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CFS; Fatigue - chronic; Immune dysfunction syndrome; Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)
Symptoms of CFS are similar to those of the flu and other common viral infections, and include muscle aches, headache, and extreme fatigue. However, symptoms of CFS last for 6 months or more.
The main symptom of CFS is extreme tiredness (fatigue), which is:
Other symptoms include:
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describes CFS as a distinct disorder with specific symptoms and physical signs, based on ruling out other possible causes.
CFS is diagnosed after your health care provider rules out other possible causes of fatigue, including:
A diagnosis of CFS must include:
There are no specific tests to confirm the diagnosis of CFS. However, there have been reports of CFS patients having abnormal results on the following tests:
Firestein GS, Budd RC, Harris ED Jr., et al., eds. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008.
Engleberg NC. Chronic fatigue syndrome. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2009:chap 131.
Santhouse A, Hotopf M, David AS. Chronic fatigue syndrome. BMJ. 2010;340:c738.
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