Primary Symptoms
What are the characteristic CFS Symptoms
- As the name chronic fatigue syndrome suggests, this illness is accompanied by fatigue. However, it’s not the kind of fatigue we experience after a particularly busy day or week, after a sleepless night or after a single stressful event.
- It’s a severe, incapacitating fatigue that isn’t improved by bed rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity. It’s an all-encompassing fatigue that results in a dramatic decline in both activity level and stamina.
- People with CFS function at a significantly lower level of activity than they were capable of prior to becoming ill. The illness results in a substantial reduction in occupational (work-related), personal, social or educational activities.
- The fatigue of CFS is accompanied by characteristic symptoms lasting at least six months. These symptoms include:
- difficulties with memory and concentration
- problems with sleep
- persistent muscle pain
- joint pain (without redness or swelling)
- headaches including sinus headaches
- tender lymph nodes
- increased malaise (fatigue and sickness) following exertion
- sore throat
Symptoms and their consequences can be severe. CFS can be as disabling as multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, congestive heart failure and similar chronic conditions. Symptom severity varies from patient to patient and may vary over time for an individual patient.