Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a sickness or illness that is defined by both "profound as well as prolonged exhaustion." As opposed to occasional feelings of tiredness, those suffering from CFS will not get better simply by getting an adequate amount of sleep and rest. When no other sicknesses or health conditions can be found to bring about extreme tiredness, CFS is often considered to be the culprit. Those who are suffering from CFS often experience symptoms that resemble the flu and generally find that their symptoms do not improve within a matter of days or a matter of weeks. A very common characteristic of chronic fatigue syndrome is what is known as “post-exertional malaise.” This form of malaise means that after a period of exertion an individual finds that their symptoms are getting worse especially if this occurs within a 24-hour period.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is sometimes referred to by other names and two of the most common are myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS). Chronic fatigue syndrome most readily affects the immune system, the central nervous system (CNS) and a variety of other body systems and organs. Chronic fatigue syndrome does not have any one specific cause and is believed to have a multitude of causes.

It is estimated that approximately 800,000 plus individuals suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome but less than 10 percent of these people have been properly diagnosed and are therefore not receiving the care they need to be properly treated. Chronic fatigue syndrome is three times more prevalent in women than it is in men. To use an example, the CDC estimates that for every 100,000 people who are suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, 522 of them are female while 291 of them are males. Among women, CFS is a great deal common than are other diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis (MS), lung cancer or HIV.

The most common age for a person to develop chronic fatigue syndrome is middle age, which in this instance is roughly between the ages of 40 and 49 years of age. The CDC estimates that approximately 50 percent of individuals who receive proper treatment for CFS are able to recover from the diseases however everyone does not always define recovery the same way. To some people recovery means learning to live with the disease without it greatly affecting one’s quality of life whereas for other people recovery means being completely symptom-free. In the cases where children develop chronic fatigue syndrome, it is this age group that shows the greatest chance for improvement. In fact studies show that 54 to 94 percent of children sufferers show a vast improvement six years after the disease first sets in.

There is no one particular type of test that is used to diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome. As well CFS has many symptoms that mimic other types of diseases and therefore the first step toward diagnosis is usually for the doctor to send the patient for a series of diagnostic tests to help rule out other forms of sicknesses. 

Tags: chronic fatigue syndrome, cfs, fatigue