M.E. can be compared to a Ferrari engine in a Volkswagen Beetle on rims with no tires - lots of desire to move; and you can with much effort - but it takes a great toll on the car. After some general discussions, I will develop this chapter into three sections - common, less common and possible symptoms.

2.** Every person with M.E. or F.M. seems to be affected differently. Persons suffering from either M.E. or F.M. experience symptoms which are individualistic and fluctuate in severity. Some people suffer from none of one specific symptom and more of another particular symptom, while others have more severe symptoms in a particular area. The majority of people have most of the "common symptoms".

3.** You are not the only one with these symptoms. Many people start to feel like they are the only ones who suffer from odd symptoms (eg burning soles of the feet. Over the years, after speaking with many support group members, I have found that there are many people with these same seemingly obscure symptoms.

4. I refer to this illness as CFS/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis , since Canada, Britain, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and most of the industrialized nations use this term. The United States refers to this illness as "Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome" (CFIDS). The term "CFIDS" is used by the largest non-profit organization for M.E. sufferers in the world - the CFIDS Association.

5.** Mental or Physical exertion for M.E. patients makes symptoms worse - eg you walk or think too much, then your throat starts to get sore, your neck glands become tender, and you get "brain fogginess".

6. Sometimes M.E. comes on suddenly after a flu or a stressful event, sometimes the symptoms come on slowly.

7.** Contagious . There have been documented cases of dozens of small epidemics of M.E. in the past. #950105-75) The CFIDS Association believes that "the agent's that trigger CFIDS are transmissible" and "that persons with CFIDS should refrain from donating blood, blood products or organs" M.E. appears difficult to catch and may only be contagious during the first six months. F.M. does not appear to be contagious. #950105-75; #93006-7; #93001.

a** For some reason, the cause of these small epidemics has not been discovered. The risk of becoming infected by association with an M.E. patient seems to be minimal. As the immune system seems to be malfunctioning, and you are not able to fight off other illnesses, the M.E. patient's main concern should be to avoid catching "a bug" from a non-M.E. person. Part of the contagious component is a "predisposition to catching M.E." In other words, because of your genetics, you may be more prone to catch the illness.

8.** Hereditary. There is evidence to suggest that M.E. & F.M. could have a hereditary factor. There are cases of several members of the same family (eg mother & daughter) acquiring M.E. or F.M.

a.** Genetics. #940804-4, #941005-51. A study 95/03 of identical twins is being done in Seattle, looking into the hereditary component of M.E. & F.M.

9.** Immune system. Throughout the disease with M.E., your immune system seems to be malfunctioning. Any illness you get seems to take a lot longer to get over, or the flu that started the M.E. seems to never quite go away. Most research seems to suggest that your immune system is actually over-active with this illness. Your body is fighting its own defences rather than any invading viruses. #93023-14; #92040.

10.** Persistent Viral Infection. #941107. Some psychiatrists have wrongly concluded that M.E. is not an illness but a psychological condition, as there are no signs of a persistent viral infection. #922055. However, Multiple Sclerosis has no evidence of a persistent viral infection, and "M.S. in its early stages is almost identical to the later stages of M.E. affecting nerves and muscles. M.S. is an illness caused by an auto-immune disease". #92055 "There are situations where hyper-sensitivity and immunological processes produce a disease - in fact one of the best examples of that is Rheumatic Fever. We still define Rheumatic Fever as a clinical syndrome. I don't know how many people are aware of that, but it's a time-honoured disease that is still defined as a set of signs and symptoms rather than actually culturing a bacteria or defining an abnormal laboratory finding. Rheumatic Fever is due to an immune response to a streptococcal protein - strep bacteria causes a minimal invasion, the immune system responds, and because the immune system can't differentiate the strep from your own tissue, that immune response then causes damage to your own tissues - an auto-immune disease if you will."

