Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

The language applied to exhaustion is confusing for everyone, including physicians. As anyone knows who has got chronically tired, there’s a spectrum of exhaustion which, at one end, may need simply a few early nights to catch up but at the other end of the scale may need time off work resting in bed.

So it’s significant to distinguish normal tiredness from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgia encephalopathy or ME.

What’s CFS?

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a complicated illness with extreme exhaustion over quite a while. Extreme exhaustion is almost always a notable part of CFS, plus muscle pain and a flu-like malaise.

Other symptoms can include difficulties with concentration and memory, loss of equilibrium, digestive difficulties, sleep disturbances and mood swings.

CFS changes approximately 15,000 people in the UK but we know of no precise cause, there’s no special test for it and treatment is only symptomatic. Many instances appear after a persistent viral infection that’s weakened the immune system. The organization of a viral infection followed by tiredness isn’t new of course.

We’ve understood for years the glandular fever virus, for example, can leave behind it lassitude and melancholy that can take 9-12 months to get better.

How Can We Get Overtired

?

Our fight and flight system, the release of adrenaline to prepare us to fight an enemy or run from him, was perfect millennia past, when pressure would include the occasional sighting of hostile neighbouring tribesmen.

But now it’s always on red alert due to the forced environment we live in. It just cannot make do with modern day pressures. Our bodies are never given the opportunity to recuperate from an acute (abrupt) anxiety response and shortly wind up in a state of long-term (long term) pressure, which might undermine the immune system.

When the immune system can’t fight off disease we’re into a vicious downward spiral to exhaustion.

What Are The Symptoms Of CFS?

Although the amount and severity of symptoms may change, the serious symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome are:

• Protracted intense fatigue lasting at least six months
• Damage of short-term memory or attention
• Sore throat
• Painful lymph nodes
• Muscle and joint pain without swelling or redness
• Fresh slumber
• Head aches
• Protracted tiredness and feeling sick after even light exertion.

Many individuals who have chronic fatigue syndrome also develop symptoms of melancholy, including loss of interest within their work and leisure tasks, or of stress.

This then can bring about protracted inactivity, resulting in “deconditioning” of the entire body that changes the muscles especially. Ailments entailing an allergic reaction, for example eczema and asthma, may become worse in those who have chronic fatigue syndrome.

How Is CFS Diagnosed?

There are specific standards which must show up before a diagnosis can be made.

Only being plain exhausted doesn’t mean you’ve got CFS. Your physician may guess chronic fatigue syndrome if you’ve had protracted exhaustion for more than six months with no

Apparent cause, and you also have at least if no underlying cause is identified, the identification of chronic fatigue syndrome is only going to be made if your symptoms match the diagnostic standards.

Managing With CFS

If you grow chronic fatigue syndrome, you will likely have fluctuating energy levels. You may find that you just have to be flexible and adjust your lifestyle to allow you to live with the state. These activities may be helpful.

• Attempt to break up the day into sessions of rest and work.
• Graded exercise may be useful. Try and establish yourself a progressive increase in action week by week.
• Establish realistic targets for yourself.
• Make dietary changes, specifically by drinking less alcohol and cutting out beverages containing caffeine.
• Attempt to reduce anxiety.
• Join a support group so that you don’t feel isolated.

What’s The Treatment For CFS?

Although there isn’t any special treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, there are several measures which could assist you to cope with the state.

• Your physician may give you drugs to help alleviate some of your symptoms. By way of example, head aches and joint pain may be alleviated by analgesics, like aspirin, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
• Antidepressant drugs may create an improvement in your state even if you never have grown the symptoms of melancholy.
• Your physician may advise you to have advising to enable you to cope with your illness and to provide support.
• You may also get cognitive therapy and behaviour therapy valuable.

What is The Prognosis?

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a long term illness. Many individuals find that symptoms are in their worst in the first 1-2 years. In over fifty percent of all instances, the condition clears up entirely after several years. In a number of people, the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome come and go over several years.

How do I help myself?

Along with specialists in the area, I’m really worried that nutritional supplements are promoted greatly to a vulnerable group of people whose expectations may be falsely lifted. I personally would always advocate great eating combined with exercise to alleviate long-term tiredness. Exercise is the only method I know of raising the quantity of energy I’ve. The basis of fitness, exercise is also the antidote to tiredness and ensures refreshing slumber. Run through the advantages of exercise on p. 21. But here are tables of the foods that have carbohydrates and minerals that can additionally help boost your energy levels.

Minerals

I personally would always advocate great eating combined with exercise to alleviate long-term tiredness. But first – here are foods including minerals that can help bump up your energy levels.

Carbs

The greatest source of energy is carb, so start loading your diet with it.

Food    Grams of carbohydrates

And here’s how to eat carbs. Make an effort to eat 5g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight daily. For a 70kg man this means having at least 350g of carb a day and for a 55kg girl, 275g.

To reach these amounts have some carb foods at each meal. Attempt bread and bread products, pasta, breakfast cereals, rice, potatoes, legumes, root vegetables, fruits and crisp breads. Ideally eat a meal containing carbohydrate 2-4 hours ahead of exercise and a little snack like a banana about an hour before.

Make an effort to eat around 50g of carbohydrate within 2 hours of concluding exercise. This helps refuel the muscles and should contain some rapidly absorbed foods like fruit bars, bananas, and cornflakes with skimmed milk, sultanas, raisins or a glass of high energy beverage.

TATT Syndrome

If you’re one of the 38 percent of the UK public who feels exhausted most of the time and wakes up unrefreshed, you’re in great business.

You’ve got a recognized syndrome – TATT – “tired all the time” syndrome. There’s no treatment, but you could feel a great deal better if you eat well, get eight hours’ slumber and set aside time for yourself each day. The straightforward explanation for present day long term tiredness is that we all do too much. We’re in overload, even burnout.

A particular issue for women Girls in many cases are fighting to look after kids, working-in the day, doing family chores in the evening and being a wife at night-time. And girls feel under pressure to perform well in all their parts, so it’s scarcely astonishing that many end up chronically tired.

People who have long-term tiredness generally work overly difficult. If, on top of everything, you sleep poorly you may never recharge your batteries at the end of the day. The key is to have a balance between work and leisure. It’s no awful thing to take an inventory of your lifestyle, the time you go to bed, the quality of sleep you get and whether you take time out to relax and enjoy yourself.