Archive for September, 2009


Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Doctors Spreading Across the Country

Filed Under: Always Tired by Jane — 2 Comments
September 12, 2009

Patients seeking Chronic Fatigue Syndrome doctors are in luck because centers are open around the country, and offices are available to contact via phone or online to help those unable or not wanting to travel. The increased awareness of this chronic and debilitating condition has people seeking answers quicker than the doctors are even able to field the questions. On the other hand the availability of concentrated resources has increased focus on this problem suffered by many Americans.

New Cases Diagnosed Daily in Clinics Across the Country
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome doctors are diagnosing new cases of this fairly common debilitating illness on a daily basis. Long term illnesses such as CFS often drain the vitality of patients for years before finally being diagnosed. What is unfortunate about late diagnoses like these is that while the symptoms can be mitigated, the time and joy lost as a result of being constantly tired can not be recovered.

Here are some of the treatment centers around the country:

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Cleveland, OH
  • Dallas, TX
  • Denver, CO
  • Detroit, MI
  • Fort Worth, TX
  • Norwalk, CT
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Portland, OR
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Raleigh, NC
  • Seattle, WA

Patients Are Scored Based on Typical Known or Suspected Criteria
Patients who do go to see one of the growing number of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome doctors are likely to be asked a series of questions relating to their symptoms in order to “score” the patient relative to a scale of other previously diagnosed patients. By using a scoring system to chart a patient’s symptoms rather than looking for just specific “gotcha” tell-tale signs, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome doctors are able to catch and diagnose more people with the illness. This is a great benefit to patient because a missed diagnosis can mean a decade of misery – as the symptoms of CFS simply do not ever go away without treatment.

Symptoms May Include Pain
Some of the symptoms you might run into are long term joint pain despite limited or no exertion, continuous or frequent low grade fever, frequent sore throat irritation, inability to get restful sleep, amongst other symptoms. Even if you are not experiencing any of these specific issues you may still have an overall feeling of low energy levels. Check yourself against friends in your peer group. Do they seem to be more generally active than you? You may even see it manifested as simply as, “Do your friends appear to smile more often than I do?” The answer to that one question alone can be telling.

Seek More Information or Assistance
That is why it is important to consult with one of the trained Chronic Fatigue Syndrome doctors (online here) that can score your symptoms and help you determine your next course of action. Read the latest testimonials and take our symptoms quiz to help learn whether further consultation might be of benefit to you.

Sufferers Need Not Remain in the Dark About Their Condition
If you find youself tired on a routine basis and it’s simply not changing for the better, maybe it’s time to check the fatigue clinical site for some answers.

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I Feel Tired All the Time – Sound Familiar to You?

Filed Under: Always Tired by Jane — Leave a comment
September 3, 2009

“I feel tired all the time.” That is something I used to say over and over again because it was the honest to God truth: I was exhausted. Although I did not at the time lead all that busy a life I still would have difficulty from waking up tired, to feeling tired and cold all day (see other examples of symptoms), to getting home after work and simply collapsing. That was my life. Something had to give.

Tried Everything But I Feel Tired All the Time Regardless
I tried going to bed earlier. I tried going to bed later. I tried reducing activities. I tried eliminating non-work activities entirely. All of these changes made no impact. I would still get home at the end of work and be completely wiped out and unable to do any more, and I would think, “I feel tired all the time.” I fell behind on housework, yardwork, and all volunteering completely stopped. I would binge and fast – sometimes not able to stop eating, sometimes not be able to eat at all. The circumstances were maddening.

I Was Falling into Depression
Life had become extremely depressing, as if knowing that I feel tired all the time wasn’t enough of a handicap. Because I had withdrawn from many of my normal activities I had also withdrawn from important friends and family, and my mental health suffered. “Life isn’t supposed to be so empty and without vitality,” I would think to myself as I lay on the couch stiff and exhausted and unable to get moving. I just felt myself falling further and further into a hole I seemed less and less able to climb out of every morning.

Finally Work Became Too Much and I Became a Target of Derision
I swear to you that although she would never admit it, my boss I am certain saw my fatigue and depression and took the opportunity to hammer on my psyche. Personal attacks behind my back, bad-mouthing me to other supervisors, complaining to HR about my performance. One day she finally got bold enough to be verbally abusive to my face. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I had had enough.

