Chronic fatigue syndrome can completely be the result of prolonged stress without a way to restore energy. People with this syndrome always feel fatigued for a long time, lethargy, impaired memory, numb limbs, sleep disorders that make the whole body seem like there is no strength left. CFS causes many serious effects on a person’s quality of life.
What is chronic fatigue syndrome?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a term that has been used a lot in recent years to describe fatigue and weakness lasting more than 6 months with many other unusual problems. undefined reason . These people always feel sluggish, exhausted, aching muscles, have sleep problems leading to both physical and mental decline.
Chronic fatigue syndrome makes patients feel exhausted all the time
CFS is also known by many other names, such as chronic fatigue syndrome or myositis, and is 4 times more common in women than in men. The characteristic of this condition is that the patient always feels tired even after rest, but the specific cause cannot be determined related to physiological or psychological problems.
Statistics show that up to 25% of the population is thought to have chronic fatigue syndrome but in reality only 0.5% is considered to qualify for manifestations of CFS because of the wide range of symptoms that can confound chaos. Because they cannot be diagnosed and treated, these people always have to live in a state of fatigue and lethargy, causing serious mental decline.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is thought to be less common in children and more common in adolescents, working adults, and people between the ages of 25 and 45. However, if chronic fatigue syndrome occurs in children it is recommended that is related to a severe cold or flu or some similar condition.
Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome tends to have a sudden onset, especially after the person has experienced a psychological shock or prolonged stress. The symptoms of CFS are also very easy to confuse with some other diseases, even being suspected of being fake because they always “seemed” to be a healthy person before. This condition can last for several weeks, months, or even years.
CFS makes the patient drowsy, sleepy, want to sleep but can’t sleep
Some typical symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome include
- Always feel tired, exhausted as if there is no energy left. It’s often natural to feel tired after an active day, but for someone with CFS, the feeling of burnout can’t be so severe that they no longer want to go to school or work.
- Their weakness and fatigue did not improve even after they had rested a lot
- Sleep disturbance occurs in 80% of CFS patients, although they are very tired, they cannot fall asleep or wake up quickly, do not sleep deeply, sleep is uncomfortable and may be accompanied by diffuse pain.
- Memory impairment or hazy memory is also a common manifestation of chronic fatigue syndrome. The patient cannot remember clearly what happened even yesterday, even short-term memory loss
- Poor concentration, always in a vague, absent-minded state, causing the quality of study or work to go down
- Have physical symptoms such as high fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck and armpits, sore throat discharge or other problems in the upper respiratory tract
- Feeling weak, sore muscles and joints but no exact cause can be found, no signs of swelling and no impact
- Feeling of chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue
- Chronic fatigue syndrome can cause night sweats, chills, and extreme sensitivity to light.
- Rapid mood swings, feeling negative, tired, excitable, impulsive
- Eating poorly, anorexia makes the body more and more weak, losing weight in a short time
- Pain and fatigue may increase when the patient is in a standing position. This is thought to be because CFS is orthostatic intolerance, leading to reduced blood circulation when standing upright, so the patient will be more tired and numb than when lying down.
Initially, the manifestations of chronic fatigue syndrome were thought to be related to viral infections but were judged to be incorrect. These people even went to the hospital for a bone and joint examination, but could not accurately diagnose what condition they were experiencing, which made themselves continue to endure pain and fatigue every day, making them more and more debilitated. more quickly.
Causes of chronic fatigue syndrome
In fact, although it has been studied and mentioned since 1988, CFS is still very vague in the process of diagnosing the exact cause. According to experts, chronic fatigue syndrome can be a direct result of long-term stress. Because of the nature of stress, it often leads to fatigue, exhaustion, and depression about everything.
Prolonged stress is one of the causes directly related to chronic fatigue syndrome
Similarly, studies have also been done to demonstrate that the cause of chronic fatigue is not related to infectious factors, hormonal disorders, immune system deficiency, allergies, nor is it related to chronic fatigue. to pathogenic viruses (including Epstein-Barr, Lyme, Candida or Cytomegalovirus). Mental disorders have also been shown to be unrelated to this condition.
After eliminating these factors, chronic fatigue syndrome is thought to be related to the following factors
- Age: middle-aged women are identified as the most at-risk population
- Prolonged stress: CFS is purely a consequence of long-term stress that is not relieved.
- Genetics: Some studies show that if someone in the family has psychological problems such as depression, anxiety disorder, the likelihood of chronic fatigue syndrome in these people will be higher.
- Health conditions: Physical problems are not the direct cause but do increase the risk of CFS in many people. For example, people with a weak immune system, cardiovascular disease, anemia, other incurable diseases or a certain medical condition for a long time.
- Psychological factors: experiencing a sudden shock or living in a state of mental or physical violence for a long time is also thought to be involved.
A study conducted showed that many patients who had been cured of CFS but relapsed after being infected with Covid-19 led to persistent symptoms that were longer and more difficult to treat than before. This is thought to be due to organs being damaged after a viral attack or related to treatment or to post-traumatic stress disorder.
In general, many issues related to chronic fatigue syndrome are still being studied and clarified. However, it can be affirmed that chronic stress is one of the main problems directly related to CFS. This also helps significantly in the treatment process, improving the condition in many patients.
Effects of chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome seriously affects both mentally, physically and an individual’s entire life. When the body is tired as if there is no strength left, anything can not bring good results. The quality of work and study is reduced because the body does not have enough alertness to perceive and complete the work.
Even resting can’t make people with CFS feel better, making them extremely negative, irritable, and out of themselves. The feeling of body aches, fatigue but unable to sleep makes the patient almost no longer interested in anything else, all day indifferent, as absent-minded as a lost soul. Driving or operating machinery is also dangerous for them because they cannot concentrate.
