Too, too tired

Chronic Fatigue is the most common name given to a poorly understood, variably debilitating disorder or disorders of uncertain causation, genuine threat to health. Symptoms of CFS include widespread muscle and joint pain, cognitive difficulties, chronic, often severe mental and physical exhaustion and other characteristic symptoms in a previously healthy and active person. Fatigue is a common symptom in many illnesses, but CFS is a multi-systemic disease and is relatively rare by comparison. Diagnosisrequires a number of features, the most common being severe mental and physical exhaustion which is "unrelieved by rest" and is worsened by exertion. Most diagnostic criteria require that symptoms must be present for at least six months, and all state the symptoms must not be caused by other medical conditions. CFS patients may report additional symptoms, including muscle weakness, cognitive dysfunction, hypersensitivity, orthostatic intolerance, digestive disturbances, depression, poor immune response, and cardiac and respiratory problems.