•
Drug dependence
•
Autoimmune or immune disorders.
•
Infections.
•
Muscular or neurological diseases
(such as multiple sclerosis).
•
Hypothyroidism.
•
Psychiatric or psychological diseases,
especially depression.
•
Tumours.
A chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis
should include:
•
The absence of other chronic fatigue
causes.
•
At least four of the above-mentioned
specific symptoms.
•
Extreme and persistent fatigue.
Treatment
There is no current cure for chronic fati-
gue syndrome and the objective of the
treatment is to relieve the symptoms. Many
who suffer this disorder experience depres-
sion and other psychological problems that
could improve if treated.
The treatment is a combination of the fo-
llowing:
•
Cognitive-behavioural therapy and
gradual exercise for certain patients.
•
A healthy diet.
•
Sleep management techniques.
•
Drugs to relieve pain, discomfort, and
fever.
•
Anxiety drugs (anxiolytics).
•
Drugs to treat depression (antidepres-
sants).
Chronic fatigue patients are encouraged
to have an active social life. Slight physical
exercise can also be of help.
The recommendations are:
•
Avoid doing too much on days when
you feel very tired.
•
Balance out the time spent in activi-
ties, resting or sleeping.
•
Divide large tasks into smaller and
more manageable tasks.
•
Divide the more challenging tasks
throughout the week.
Techniques for relaxing and reducing stress
can also alleviate chronic pain and fatigue.
Nevertheless, these techniques are not
applied as the main treatment for this syn-
drome.
Prognosis
The long-term prognosis for patients suffe-
ring from chronic fatigue syndrome varies
and it is difficult to predict the onset of the
symptoms. Some patients recover com-
pletely within six months to a year. Other
patients, however, never feel or perform as
they did prior to the onset of the disease.
Studies suggest that there are more proba-
bilities of recovering if the patient is subjec-
ted to intensive rehabilitation.
w e l l - b e i n g
