Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

All,


I am wondering how many people here have CFS. I have always had this sapping fatigue. Sometimes it is more severe than at other times. I have tried to run the cause to ground several times in my life with no real answers. I can remember even as a little girl people or even other children telling me I looked tired.

I have heard researchers are looking at the MLV-related virus called XMRV. I do believe that the CFS has contributed to me becoming MO. I often wonder how much more I could have experienced and accomplished in life if I did not have this disease.

Thanks for any thoughts...

I have not been diagnosed with it but have begun to wonder if I might have it.  I have also been extremely tired for years.  At least going back about 15 years, I think.   I have been to several doctors and had tons of lab work done, one even tested me for Lyme disease, but no one finds a cause for the fatigue.

I have periods when I have more energy than others, but certainly not as much energy as "normal" people seem to have.  I have been diagnosed with depression and doctors usually end up telling me they think the fatigue is a symptom of the depression.  Now, during periods of more severe depression, the fatigue usually is very bad.  But it is bad at other times when the depression is better.

I also feel achy a lot, like when you are just starting to come down with the flu or something.  I will think I must be getting sick but then I don't.  I recently read that that can also be a symptom of CFS.

I get very discouraged by the fatigue.  I have to plan what I'm going to do each day pretty carefully because I know I won't have the energy to do everything I would like to do.  And I feel guilty a lot that I can't get as much stuff done as I think I should be able to do.

My mom has Fibromyalgia.  The CFS is a "sister"condition to that.  She describes the pain in her muscles much like you describe yours.  May want to research them both and the connections.\

Thanks.  With fibromyalgia, aren't there specific spots on the body that hurt?  Maybe I'm thinking of something else but I think it was fibromyalgia that I did look up one time and there were certain spots and a certain number of them had to hurt in order to be diagnosed with that.

There are certain spots that are general to everyone,  10 i think but you dont have to have pain in all 10, not even half if i am thinking correctly.

I worried that I had it, too.  About 3 years ago I got so tired that I could hardly leave the house.  I didn't have the energy to take a shower or get dressed.  It was a chore just walking up the stairs.  It seemed to happen pretty suddenly but I think it just got gradually worse until I just had no energy left at all.
I had every test available, sleep study, pulmonary function, thyroid, you name it.  Nothing definite came out of it.
I had a very malabsorptive WLS in 2002 and I wasn't diligent about supplementing and I believe that contributed to my problem.  I also had chronic, constant diarrhea which took a lot out of me.  I always had intestinal cramping.
I had my revision mainly to help the fatigue.  It took almost a full year but I am a lot better then I was a year ago.  I still don't have a tremendous amount of energy but it is so much better that I am grateful.  
Some things that help are:
I make sure I don't sleep too much.  I found that I felt worse after sleeping 10 hours then I did if I got 7 or 8 hours of sleep.  The more I slept the worse I felt.
I make myself shower and dress every day.  The fact that I can do that is a miracle to me.  A year ago I couldn't force myself to do anything no matter how much I tried.
I make myself do at least 30 minutes of activity a day.  Fortunately I found something I enjoy doing, riding my bike so I look forward to doing it.  I find on days I don't do any activity I feel much more tired.
I go very easy on myself.  I don't over schedule things and give myself permission to not do much.  Everything I accomplish during the day is something I couldn't do a year ago, doing the dishes, doing laundry, cooking a meal.  I feel that if all I do in a day is take a shower, get dressed and ride my bike for 30 minutes I have done a lot.  Anything else if a bonus.
I have some bad days where I worry about going back to the way I was.  Then I remember how, when I finally started to feel better, it began with having one good day, maybe 2 in a row, then I would be fatigued again for several days.  The good days started getting to be more and the bad days less so now when I have a bad day it reminds me how far I have come.  I still have a ways to go, though.
I make sure I get in all my supplements and watch my labs carefully.  I also make sure I get in at least 100 grams of protein.
I hope that you start feeling better.  My biggest fear was that I would never get better, that I would always be housebound and unable to participate in life.

I have also dealt with limited energy over time.

Since losing my weight and consistently exercising- running 5 miles a day- I feel like I have a new lease on life. I am like the Energizer Bunny.

You know, this is just a shot in the dark, but I had the same thing. Lost all my weight (425 to 165), and though I had more energy than I did, I still felt sapped a lot of the time. Nutrition was definitely not the problem. Plenty of all the right stuff. Noticed that I couldn't seem to find my joy anymore.

Anyway, the doctors ran me through every kind of depression med on the market. Some worked for a while, then stalled out. Most didn't work at all. Then I talked to my cousin, who had recently been diagnosed with HYPOActive (Not Hyper) ADD. I had all the symptoms. Lethargy, no intrerest in playing my drums anymore, no joy in writing software ( I am a programmer ). So I asked my doc about this and they put me on a med that is kind of like Riddalin, but without the speedy/jittery side effects. I really just helps focus. It was like night and day. You should ask your doc / psychiatrist (whoever you see). There is a simple written test they can give you to tell if this might be your problem. If I hadn't talked to my cousin, they would still be poking anti-depressants down my throat. Just a thought. May or may not be the case for you.

Much Love,

Grego

 I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue about 21 years ago. 
At times I will be so tired and have so much pain that I can't do anything. 
Other times it seems to go into remission & I am fine. 
Since I have lost weight I have a little more energy but I don't feel like I ever have as much energy as I should. 
I have tried some medications for energy but they make me too jittery.
I've come to just accept the way I am.
Having a healthy diet has helped.  

thank you everyone *****plied.  i also have an energy issue.  And no one seems to know why.  I do have low normal adrenaline ACTH and thyroid, not enough for mediation but apparently enough to feel tired.