Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a syndrome in which you always feel tired, sore, and sick, it is very hard to treat this kind of disease. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a fairly common illness among people in North America and is also known as CFS. CFS is mainly caused after a person has gone through a high period of stress. Katharine, Duchess of Kent and U.S. speed skater Amy Peterson are a couple celebrities who suffer from CFS. Sometimes CFS is confused with Fibromyalgia because they have many of the same symptoms. It is unknown who discovered this disease but we do know it has been around for centuries.

No one has discovered what causes CFS exactly, there are ideas but there is still a lot of research and tests being done on this disease. For most people CFS begins after going through a period of high stress or overcoming a minor illness. Doctors have came up with some theories or ideas of what causes CFS; they are as follows:

-Brain Abnormalities

-Genetic Factors

-Hyper Reactive Immune System

-Viral or other Infectious Agents

-Psychiatric or Emotional Conditions

When you have CFS there are many symptoms that you can carry with you off and on for a period of more than 6 months. The basic most common symptoms are fatigue, flu symptoms, and weakness. There are also other symptoms such as:

-Feeling Discomfort after physical activities

-Headaches that are unusual and more intensity

-Tender lymph nodes

-Sore throat

-Muscle pain

-Aches and pains in more than 7 joints that are swollen or red

-Concentration or memory problems

-Feeling tired even after sleeping

So far, no one has discovered a definite cure for this illness but there are treatments that can be used to help treat the symptoms. Firstly, talk to your doctor or health care provider, they can set up a diet and/or exercise routine that you can follow. Medications can be used to help relieve your symptoms and make you feel better for a while. Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs or Ibuprofen (Advil, Aleve, or Motrin) are usually the drugs provided to people who have CFS. Some people often say they have found relief by getting massages, acupuncture, and occasional trips to the chiropractor's office. If you don't like to spend money, a free method of treatment is physical exercise. Nevertheless, be careful physical exercise can also worsen your symptoms if you don't talk to your doctor before hand to set up a personal plan that works for you. Antidepressant pills are sometimes used to help treat some people with CFS, overall there is no cure that has 100% effectiveness for this illness you have to find the one that treats you the best.

Learning how to pace yourself and manage emotional and physical stress is very important. Doing physical exercise can make you feel better physically and emotionally and help you cope with this illness. Exercises can prevent aches in your joints and muscles and give you more energy. Doing Yoga, self-hypnosis, or stretching are some methods that seem to help the best to cope with CFS. Doing non-physical things like using Dietary Supplements or Herbal Remedies can make things worse for yourself. However, antidepressants can occasionally improve sleeping because they make you tired they also help to relieve some pain and suffering in people who have CFS. Some normal symptoms of dealing with CFS are feeling cranky, sad, angry, and frustrated. Many people find that CFS can cause at least some type of psychological stress or depression because it is difficult