Contract Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and enter Acronym Land. Known variously as CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or Myalgic Encephalomyelopathy), FM (Fibro Myalgia), FMS (Fibro Myalgia Syndrome - these two may be separate from CFS), Yuppie Flu, Tapanui Flu, Icelandic Disease and IAIYH (It's All In Your Head), much is still being discovered and recorded about this disease. Thankfully, much of the medical world has accepted CFIDS is an organic, physical illness; the question is not so much whether it exists, but what it is precisely and what can be done to treat it.

From the United States Centres for Disease Control 1994 Case Definition for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:

Fatigue - Severe, unexplained fatigue, which persists or relapses for 6 months or longer; is not caused by exertion, or substantially relieved by rest; has an identifiable onset (i.e. not lifelong fatigue); and results in a substantial reduction in previous levels of occupational, educational, social or personal activities.

Four or more of the following symptoms, which must have persisted or recurred during 6 or more consecutive months of illness and must not have predated the fatigue: short-term memory or concentration problems; sore throat; tender cervical or axillary lymph nodes; multijoint pain without joint swelling or redness; myalgia (muscle pain); headaches of a new type, pattern or severity; non-refreshing sleep; and post-exertional malaise lasting more than 24 hours.

'Tired' really doesn't cover it. The constant exhaustion - complete lack of energy - that CFS sufferers feel is nothing like the tiredness healthy people experience. That is why the illness is so devastating, and leads to many people with CFS being house- or bed-bound.

Won't you get stronger if you exercise?

No, because the fatigue caused by CFS is not due to lack of fitness. Our muscles have not wasted away or become weak due to a lack of exercise, but rather the biochemical processes that ought to provide energy to them are not functioning correctly.

Furthermore, exercise makes a CFS patient feel much worse. Even mild activities that wouldn't be called 'exercise' per se by a healthy person, such as having a shower or walking around, drain the limited supply of energy a CFS sufferer commands, and have to be carefully monitored if a relapse is to be avoided.

Everyone forgets things sometimes. Why are the concentration problems in CFS any different?

Because of their scope and severity. The cognitive dysfunctions include aquired dyslexia, paraphasia (using the wrong word), dyscalculia (problems with maths), dysgraphia (problems with writing), disorientation, and distractability (which inhibits programming information into memory). These problems stem from malfunctions in the left parietal, left temporal and left occipital lobes. Because they make learning and remembering very difficult, CFS patients often have trouble working or studying at their previous ability level, which in turn has a devastating effect on their lifestyle and self-image. It's hardly the same as occasional forgetfulness.

Lovely green sofa and orange chair supplied to me by Eric Henes.
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