I Had Had Enough and Wasn’t Going to Take It Anymore
My boss didn’t know it at the time, but like those foolish Japanese who woke a sleeping giant at Pearl Harbor, so too had my boss angered a sleeping giant as well. My anger not only woke me to the fact that my boss was a back stabbing you-know-what, but also I was not living the life I wanted, and definitely not living a life path worth continuing. I was going to fight, be it my boss, my depression, or whatever it was causing me to say “I feel tired all the time.”

Where to Start
I started by trying to find out whether or not I was just getting older, and that “this just was the way it is” or not. I read the testimonials or others similarly suffering. I got information, did some reading, wrote down my symptoms and tracked them. Once I felt like I had some information, I went to my doctor. I honestly had to fight him too. Doctors are very used to treating short term illness and have limited awareness of longer term, “chronic” suffering. That is what taking the time to track symptoms and get further educated so I could educate my doctor what I thought was going on with my body. That was the beginning.

Eight Months Into Recovery
I’m now eight months into recovery following my decision to fight for my life and I’m doing much better. I am very thankful for the information I received and the help I have gotten. Getting diagnosed for my long term chronic symptoms made it possible for the doctors to see through the foggy veil of my day to day symptoms.

If you’re reading this and thinking “I feel tired all the time” yourself. Get information. Get help. I waited a decade (at least). You shouldn’t. Get some free information today – it can help you make a sense of your drifting, listless world.

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Thank Goodness I Don’t Wake Up Feeling Tired Anymore

Filed Under: Always Tired by Jane — Leave a comment
September 2, 2009

“I would wake up feeling tired… every-single-day. It didn’t matter whether I had slept ten hours or three or eight or any other amount. I didn’t know the cause, I didn’t know why I never felt rested and each day I felt less and less able to cope with life’s challenges. Work suffered. Family life suffered. Friendships suffered. It had finally gotten to the point where I just didn’t know why I bothered to get up in the morning anymore. Then one day my boss came in and read me the riot act. I snapped, and I snapped out of it – and it’s a good thing too. Though I was extremely angry at my boss at the time for the harsh, judgemental, and inappropriate language used – that adrenaline rush I felt at being so angry woke me up in a big big way. I have been since focusing on learning the causes of why I was sleep walking through life in the first place.”

Sadly It’s Not an Unfamiliar Tale
That was a story of the beginnings of recovery from a chonic fatigue syndrome sufferer. Sadly, his story is one of many I’ve heard over the last few years. Turns out he had probably missed out (best we can tell) on about a decade of his life – lost due to being unable to escape the daily fatigue that plagued his every move. He had all the classic symptoms: joint pain, low grade fevers, sluggishness, headaches, and all the rest. It wasn’t until someone had actually angered him to the point of violence that he was able to see through the fog that his life had become. He was drowning in a fog caused by the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.

I frequently get asked, “What are the symptoms of chronic fatigue?” to which I inevitably have to answer – it’s a little more complicated than just the symptoms. The symptoms of chronic fatigue in and of themselves aren’t all that dissimilar from having a case of the flu or in some cases akin to depression. Where the difference tends to lie is in the frequency and chronic nature of the effects.

Early Diagnosis Saves Misery and Heartache
Many times the symptoms of chronic fatigue go undiagnosed – or more often than not – mis-diagnosed. That makes it all the more imperative that you see a physician trained to diagnose CFS (or other potential similar illnesses) if you are experiencing significant and continuous symptoms like those I will mention below. Here are a few things to be on the lookout for – but again – bear in mind we’re talking about chronic (or long term, or repetitive, or continuous) issues.

    Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

  • Extreme tiredness without known cause
  • Reduced productivity and or desire to ‘live life fully’
  • Consistent sore or irritated throat
  • Short term memory problems
  • Joint and or muscle pain without cause
  • Waking up feeling tired – more than when you went to bed
  • Constant low grade fever and/or headaches

What’s important to note is that you shouldn’t be experiencing this at all.

If you’re finding that many of these topics above are a part of your daily routine it may be time to start asking more questions about your overall health. You may indeed be experiencing the symptoms of chronic fatigue – or you may be experiencing something entirely different. If you’re waking up feeling tired it’s not a symptom of getting older. There are plenty of older people with plenty of vitality, and you should be among them!

If any of these symptoms are recurring it is important to see specialists who can properly diagnose your particular symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (if any) and get them treated. You don’t have to wake up feeling tired. You don’t have to go through life in a fog. You OWE it to yourself to live and enjoy life. Take a survey and learn more today.

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