11.** Too many symptoms . When looking at all the symptoms that a patient has, it is important not to look at what has occurred in 100% of the people over 100% of their illness. Symptoms come and go, you need to look at the most common, less common, and possible symptoms. {PO}{This is why doctors say it is so hard to diagnose - there are so many symptoms, all varying in severity. When speaking to your doctor, try to stick to your top 10 symptoms at any particular time.}

a.** I have tried to show which symptoms are associated with M.E. or F.M., or both. After each symptom, if both are mentioned the more "commonly seen in" will be listed first. There is a lot of grey areas between M.E. & F.M. and no listing will fit all patients exactly.

12.Common Symptoms : #92033-14 - 95% of patients have 70% of these symptoms.

a.** Brain function - M.E. is slowed and impeded, especially after minor mental or physical activity. Concentration and the ability of the brain to function, cognitive abilities, feels similar to a moderate hangover with no sleep the previous night. It is very difficult to concentrate. #94027-27

b.** Chronic Fatigue, M.E. & F.M., a symptom found in most debilitating illnesses such as cancer, Lupus, Lyme Disease, AIDS, etc. This symptom, which consists of being very tired, is one of the most common symptoms for both M.E. & FM.

c.** Cold hands & feet - M.E. & F.M., possibly due to reduced oxygen and blood flow.

d.** Colon problems -F.M. & M.E. - #940901- 9

1. **constipation

2.**diarrhea

3.**intestinal cramping

4.**nausea

5.**intestinal gas

6.**Irritable Bowel Syndrome, IBS, is more common with F.M. patients. This condition may be caused by either food allergies, a reduction of water content in the bowel, or reduced muscle tone in the colon since F.M. affects the muscles.

e.** Exercise intolerance - M.E. - weakness lasting more than 24 hours after mild exercise.

f.** Fibromyalgia. This is a common symptom for people with M.E. About 75% of M.E. patients have Fibromyalgia.

g.** Headaches - M.E. & F.M. that are more frequent and different than previous. Medication seems to help a little. Strong pressure behind the eyes or at the very back of the head, like your head is going to explode.

h.** Low-grade fever or chills - M.E., where you are either too hot or too cold, and you actually break out in a sweat. This symptom is common during sleep, producing "night sweats". Sometimes the fever is shown when you use a thermometer.

i.** Muscle and joint pain - F.M. & M.E. A general overall pain where your arms and your legs hurt or are difficult to move and become very painful after short periods of exercise.

j.** Nasal Congestion - M.E., Rhinitis, or Sinusitis.

k.** Over/under sensitivity to drugs - M.E.

l.** Short-term memory loss - M.E. You go upstairs 20 times per day, and then forget what you went up there for. An example would be "I put my pants on this morning, I'm sure I forgot something. In the afternoon I went to the bathroom and I realized what I had forgotten - my underwear."

m.**Sleep disorders - M.E. & F.M. You might have difficulty sleeping, your sleep is light, you wake up several times during the evening, and you don't get restful sleeps. It has been found that M.E. & F.M. sufferers do not get the deep sleep #92002 which is required to rejuvenate the body, even though they may be in bed for 8-12 hours.

1.** Insomnia

2.** Hypersomnia - sleeping too much.

3.** Non-restorative sleep, waking up just as tired, or more tired, than when you went to bed.

4.** Night sweats

5.** Waking up frequently throughout the night

n.** Sore throat - M.E., similar to a medium case of strep throat.

o.** Swollen or tender glands - M.E. in your neck, lymph nodes and underarm.

p.** Weight change - M.E. & F.M. - usually gain.

13.Less Common Symptoms: 80% of patients have 30% of these symptoms:

a.** Allergies - M.E. & F.M. to foods that you were not allergic to before, or chemical allergies such as wool, soaps, or pollutants. Since the body's immune system is not working properly, your ability to fight against normally tolerated substances is reduced.

