Chronic Fatigue Syndrome–How It Feels

So we’ve learned about the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. But how do these symptoms feel to those affected by them? How are they experienced? This post will attempt to convey the nature of some the symptoms of CFS in more descriptive language, hopefully giving non-sufferers a better sense of what CFS victims endure.

Fatigue–the dictionary definition of fatigue is “weariness from bodily or mental exertion (noun)” and “to exhaust the strength of (verb)”; the definition of exhaustion is “extreme weakness or fatigue; the total consumption of something (in this case, your physical, mental, and emotional energies) (noun)”. Can you imagine having all of your energy just gone, no reserves? Most healthy people only come close to this after an unusually stressful day or a day full of more physical activity or exertion than they’re used to. And yet, CFS is worse. The fatigue is extreme, severe, bone-deep, and intense. It is often without cause and is not improved with rest or sleep. It is like a heavy and relentless weight holding you down (physical) or a thick fog permeating your body and senses, muffling everything (mental; emotional). Such fatigue makes even the most basic daily activities, such as personal hygiene or eating, a challenge.

Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM)–the dictionary definition of malaise is ” a condition of general bodily weakness; a vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort”, and lethargy is “the quality or state of being listless and unenergetic, dull, sluggish”; we all experience the tiredness that comes after exerting ourselves, but PEM causes you to continue feeling tired and lethargic for longer than you should, based on whatever activity it was that you did, and to even feel increasing exhaustion even though the activity has been stopped; this experience lasts for at least 24 hours after the activity; you just can’t shake the exhaustion; it sticks to you and settles in rather than dissipating as it should

Pain–the muscle and joint pain as well as headaches experienced by CFS sufferers are very similar to that endured by FMS patients, though on a lesser scale than with FMS while still more than the average person; for more on how such pain feels, see the description of FMS pain in the post “Fibromyalgia Syndrome–How It Feels”; for CFS, joint pain seems to be most prominent

Unrefreshing Sleep and Sleep Difficulties–this aspect is fairly straightforward to describe; unrefreshing sleep is when you still feel as tired after sleeping as you did before going to sleep; you do not feel rested or refreshed and it’s as if you didn’t sleep at all; other sleep problems CFS sufferers encounter are difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep and inordinate sleepiness during the day

Cognitive Difficulties (Brain Fog)–the short-term memory, concentration, and complex thinking problems that CFS patients deal with is just like the brain fog (fibro fog) felt by those with FMS, though sometimes more severe in the case of CFS; for a description of brain fog, see the post “Fibromyalgia Syndrome–How It Feels”

Flu-like Symptoms–if you’ve had the flu, than you know what this feels like; I’ve never had the flu, but I know its usual symptoms and any, or even all, of them can afflict a person with CFS; these include achy joints and muscles, fatigue, sore throat, runny nose, headaches, chills, and fever; all of these might occur, yet no flu virus will be found in your body; I find this to be a very odd and unusual symptom (if there is such a thing for sufferers of chronic and uncommon illnesses) and if not for this symptom, I would be convinced that I have CFS rather than FMS, but who knows…

I hope that this post helps healthy persons to better grasp the challenges faced by those with CFS and understand the tangible and real effect it has on a person’s life and abilities. I also hope that those who suffer from chronic fatigue are helped to fight the self-deprecating feelings of uselessness and inadequacy that this symptom often causes.

If you are a chronic fatigue syndrome sufferer, please feel free to share your experiences with and thoughts on the disorder below!