Question:
I hope that since this syndrome frequently strikes grad students (and
since this group doesn't get much traffic), I won't be flamed for not
putting this in whatever med groups exist in the internet.
Anyway, has anyone been diagnosed with CFS? What were/are your symptoms,
and how was it detected?
Or for that matter, has anyone experienced unusual fatigue which was
attributed to another cause?
Answer:
For you tired grad students out there (I guess that is redundant):
CFS == Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
CFIDS == Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome
There is a website that is primarily a support group for CFIDS
sufferers, alt.med.cfs, and a lot of the people seem to be grad
students. Lots of good advice and support for coping. There is also a
listserv which has some references; the moderator of the list, Roger
Burns, follows the news group, which also posts to the listserver.
There are some "official" ways of diagnosing CFS (as in eliminating
everything else), but since fatigue is a symptom of so many other things
it is tricky, and a lot of doctors apparently just "don't believe in"
CFS.
My sister has had CFS since she was 15 (now in 30's). Initially
diagnosed as "some sort of mononucleosis," finally got the CFS
diagnosis in the early 80's, just after she finished her Ph.D.
It comes and goes for her, with the most obvious symptoms other than
debilitating fatigue being swollen lymph glands, swollen liver, &
impaired liver function.
But the symptoms vary so much from one person to another that
it's really tricky. For almost all CFS sufferers, stress triggers it,
and physical stress is the most drastic trigger; whereas exercise is
suggested for depression and other conditions that can cause fatigue, it
is *not* recommended for CFS patients. Many people with CFS that have
started feeling better and tried to resume their previous level of
activity have had relapses.
There's a lot of misinformation out there about CFS, so
following the alt.med.cfs group for a while is a good idea if you think
you might have it....they are a nice bunch of people. Flames are
actively suppressed, and support is freely given. There is talk of
re-naming the group, but I haven't followed it for a while; the alt.
name is still in my .newsrc.
Depression is not a cause of "official" CFS, though it may be
caused *by* the condition, so that awful malaise that grad students seem
to feel may not be CFS after all....
