Posted by croy32 on March 4, 2007, at 18:10:48
In reply to Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome real?, posted by Squiggles on March 4, 2007, at 10:15:01
Hi squiggles.
I think the medical consensus now is that CFS is real. It's also called Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or CFIDS. There are now tests (testing for antibodies, testing sedimentation rate) that as a group can point to CFIDS.
I think there probably are still people who refer to it as the Yuppie Flu. That's pretty harmful to a lot of genuinely suffering people.
Affecting the brain: "brain fog" or confusion, memory problems, inability to concentrate, etc. is a major symptom people report. When I was tested for CFS the doc said it affects the limbic system. I'm sorry I don't know exactly what that means, but it seems to have neurological implications.
I was told by my doctor that CFS, hypothyroid, and Depression are very closely linked and overlapping in women. So it does seem like there is an endocrine componenet, as you suggested. Lots of doctors think that CFS and Depression are basically the same disease with CFS being having more intense physical symptoms and Depression having more intense mood symptoms.
But I'm not the best person to tell you about this! Here's the info at the Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/
poster:croy32
thread:738155
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070302/msgs/738334.html