cronic fatigue

[kl42]

how does a doctor  find out wahts causes cronic fatigue?  what treatments are there for it?  would the virus show up in a blood tests.  is there a cronic fatigue panel?

[J T Junig, MD PhD]

Funny-- I just had a discussion about chronic fatigue syndrome with a colleague only yesterday.  Unfortunately we both agreed that we don't know where the science is at this point.  I remember CFS from 10 yrs ago or so, when the diagnosis seemed to be more talked-about;  I don't know if we are any more enlightened about the disorder now, but back then it was thought to be caused in some people by chronic infection with the epstein barr virus, which causes mononucleosis.  I looked at wikipedia for info about CFS and the virus was not mentioned, so perhaps that is no longer considered part of the syndrome.

It remains, apparently from what I just read, a diagnosis of 'exclusion', meaning that the term is applied when other conditions have been ruled out.  There is not a blood test for CFS, but there are tests for things that can cause chronic fatigue, such as multiple sclerosis.

The predominant opinion is that psychological factors play a role as well, including other psychiatric disorders (depression for example) as well as personality factors (people with CFS tend to be more introverted, for example).  Some patients feel offended when it is suggested that there are psychiatric factors, but they really shouldn't be, as psychiatric factors play into the presentation of virtually every illness to some extent.

Bo

[dave42a]

I dont have a lot of experience with cfs but I think a good conservative approach is to begin some supplementation.  CoenzymeQ10 may be helpful for increased energy, you should consider supplementing with magnesium---many people are deficient and have no idea, fish oils, maybe the amino acids phenylalanine or tyrosine, and an antioxidant program is always a good idea--N-acetyl-cysteine and alpha lipoic acid would be a good start. it can get a little pricey to say the least though.