Chronic fatigue syndrome severely reduces the quality of life of each person
On the other hand, people with chronic fatigue syndrome are also suspected, diagnosed as “pseudo-disease syndrome”, thinking that they are pretending to be in pain or illness because they cannot find the exact cause of their symptoms. this evidence. This can lower self-esteem and make the person feel more negative, depressed, and hopeless.
On the other hand, when a person always has to endure pain, fatigue, discomfort for a long time without knowing why, it will make them more depressed. Depression, anxiety, and a serious decline in health are among the problems most visible in people with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome
With that said, diagnosing chronic fatigue syndrome isn’t easy. Many factors need to be considered, such as medical and psychological history, and a full range of physical tests as usual to assess to rule out the risk associated with other health problems.
Multiple tests are needed to make the most accurate diagnosis of CFS
Specifically, some of the tests indicated in the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome include
- Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) test
- BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) test to check the nitrogen content in Urea to assess liver function
- Blood and urine creatinine test
- Thyroid index test TSH
- Chest X-ray, EEG
- Take a sleep quality survey
- Tests to check for adrenal insufficiency
- Electroneuroradiation test
- Antinuclear antibody test
- VNS . stress level test
- Heavy metal testing
In general, depending on the patient’s condition, the doctor will assign appropriate tests to ensure the right diagnosis of the right person, the right disease, and the right object. Misdiagnosis will lead to incorrect treatment and many other dangerous consequences, so it should be extremely cautious.
According to the US Centers for Control and Prevention (CDC) has also provided “standard” characteristics to identify chronic fatigue syndrome. Accordingly, if a person has at least 4/8 of the following symptoms for a period of at least 6 consecutive months that are not related to exercise, then CFS may be present. Include
- Inattentive and forgetful thoughts
- Sore throat
- Swollen lymph nodes in the armpit or neck
- Sore muscles
- Joint pain, stiffness but no swelling, redness or heat
- Diffuse dizziness headache
- Can sleep but still tired, feeling sleepy
- Fatigue that doesn’t go away even with rest
Directions for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome
Because the causes of chronic fatigue syndrome are still one of the great unknowns, treatment is still quite complicated. Some people may even need maintenance treatment for 2-3 years to fully recover. A healthy lifestyle, proper rest, and dealing with stress are said to have caused mental and physical decline for each person.
Re-establishing the immune system
Chronic fatigue syndrome is suspected to be related to a weakening of the immune system that makes organs less functional, mentally less productive, so measures to rebuild the immune system are also effective. be paid attention to. In fact, it is clear that the body and mind also have a strong relationship, when the body is healthier, the spirit is also enhanced, able to resist other harmful agents.
Purifying the body, improving the immune system can bring many benefits to patients
To rebuild the immune system, specialists will take measures to help stimulate the work of the adrenal glands, thyroid and gonads. These immune system rebuilding mechanisms are based on homeopathic principles, but currently only a few hospitals apply these therapies.
In fact, we ourselves can also take measures to rebuild and improve the body’s immune system, such as:
- Using healthy foods to help detox the body such as fruits, green vegetables, nuts… Priority should be given to adding healthy protein groups from fish, lean meat or nuts, increasing fiber instead of foods. greasy products, fried many times with a lot of fat
- Eliminate alcohol, tobacco, stimulants and replace with juices, filtered water
- Maintain a daily exercise routine, especially in the morning
- Get enough rest, balance daily activities, ensure enough sleep
Medical treatment
If the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome is related to an underlying medical condition, then the root cause needs to be addressed to restore energy to the entire body. Some drugs or other medical treatments will be prescribed to solve this condition, but it needs to be prescribed after a professional examination by a doctor.
In general, the use of drugs cannot be accurately determined because it depends on the problem that the patient is having, but most of them are drug classes to improve the symptoms of headaches, difficulty sleeping, depression. memory or diffuse pain. Specifically, some commonly prescribed medications include:
Sedatives, sleep aids
- Vitamins supplement micronutrients, support nerves, improve memory
- If there is pain, muscle swelling will be indicated to use pain relievers, reduce inflammation to improve, such as pregabalin, duloxetine, amitriptyline or gabapentin
- Antidepressants are also prescribed if the patient shows signs of low mood, depression or other psychological problems.
- The doctor may also assign the patient to participate in physical therapy to improve muscle pain or stiffness
- Psychological care
Psychological care is an important area needed for people with chronic fatigue syndrome, especially if chronic stress is involved. On the other hand, exhaustion also makes the patient’s mental state become negative, tired and lowers energy even more. Therefore, psychotherapy, restoring positive spirits is also an indispensable area.
The main goal of psychotherapy is to help patients understand their own problems and find ways to change their negative thoughts. Listening to and resolving frustrations that cause the person to fall into psychological stress, such as work pressure, study pressure, excessive worries about the main health condition is the core requirement to be resolved.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is evaluated to bring the best results in changing the patient’s perception and behavior about themselves. Negative emotions, depression, mental breakdown are gradually replaced by more positive, optimistic thoughts. When the patient himself sees his own problems, changes his perspective, and directs himself to the positive, he will automatically have a way to pull himself out of fatigue.
On the other hand, psychological care can also help in improving sleep quality, relaxing the body, regaining balance to increase quality of life. In general, a healthy, positive mind plays a big part in overcoming chronic fatigue syndrome.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is still being studied to find the root of the problem and have the most appropriate treatment and remedy. Anyone can fall into this situation, but a healthy lifestyle, eliminating stress, optimism and a scientific lifestyle can completely help you limit the risk of getting the disease CFS.
