So What are Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms? Is there a COMPLETE Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
symptom list? In this video, I am going to answer those question for you and in the process
share a really vital, potentially life-saving fact with you, that anyone experiencing Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome must keep front of mind.
The symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome include
a long list of symptoms from various bodily systems. It’s important to note here, that
I am not just talking about the symptom of chronic fatigue, but rather the symptoms of
Chronic Fatigue SYNDROME – also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, ME/CFS, Post Viral
Fatigue Syndrome or SEID. So, core symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome
(CFS) of course include fatigue, as you might expect. However, it is not the kind of fatigue
many healthy people experience from time to time, because this fatigue is not just more
severe, but also more pervasive - ongoing. What is unique, is that the fatigue symptom
in CFS is not relieved by rest or sleep, and some patients, even feel worse in the morning
than they did the night before. Even when the fatigue lessens, it doesn’t
actually go away all together, often returning again as soon as there is ANY exertion, either
physical OR mental. This is called post exertional malaise (PEM) and is also referred to as Post-exertional
neuroimmune exhaustion. It doesn’t just mean that the fatigue gets worse, but that
the RANGE OF SYMPTOMS worsen and it usually includes a feeling of malaise as the name
suggests. Some people refer to this as flu-like symptoms, feeling run down, swollen glands,
nausea and so on. As you can see, the list of symptoms for CFS quickly grows.
Other core symptoms include sleep dysfunction and cognitive disturbance.
The sleep dysfunction symptoms in CFS include; not getting to sleep, not sleeping deeply,
as well as waking up unrefreshed or waking up at early hours, sometimes even between
1 and 4 am. Cognitive disturbance, often also called brain
fog, can mean a range of problems including confusion, inability to concentrate and problems
with memory. However, it also includes other NEUROLOGICAL manifestations such as sensitivities
to stimulus like bright lights, smells, noise and even touch.
Another core symptom of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is orthostatic intolerance. This is a worsening
of symptoms upon assuming and maintaining an upright position and primarily includes
rapid heartbeat, palpitations, chest pain, nausea, dizziness and poor blood pressure
regulation. All these core symptoms of chronic fatigue
syndrome can vary in severity and change over time. So not only do symptoms vary amongst
people with ME/CFS, but they also vary for the individual, as time goes by.
So even this core list of CFS symptoms is quite long, but when we look at all the other
CFS symptoms also, the list is really staggering as you can see here:
With the list of ME/CFS symptoms being so long, it’s easy to see why many people feel
like they look like hypochondriacs and sadly are often accused of making the symptoms up.
But together we can change that by sharing the facts with positive advocacy.
Because Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be so confusing, people are often left wondering
what chronic fatigue syndrome is, how it is diagnosed, what are effective treatments and
many more questions. You can subscribe to the youtube channel to ensure you don’t
miss any important new videos that answer these and other questions. Please remember
also to give us a thumbs up below to help spread the word.
Regarding all these CFS symptoms, it’s important to realise that people don’t usually have
ALL of these CFS symptoms and that they may only have some of these symptoms for a period
of time whilst the core symptoms remain. It is quite common for a person with Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome to say “how can I be so unlucky and have so many different things
wrong with me?”. This is often because they don’t realise that all the symptoms are
connected to the syndrome of CFS. Whilst pain and orthostatic symptoms can also be part
of the syndrome, when they are severe they may lead to a concurrent diagnosis of Fibromyalgia
or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome knows as POTS.
There is also a large range of other comorbid or concurrent conditions that are usually
diagnosed separately. These include things like gut dysbiosis, SIBO, hypothyroidism,
auto-immune disease, endometriosis, adrenal fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome and so on.
As we understand more about the nervous system and endocrine dysfunctions of chronic fatigue
syndrome, we can make more connections about how all these conditions are linked.
At the beginning of this video I asked, is there such a thing as a “complete” list
of symptoms for CFS. Chances are that you can see quite a comprehensive list wherever
you are watching this video, and you can also check out the comprehensive CFS symptoms list
on cfsunravelled.com. However, because there are so many secondary dysfunctions that lead
to symptoms, the list really is very extensive and I don’t believe that there will ever
be a ‘complete’ list, because often the connection between the symptom and CFS is
not realised. This also has some important implications, which can potentially be lifesaving.
You see, most people experiencing CFS keep going back to their doctor with new symptoms,
have many more tests and often it results in no additional diagnosis or treatment. This
takes some effort, especially for a chronically ill person and people experiencing CFS often
eventually give up on chasing answers on new symptoms – they conclude – “it’s just
another CFS symptom”. Whilst this is understandable, the danger
of this is that the symptoms could be due to something else, like food poisoning, some
severe infection or some other serious disease. So if symptoms are left unchecked, you may
be foregoing effective or even LIFE-SAVING TREATMENT for another serious condition. So
please make sure that you always report a change in symptoms, or any new symptoms, to
your doctor. Another question this big variety of symptoms
in CFS can raise is whether the illness is real or just a collection of different illnesses,
adding to the difficulties that patients experience. Rest assured, the symptoms are VERY REAL and
they can be quite severe. You can help change how the illness is perceived by letting others
know about the symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by simply sharing this webpage or
video on social media or posting a link or embedding the video on your blog or website.
Hope you leave a comment below, and I’ll see you in the next video.