What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is characterized by variable, sometimes severe, flu-like fatigue, exertion intolerance, headaches, dizziness, cognitive dysfunction (memory and concentration), problems with sleep, and mild to moderate symptoms of infection or allergy (such as sore or scratchy throat, tender lymph nodes, low grade fever, joint and muscle aches.) Physical or emotional "stress" and certain types of activity, especially aerobic exercise, can worsen symptoms.
CFS can present with a distinct period of onset (called sudden onset), striking men and women, young to middle aged. In other cases, it is characterized as coming on slowly, which is known as gradual onset.
When someone exhibits sudden onset CFS, the illness state should be discernable from that person's quality of health before CFS. Almost overnight, the person goes from a reasonably good level of health to being dead-dog sick.
When a person has gradual onset Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, distinguishing the differences between the two periods of time (before CFS and while suffering with it) can be tougher. It's as if a person with declining health becomes much, much worse. The person's health finally decays into a multi-symptom soup of really tough and intractable symptoms. The mildly sick person becomes extremely ill.
No matter which type of onset you encounter with CFS, diagnosing it is necessary and possible. A physician may find it more challenging to determine if you have gradual onset Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but the medical profession has the tools to diagnose CFS no matter which way your illness presents itself.
*Note: there are more symptoms that can be associated with CFS than the ones listed in the first paragraph. They are only the typical, highly-recognized ones. Check out additional problems, conditions and symptoms associated with CFS here.
Click on any of the following links to find out more information.
Page 2, CFS- Additional symptoms
Page 3, CFS- What to expect and what to do
Page 4, CFS- What else you should know
Page 5, CFS- Rejoining life
Cinda Crawford
