evening primrose oil, fish oil supplements, and high-dose vitamins, are commonly used, but their benefits remain unproved. Other alternative treatments have also been ineffective. Treatments that have no proven benefits are best avoided because they can have side effects.

The Medical Community Is Changing Its Mind On Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Why Arent Insurers

Medications That Make You Tired

A significant number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 report disabling symptoms that persist for months after they have cleared the virus that causes it. As Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has observed, symptoms experienced by post-Covid-19 patients are highly suggestive of those associated with ME/CFS. And like ME/CFS patients before them, many of these Covid-19 long-haulers report that health care providers have been similarly dismissive, automatically attributing their symptoms to stress, depression, and deconditioning, and recommending psychotherapy and exercise.

Medicine can be both wondrously innovative and stubbornly resistant to change. In 1847, the Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis could not convince his fellow doctors in Vienna to wash their hands before delivering babies as a way to prevent often fatal cases of puerperal fever in new mothers. It would be another 30 years before Joseph Lister gained widespread acceptance for his approach to sterilization and aseptic surgery.

Things are better these days, with an average time lag of only 17 years before research evidence reaches clinical practice. The British psychiatrists and others still pushing graded exercise therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for ME/CFS have done their part to keep the median delay as high as it is.

You May Like: Extreme Daytime Fatigue And Sleepiness

Home Remedies And Lifestyle

Making lifestyle changes may greatly impact how you feel, and the specific changes you need can depend on the severity of your illness and whether certain activities exacerbate your symptoms. While some people may see the tremendous benefit just from making changes to the way they eat, for example, others may find that more sweeping changessuch as a job changemay be necessary.

Keep Track Of Your Symptoms And Their Onset

Tracking the frequency, timing, and severity of your symptoms might help your doctor better understand what youre experiencing. Tracking your activity level and symptoms can also help you draw connections and learn your limits so that you can reduce flare-ups.

When tracking your symptoms, remember to write down everything ailing you, not just fatigue. People with CFS/ME often also have issues with pain, cognition, such as memory and concentration, and sleep. You might also consider keeping a sleep diary, so your doctor can see how well youre sleeping and determine if sleep might play a role in your symptoms.

Recommended Reading: Army Fatigue Jacket Women’s

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

What Are The Complications Of Cfs

New research into chronic fatigue syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome can lead to a number of complications, including:

  • Depression: People with CFS are at an increased risk for depression.
  • Anxiety: People with CFS may also experience anxiety.
  • PEM: Some people with CFS may experience post-exertional malaise , which is a worsening of symptoms after physical or mental exertion.
  • Sleep disorders: People with CFS often have sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome.
  • Cognitive impairment: People with CFS may have difficulty concentrating, remembering things, and making decisions. This is often referred to as brain fog.
  • Lifestyle Restrictions: CFS can significantly impair your ability to work, go to school, or participate in other activities.
  • Social Isolation: CFS can lead to social isolation due to fatigue and other symptoms.
  • Increased health care costs: CFS can also lead to increased health care costs due to the need for doctors visits, medication, and other treatments.

Don’t Miss: Extreme Fatigue And Abdominal Pain

What Are The Symptoms Of Me/cfs

The most common symptom is ongoing, unexplained overwhelming tiredness or fatigue which worsens after exercise or mental effort. This is known as post-exertional malaise . The level of activity that triggers PEM will vary from person to person and can depend on how severe their condition is. PEM is sometimes delayed and can last for a few days. A more serious relapse can last for weeks or months.

A common misconception is that people with ME/CFS have chronic fatigue and are just very tired. Persistent and profound fatigue is just one symptom of ME/CFS.

Other symptoms may include:

Some people may experience only mild symptoms, but others may develop more severe symptoms.

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.

Don’t Miss: Best Anti Fatigue Mats For Standing Workstations

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Causes

Despite extensive research, the underlying cause of CFS remains unknown. Some researchers believe that the condition will eventually be shown to be a complex interplay of genetic, infectious, and environmental factors.

  • Immunological factors: A variety of immune system abnormalities have been demonstrated in CFS.
  • Hormones: Levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, have been found to be consistently lower in people with CFS.
  • Infections: CFS can follow infection with Epstein-Barr virus , and possibly other viruses, but it is not currently thought that all causes of CFS are due to infection or that CFS is due to ongoing viral infection.
  • Genetic predisposition: CFS has been found to run in families, suggesting a possible common genetic predisposition.
  • Psychosocial factors: A history of trauma has also been suggested as contributing to CFS. Others have suggested that CFS may be related to manifestations of depression, anxiety, or somatic symptom disorder.

What Are The Symptoms Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

AIDS drugs help these Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients. Does it help ...

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.

Recommended Reading: Is There A Cure For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

How Is Me/cfs Diagnosed

Thereâs no single test to detect ME/CFS. A diagnosis is made after other possible known causes for symptoms have been excluded.

The earlier the illness is recognised, the sooner you can get help to manage your symptoms. Many people with ME/CFS find it helps to keep a diary of their symptoms so that they can take this to their GP or specialist.

Your GP will usually:

  • do a physical and mental examination to rule out other conditions
  • ask about recent travel, tick or insect bites, unusual infections, and drug and alcohol use
  • review current medication

They may be able to make a diagnosis after 3 or 4 months of seeing a pattern of symptoms. Anyone suspected of having ME/CFS should be considered for routine blood tests to identify other possible illnesses. More investigation may be needed if the diagnosis remains in doubt.

Some people with ME/CFS also have another long-term condition and itâs important that you talk to your GP about how to manage the symptoms of the 2 conditions.

You May Like: What Can I Take For Fatigue During Menopause

More articles

Popular Articles