1.** The allergies may become as severe as M.C.S. - Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

b.** Anxiety attacks - M.E. that come on suddenly for no reason.

c.** Burning skin - F.M. Some people develop burning skin or burning of the soles of their feet.

d.** Bursts of energy - M.E. during part of the day followed by total exhaustion for a longer period of time.

e.** Carpel Tunnel Syndrome - F.M. This appears to be more common in F.M. people, and is caused by painful muscles in your wrists. Usually a hand brace is prescribed to correct the problem. Surgery rarely helps.

f.** Depression - M.E. & F.M. either a type of "wave depression" that comes on for no apparent reason, similar to the effects of hormonal changes in post-partum depression, or a reactive depression that comes from being "sick and tired of being sick and tired".

g.** Dryness of mouth, eyes, or skin - M.E. Studies have shown that the amount of saliva produced by an M.E. patient is reduced, in some cases substantially. Various medications may also cause a reduction in the saliva production. Saliva is necessary in the prevention of cavities. If there is less saliva, your teeth may become softer and you have more dental problems. I am aware of one M.E. patient who had this symptom and was able to receive better dental coverage through GAIN. {PO}{There is also a reduction in overall body fluids, eg drier stools or vaginal fluids. The dryness of eyes could cause problems for persons wearing contact lenses, where the contacts start to "stick to the eye"}.

h.** Eye problems - M.E. & F.M.  Other problems that occur: #950202-5; #940805-25

1.**Reading - you have difficulty reading, similar to holding a book l-inch from your eyes and trying to read for hour.

2.**Blurring of vision

3.**Photophobia - some people have an increase in their symptoms after being exposed to bright lights or sunlight.

4.**Intolerance of moving lights - strobe light effect.

5.**Aching, burning or redness of the eyes.

i.** Handwriting - M.E. Your handwriting seems to be created by another person, or you mix the words in a sentence, or the letters in a word, similar to dyslexia.

j.** Heart palpitations - M.E.

k.** Muscle twitching - F.M. & M.E. - random muscles seem to twitch for no apparent reason #92002 . One form of this is sometimes referred to as "Restless Leg Syndrome". These twitches usually occur during sleep.

l.** Numbness or tingling in extremities - F.M. & M.E.

m.** PMS, M.E. & F.M. seems to show up or get worse for female patients - #91022 Endometriosis may occur more often.

n.** Rashes - M.E. & F.M. with possible severe itching.

o.** Seizures. #91049-7

p.** Shocks - M.E. where you suddenly jump or twitch, or an actual panic attack as you jump away or are startled away from something.

q.** Speech problems - M.E. where you use the wrong word, or mix up words in a sentence, or letters of a word, similar to mild dyslexia.

r.** Swollen or tender lymph nodes - M.E.

s.** Swollen and tender spleen - M.E.

t.** Yeast infection - M.E. - #92002.  Due to the large amounts of antibiotics given by doctors to combat the virus that they think you may have, the intestinal flora in the colon - needed for proper digestion, allergies and stress - is greatly reduced, creating an ideal environment for a yeast infection.

14.Possible Symptoms: 60% of patients have 20% of these symptoms:

a.** Balance and co-ordination - M.E. & F.M. Some people have problems with their balance and co-ordination. This may be one reason why so many people have trouble walking, since it takes so much energy to stay balanced while walking. Movement around obstacles is difficult, eg. people misjudge when to turn around a corner, turn too soon and hit their shoulder on the door jam or corner wall.

**This information was acquired from a CFS sites that offer information.

TL: CFS Info for Family

Intended for personal use only. Subject: File: "CFS-FAM TXT"

PLEASE NOTE:

The areas I highlighted in red pertain to me in particular - so hopefully those who see my page and know me will know that these symptoms are a part of my life and hopefully they will understand me better.

There are other symptoms besides the ones mentioned above. The above ones are the major ones that are usually present, but more and more symptoms seem to be appearing and they can be documented as to their cause. So this symptom list may be the most commonly used one, but it is not the only one.

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