| As I see It Explainations and Observations of Hidden Disabilities |
| As I See It: A Definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome |
| Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is defined as: a sudden onset of severe fatigue and other symptoms that must last at least 6 months and seriously interfere with a person�s ability to function. Symptoms including: fatigue, memory impairment, headache, aching muscles and joints, disrupted sleep, and worsening of symptoms after exertion. Most people after reading that are like, ok.....soooo???? If you have CFS, you understand and know the definition is true, but is it really? To me, CFS is just a category a patient gets put in for a list of symptoms lasting 6 months or more without any identifiable cause. Sound about right? For many people, getting diagnosed is an answer that opens the door to more questions. It doesn�t give you much more than a feeling of knowing you aren�t alone, that you aren�t crazy, and there is life beyond CFS. That still doesn�t explain what is causing your symptoms, I mean there has to be something causing them, right? That�s the way I felt when I was diagnosed. I was very happy to know I wasn�t doing something wrong that was causing me to be sick, but that didn�t explain what was causing the sickness. I mean, there is no �treatment� for CFS because it isn�t a specific illness. The only treatment for CFS isn�t biological, but psychological. For a lot of people, half the battle is in their head. I know this firsthand. So what about the other half?? How do you treat your body? Or even find out what is wrong with you?? Well, the first step is not ceasing to search for a cause once you have been diagnosed with CFS. It is nice to have a diagnosis, but there is still something in you that isn�t right. SO, I here�s my definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: a collective amount of symptoms lasting 6 months or more who�s cause is undiagnosed. So PLEASE keep looking for a cause to your symptoms, there is something not right!! No matter what your doctor says, if he/she says there is nothing wrong with you and won�t keep looking, find someone else who will!! There you go, my definition of CFS as I see it. |
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