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Chronic fatigue syndrome is often hard to diagnosis for even the most experienced doctors. That’s because it’s symptoms tend to be hard to tell apart from other conditions that cause fatigue, of which there are many. But chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms differ from these other conditions in some important ways.

So by knowing the difference between these symptoms, you stand a better chance of getting your condition diagnosed early, and thus limiting the number of needless tests and useless treatments you have to go through. Here are a few of the differences you should watch out for and an explanation of what chronic fatigue syndrome actually is.

What Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a long-term disease that causes you to feel tired no matter how much sleep you get. Of course, just about any adult knows that always feeling tired is really part of getting older, but chronic fatigue syndrome is a bit more complex than that.

People with chronic fatigue syndrome don’t just feel tired, they are physically incapable of living a normal life because of the extreme fatigue that they feel. But like with other chronic conditions, there isn’t any one disease that is responsible for chronic fatigue syndrome. And doctors believe that CFS is linked to a number of conditions like Epstein-Barr virus. But as yet, there hasn’t been any definitive link between a virus or other disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.

And only around 10% of chronic fatigue syndrome patients have another chronic condition that doctors can actually diagnose. That means that treating chronic fatigue syndrome is difficult, due to the fact that no one is sure what causes it.

And with no real ability to treat the condition, people with chronic fatigue syndrome are left struggling to find a way to live in spite of their fatigue, as well as dealing with their symptoms.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms

The most basic of chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms is obviously chronic fatigue. This is extreme fatigue that isn’t caused by any obvious condition and lasts for longer than a few months. But there is also a range of other symptoms that come with chronic fatigue syndrome:

• Inability to concentrate or remember simple things.
• Insomnia.
• Muscle pain.
• Frequent Headaches.
• Joint pain with swelling.
• Tender lymph nodes.

It’s not an easy condition to self-diagnose, just as it’s not easy for trained doctors to diagnose. But just remember that if you feel like something is really wrong then there is a good chance there is. If your fatigue is seriously limiting the way you live on a daily basis, then you should go to a doctor. Even if your problem isn’t chronic fatigue syndrome, there is probably something wrong that you can begin to address. Listen to your body, it usually knows when something is wrong.

But often the severity of chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms, in particular, comes in cycles, where it is sometimes better and sometimes worse. There may be times when people with chronic fatigue syndrome suddenly feel their symptoms improving, and there may be times when things suddenly get much much worse.

It’s simply part of living with such a difficult condition. When it comes to managing your symptoms, this means that some days will be easier than others. But if you stick with a few simple changes, you may be able to reduce the severity of your symptoms in the long term.

First, make sure you’re getting enough exercise. Obviously, it’s not easy to go to the gym when you’re struggling with chronic fatigue. But if you can just get an extra thirty minutes or so of walking in every day, you’ll find that you probably have a lot more energy than you used to.At the same time, try to eat as healthy a diet as possible.

At the same time, try to eat as healthy a diet as possible. Again, it’s not that easy to do given that eating healthy requires time for both planning ahead and cooking meals. But a little bit of advanced planning and sticking to a preset meal plan will really help you get all the nutrients you need and leave you with a lot more energy.

Finally, there are a number of different medications that are prescribed to help with chronic fatigue syndrome. Some of these are things like acetaminophen which are designed to help deal the muscle aches. And then doctors also prescribe things like anti-seizure medications to help deal with the neurological element of chronic fatigue syndrome.

But there is, of course, no promise that any of these will be effective. Let us know, though, how do you manage your chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms? Let us know in the comments.