Do you ever feel so tired? So much tiredness that no amount of vacation leaves or weekends can relieve? Like no matter how you *rest,* you just can't stop feeling exhausted?
Well, we're not telling you that you have this condition already—but it's always a good thing to get your timely physical and mental health check-ups—because there's this disease called, "chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)," also known as "myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)" or "systemic exertion intolerance disease (SEID)."
We might have first encountered the term when the Filipino-Argentinian celebrity, Chanty, was diagnosed with the disease, resulting in her indefinite hiatus from being a full-time K-pop idol.
Upon careful research and a bit of reading about the condition, we found out that chronic fatigue syndrome is most commonly experienced by women who are usually in their 40s or 50s—and it's not in any way curable with just bed rest.
Also, take note: CFS is considered to be a physical illness, which is different from experiencing burnout.
What causes chronic fatigue syndrome?
So then we ask: is there a cause or a trigger to chronic fatigue syndrome? According to Healthline, there's no definite cause for it just yet. Some point to viral infection, psychological stress, or a combination of a lot of factors may cause a person to suffer from the disease. With this, Healthline noted that there is a difficulty when diagnosing the condition from a certain individual.
"Infections caused by bacteria, including Coxiella burnetii and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, have also been studied in relation to CFS," Healthline reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention theorized that CFS may be the end stage of multiple conditions. What doctors and researchers know for now is that people with CFS sometimes have weakened immune systems, abnormal hormone levels, and some vitamin deficiencies. However, it is not clear if fighting these symptoms would contribute to the end of CFS in a person's body.
Mayo Clinic notes that there's no single way to diagnose or detect chronic fatigue syndrome from an individual. Its symptoms are similar to numerous other health problems. Thus, it is a must to undergo a number of medical tests before.
What are the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome?
Since it's a challenging thing to diagnose CFS, it's important to understand that symptoms vary per individual. According to Healthline, one of the ways to see a clear diagnosis of CFS is a "significantly reduced ability to perform one's usual daily activities with fatigue for at least six months."
Here are some of the other detected symptoms of CFS:
- Experiencing extreme fatigue after physical or mental activities, also called "post-exertional malaise (PEM)" (Note: This lasts for more than 24 hours after the activity!)
- Feeling unrefreshed after a night’s sleep
- Chronic insomnia, and other sleep problems
- Loss of memory
- Reduced concentration
- Orthostatic intolerance (This is when you experience light-headedness, dizziness, or even fainting just by moving from a lying or seated position to a standing position.)
- Muscle pain
- Headaches
- Multi-join pain without redness or swelling
- Frequent sore throat
- Swollen lymph nodes in your neck and armpits
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How to treat chronic fatigue syndrome?
Sadly, there's no specific cure for chronic fatigue syndrome as we speak. Experts believe that since symptoms and diagnosis for each person with CFS vary, there may be different types of treatment as well for the condition.
But for now, treatments for people with CFS are maintained to manage the disease and to just relieve the symptoms.
People with CFS may encounter remission or when their symptoms disappear. However, these may relapse. These two scenarios can happen as a cycle to a CFS-diagnosed individual.
Amid the efforts to treat CFS, it is still a complex condition for the medical community. The recovery rate is only 5 percent. As of now, some of the general treatments for it would be a change in lifestyle and proper consultation with medical experts.
People with CFS may also acquire depression and anxiety. Joining a support group and continuous therapy is highly advised.