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How may chronic fatigue manifest
People with chronic fatigue syndrome feel a simple trip to the grocery store as exhausting as the effort of a marathon. Brain struggles to process all the light, noise and movement.
In the first six months of the illness, there is a big decrease in people's level of functioning followed by a gradual improvement. It is unknown whether the slow improvement is linked to an improvement in or related to the patient's increasing ability to cope with it. In some instances the illness waxes and wanes over a period of years.
For a at least six months manifest impaired memory or concentration, sore throat, tender cervical or axial lymph nodes, muscle and joint pain, new headaches, fatigue lasting 24 hours or more after moderate exercise, sleep disturbance (hypersomnia or insomnia), neuropsychological complaints.
Other commonly observed include abdominal pain, alcohol intolerance, bloating, chronic cough, diarrhea, dizziness, dry eyes or mouth, earaches, irregular heartbeat, jaw pain, morning stiffness, nausea, night sweats, skin sensations, and weight loss. The occurrence frequencies of those vary from 20% to 50% among chronic fatigue patients. |
