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Chronic fatigue syndrome is not an easy disease to diagnose by any means. There is no one official test that can conclusively prove that an individual is suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. Doctors instead say that a diagnosis of CFS is a “diagnosis of exclusion” which means that other conditions must be ruled out in order for a proper diagnosis to be determined. This is done by taking a close look at each one of the symptoms and deciding if they could be connected to chronic fatigue syndrome or not.

When a person comes to visit her doctor and complains of chronic fatigue a doctor will first take a look at the individual’s comprehensive medical history and from there will perform a physical examination of the patient. Two common tests that are often ordered right after the physical exam are blood tests and urine tests because these tests taken together can help rule out other diseases that could be causing the fatigue such as multiple sclerosis, adrenal disorders, thyroid disease, lupus, Lyme disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, HIV and a host of other diseases.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a mysterious disease and it is a form of fatigue that has no apparent explanation. Generally if prolonged fatigue lasts for six months or more and brings with it cognitive related problems such as trouble focusing on tasks or difficulties with short-term memory then chronic fatigue syndrome is likely to be seriously considered as the cause. If a person has suffered with chronic fatigue over a period of six months or more and it is severe and all other types of health conditions have been ruled out then doctors often zero in on CFS.

If a person experiences four or more of the following symptoms then a diagnosis of CFS is generally made. These symptoms include bouts of extreme tiredness that last more than a period of 24 hours after a person has physically or mentally exerted themselves; waking up in the morning feeling unrefreshed; headaches that are more severe then headaches from the past or headaches that have different patterns; pain that occurs in joints that is not accompanied by redness or swelling; pain in muscles; a sore throat; lymph nodes that are tender; and significant difficulties in regards to concentration and/or short-term memory.

There are other tests that doctors send their patients for on occasion to determine whether or not chronic fatigue syndrome is what a patient is experiencing. These tests include erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), IgM/IgG Coxsackie virus B titer, IgM/IgG chlamydia pneumoniae titer, IgM/IgG HHV-6 titer and Natural Killer (NK) cell levels.

The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome still baffles the medical community. Some researchers believe that it is brought on by an immune system that is not working as it should while still others attribute it to a virus. In fact many healthcare practitioners are not even sure that CFS is a real disease but might instead be “a component of a psychological disorder or a symptom of other problems” and could be comparable to the likes of anemia or high blood pressure. 

Tags: chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosed, erythrocyte sedimentation rate

Source: chronic fatigue syndrome

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