Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The definition of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has been developing over many decades. Increasingly, if a physician is not cynical, and respects the data that this is a real patient experience, here are some possible sample ways of diagnosing CFS.
- The first step is to rule out persistent, relapsing or increasing causes of fatigue that last at least half a year. My first problem with this is that the CDC is grossly clinically inexperienced in three very common causes of chronic fatigueÑmany strains of American Lyme and Babasia, and indoor mold mycotoxins. The former is hardly handled well in light of the fact only 1/40 physicians report Lyme (even when they use junk labs that miss it to diagnosis it). The latter mold spore surface chemicals might be an issue in as many as 25% of USA structures.
- You should have four of these in at least the last six months:
- impairment in short term memory or concentration
- sore throat
- tender cervical or axillary lymph nodes
- muscle pain
- multiple joints with pain without swelling or redness
- new headaches
- unsatisfying sleep
- modest exertion causes significant malaise
Keiji Fukuda, Stephen Straus, Ian Hickie, Michael Sharpe, James Dobbins, Anthony Komaroff, and the International CFS Study Group. "The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Comprehensive Approach to Its Definition and Study". Annals of Internal Medicine. 1994;121:953-959.
Others Have Complied Interview Symptom Lists
from Chronic Fatigue Patients
One study of people who met the criteria above also listed this:
| Symptom/sign | Frequency (%) |
| fatigue | 100 |
| low fever | 60 - 95 |
| muscle aches | 20 - 95 |
| sleep problems | 15 - 90 |
| thinking problems | 50 - 85 |
| depression | 70 - 85 |
| headache | 35 - 85 |
| sore throat | 50 - 75 |
| anxiety | 50 - 70 |
| muscle weakness | 40 - 70 |
| wiped out after exertion | 0 - 60 |
| worse PDD/PMS | 50 - 60 |
| stiffness | 50 - 60 |
| blurred vision | 50 - 60 |
| night urination | 50 - 60 |
| nausea | 50 - 60 |
| dizziness | 30 - 50 |
| joint aches | 40 - 50 |
| heart rate over 100 | 40 - 50 |
| dry eyes | 30 - 40 |
| dry mouth | 30 - 40 |
| diarrhea | 30 - 40 |
| poor appetite | 30 - 40 |
| cough | 30 - 40 |
| joint swelling | 30 - 40 |
| night sweats | 30 - 40 |
| painful lymph nodes | 30 - 40 |
| rash | 30 - 40 |
Komaroff AL, Buchwald D. Symptoms and signs of chronic fatigue syndrome. Review of Infectious Diseases 1991;13(S1):S8-11.
