|
|
|
What
are the main symptoms of ME/CFS?
 |
Muscle
fatigue, pain (myalgia) and twitching (fasciculation). |
|
Problems
with short-term memory and concentration. |
|
Clumsiness
and disturbances with balance. |
|
Sleep
disturbance, especially waking unrefreshed. |
|
Alcohol
intolerance. |
|
Constantly
feeling unwell with flu-like symptoms (e.g.
sore throats, enlarged glands, joint pains) and problems with
temperature control. |
|
Some people
with ME/CFS also have irritable bowel symptoms and become more prone to
allergic illnesses. Symptoms
tend to fluctuate from day to day and are usually made worse by undue
physical or mental activity. |
Who
gets ME/CFS?
|
Research
studies suggest that there may be around 250,000 people in the UK with ME/CFS. |
|
All age
groups can be affected although the onset is rare below the age of 7 or over
the age of 60. |
|
The
commonest age of onset is between mid teens and mid forties. |
|
Women are
slightly more at risk than men. |
|
ME/CFS
affects all social classes. |
How does
ME/CFS start?
|
Most
commonly it starts after some form of infection, such as flu, glandular
fever, hepatitis or tonsillitis. |
|
Less
commonly it starts after vaccinations (e.g. hepatitis B), pesticides (e.g.
organophosphate sheep dip) and major stressful events. |
|
However,
sometimes there is no clear precipitating factor. |
What are
the chances of recovering from ME/CFS?
|
Most
people fall into one of four groups:
|
|
People who
manage to return to completely normal health, but this may take a considerable
period of time. |
|
The majority
of people, who tend to follow a fluctuating pattern with both good and bad
periods of health. Relapses or
exacerbations are often precipitated by infections, operations, temperature
extremes or stressful events. |
|
A small but
significant minority of people remain severely affected and may require a great
deal of practical and social support. |
|
Continued
deterioration is unusual. When it
occurs a detailed medical assessment is advisable in order to exclude other
medical problems. |
What
does ME and CFS stand for and what do they mean?
ME (myalgic
encephalopathy)
This was
first described by The Lancet 1956. Myalgic
refers to the muscle symptoms; encephalomyelitis to the brain symptoms.
Encephalopathy also means inflammation in the brain and spinal cord, but
there is very little evidence to support such a link, in ME/CFS.
It now appears that alterations in levels of brain chemicals, hormones
and blood flow provide a more rational explanation.
CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome)
This is a
name currently favoured by the medical profession because it makes no firm
assumption about the cause. Two
major criticisms of CFS as a name are that it fails to reflect the severity of
the illness and is likely to be used as a convenient label for anyone with
unexplained fatigue.
PVFS (post-viral fatigue syndrome)
This
name was introduced during the 1990s as a description for anyone whose illness
could be clearly traced back to viral infection
Or, can we help you:
|
