How is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diagnosed?

Most importantly this can all be overwhelming, don’t panic. Breathe deeply, be kind and patient with yourself. Hopefully you don’t have this or anything at all, and some simple sort of vitamin treatment or medicine will help alleviate pesky symptoms. If you do have this or something else, know it’s okay. Know your body is just confused and actually doing all of this in an effort to protect you. Give yourself grace, know your energy is rich, and that your body requires special care because YOU are special. Rest when you need it, plan to slow down before your body does it for you. Hope this helps 💝💝 Happy healing!

You can’t get diagnosed before having experienced symptoms longer than 6 months with a series of ruled out tests. They’ll check diabetes, anemia, hyper or hypotension, brain MRI, thyroid issues, heart scan, for lupus especially if you have rashes, for POTs if you have fainting spells, etc. I’ll say research “PEM” “Orthostatic intolerance” “Brain Fog” and pay attention to whether you’re experiencing bodily pains (& how & where), migraines (how often & what they’re like), and take that to your doctor. Please also don’t waste time with doctors who either keep insisting it’s in your head or the result of extremes depression anxiety, or make you feel they’re not as concerned as you are. Do seek counseling and a phyc eval if you feel it’s useful, because CFS can come in packs with other syndromes or diseases like depression, anxiety, ibs, pots, fibromyalgia, etc.

It’s generally going to come from a series of tests they rule OUT. Much of my blood work and run tests insisted I was healthy. I had a team of 17+ specialist by the time 2021 rolled around. Flags in blood work were positive ANA antibody, commonly indicative of autoimmune disease, and virtually no B-12 or Vitamin D in my system that despite how much vitamins I’d take or alternative methods of ingestion would nottttt hold/absorb. There were a few other less alarming things that came up, but they were discrepancies nonetheless.

I had some sort of flu like cold the winter before 2020 (which I’m still unsure whether or not it’s related so if you can’t pinpoint viral infection still explore your symptoms with your doctor) I lost 20 pounds in one month (Jan to Feb) and would cry before or after very small tasks like trying to shower, brush hair, brush teeth, speaking, list goes on- all because of muscle weakness, low energy, and/or SEVERE pain. Tasks as such would leave me wheezing and physically exhausted as if I’d run a marathon but my oxygen intake would be at 100%. Struggled to make it to university classes. Pulling over often while i was driving because i felt I was skipping gaps of time. Would go 3+ days multiple times a month without being able to eat anything at all, spitting out/up attempted bites. I’d go days on weeks without being able to get out of bed. Needed help for restroom. I’d completely faint/collapse. My ears rang, migraines with intense pressure that would shift around when I did, insomnia, constantly seeing stars, digestive disruptions. Extreme cold intolerance when having a flare up.

It was the same for me, but without the Epstein Barr, we were able to trace it back to a severe viral infection I had in 8th grade. My horrible fatigue and brain fog was misdiagnosed as straight up depression for a long time until I got a sleep study done after college and got a full work up. I was considered “sub clinical” with a lot of things, but I stuck to my guns.

Same here. I completed a viral panel and I was positive for Epstein Barr and a few other Herpes 6 viruses. My Dr said CFS almost always accompanies Epstein Barr.

For me it was a list of criteria, blood work, and pinpointing a trigger. I had mono, then “never fully recovered”, then my labs showed Epstein-Barr I believe it’s called, and then my symptoms matched all the criteria so I got a diagnosis. I suggest doing an internet search on all the possible symptoms, then talk to your doctor(maybe even get a second opinion). For me the biggest symptom was the debilitating fatigue, brain fog, PEM, and inability to exercise or exert from the muscle fatigue and pain. Hope this helps! 💜