Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating disorder characterized by

extreme fatigue or tiredness that doesnt go away with rest and cant be explained by an
underlying medical condition. CFS can also be referred to as myalgic encephalomyelitis
(ME) or systemic exertion intolerance disease (SEID). ( The Healthline Editorial Team.
CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome).) Taking into consideration the fact that CFS cannot
be diagnosed unless it is unable to be explained by another medical condition, this
means that CFS cannot be comorbid to EDS. Regardless of whether or not you possess
all of the required symptoms, a patient with EDS cannot be diagnosed with chronic
fatigue syndrome. In fact, a patient diagnosed with any type of disorder that *could*
cause any sort of fatigue, is no longer eligible for a CFS diagnosis. This is because EDS
on its own, (or most other chronic illnesses) cause chronic fatigue. Although EDS
causes chronic fatigue, it doesnt receive the same respect as a diagnosis of chronic
fatigue syndrome would. Personally I think this is bullshit, because someone dealing
with other disorders or diseases that cause chronic fatigue should make doctor's take
them more seriously. However, doctors often dismiss patients fatigue as a result of their
condition without treating it. Doctors see a patient with EDS who complains of being
cripplingly fatigued, and figure its just a symptom of EDS, and youre just going to have
to deal with it. meanwhile patients who are perfectly fine besides a lasting feeling of
tiredness, can get treated with stimulants, and or antidepressants, to increase energy
and reduce fatigue. According to Alan Hakim and his partners who helped coordinate
this Medical journal, it is their opinion that the literature and diagnostic methods for CFS
and hypermobile EDS are of insufficient strength to reliably differentiate between these
conditions in a given individual. This backs up my claim that the fact that chronic fatigue
syndrome cannot be diagnosed in someone who has already been diagnosed with
EDS, is bullshit. Either they should be allowed to be comorbid, or they should be
treated identically.
According to mayoclinic.org , the fatigue in someone with chronic fatigue
syndrome, may worsen with physical or mental activity, but doesnt improve with rest.
This means that the patient can get more and more tired, but will not feel any relief from
sleeping. The individual could sleep 10, 12, even 14 hours, and still feel exhausted
when they awaken. For these patients, sleeping is not resting. To people who
experience chronic fatigue, seemingly nothing will cure their tiredness. There is no
cure for chronic fatigue, or chronic fatigue syndrome; however people who receive a
diagnosis of CFS, are more likely to receive treatment than those who experience their
chronic fatigue as a symptom or side effect of a pre-existing condition. Even for people
who do have a firm diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, the treatment is still
symptomatic, meaning that it only treats the symptoms. Also, since there is no cure,
chronic fatigue syndrome is something that will most likely be experienced throughout
the patients life.
Just as the patients with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, there is no
definite way to confirm a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. This means that
doctors must rule out other illnesses, disorders, or conditions in order to receive a solid
diagnosis. Considering the fact that doctors must rule out countless numbers of other
illnesses that could be contributing to the patients fatigue, a diagnosis may take an
extremely long period of time, resulting in the patient suffering with their fatigue for even
longer without being treated. This could affect the patient in many different ways.
Chronic Fatigue can send a patient into a state of depression if not treated soon
enough. When extremely fatigued, the patient will slowly begin to lose function to some
of their basic abilities. When fatigued to this degree, it becomes extremely difficult- not
to mention dangerous- to drive or operate heavy machinery. This means the patient is
essentially on house arrest unless they want to take the risk or inconvenience someone
else by being their chauffeur. Chronic Fatigue affects the body in so many different
aspects besides just being tired all the time. It can prohibit us from doing normal,
everyday tasks, and keep us from improving or moving up in our personal or work life.
The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome is unknown, although there are many
theories ranging from viral infections to psychological stress. (Mayo Clinic Staff.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.) many people believe that CFS can be caused by a
combination of factors. People who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome are typically
hypersensitive to what average people would consider normal amounts of activity or
exercise, meaning that even after only 30 minutes of exercise, someone who has CFS
could be wiped out for the rest of the day or even the rest of the week. Chronic fatigue
syndrome could potentially be caused by certain viruses. Viruses that are being
researched are Epstein-Barr virus, human herpes virus six, and mouse leukemia
viruses, however no conclusive results have returned. Another caused of chronic fatigue
syndrome could be immune system malfunctions. People who have been diagnosed
with CFS are typically slightly impaired in terms of how their immune system functions;
however it is unclear if this is a correlation between the two, or if it is even relevant at
all. Hormonal imbalance is have also been suspected to be a trigger of CFS. It has been
documented that people who have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome
sometimes experience abnormal blood levels of hormones produced in the
hypothalamus, pituitary glands, or adrenal glands. But the significance of these
abnormalities is still unknown. (Mayo Clinic Staff)
Many aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome are still a mystery to the medical
community. We are still not sure how CFS is triggered, or what causes this level of
extreme fatigue. Hopefully in the future, patients who experience chronic fatigue- who
are also riddled with other conditions- will be treated in the same way as those who
have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Currently, there is no cure for
chronic fatigue syndrome, however nobody is able to predict what advancements the
medical community will make in the near future. We can only hope.
 Bibliography

Comorbid. Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com,

www.dictionary.com/browse/comorbid?s=t.

Hakim, Alan, et al. Chronic Fatigue in EhlersDanlos SyndromeHypermobile

Type. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C: Seminars in Medical Genetics, 10
Feb. 2017, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajmg.c.31542/full.

Mayo Clinic Staff. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation
for Medical Education and Research, 5 Oct. 2017,
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/diagnosis-treatment/
drc-20360510.

Team, The Healthline Editorial. CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Healthline,

Healthline Media, 22 Aug. 2017, www.healthline.com/health/chronic-fatigue-syndrome.
 Reflection

During the process of writing this essay, I realized that when I write about
something that is relevant to me, or something that interests me, I write significantly
faster. This might result in more typos, but nothing that cant be fixed. When I write with
passion my pieces are much more in depth and captivating. I find it much easier to write
a longer length of essay when the topic is something that I care about.
Writing on a non-fiction topic requires much more research and precision than
fiction writing does. This required much more precision in order to insure all of my
statements were correct. There is more pressure when writing nonfiction, because
people will take what you say as fact rather than opinion. The writer has to be very
careful as to not include any opinions, or if they do, they must state that it is their own
opinion, not fact.