Have i possibly got chronic fatique syndrome?

of course...this is just my opinion...but when I am really having trouble with my CFS...I can not sleep...I am tired and sore and can hardly go...but I also...can barely sleep

Well, both you guys sound just like I've been in the past !
At the moment I'm sleeping virtually all the time. I have difficulty summoning enough energy to stand upright - even when I do get on my feet I tend to have peroiodic "droops" where all my back muscles seem to just lose energy and my shoulders sag. (I usually look for something to lean on.) Things are looking up though - yesterday I managed to stay on my feet for about three hours, and the same again today.
Oh for the days when I used to bemoan the fact that "I only managed to dig thirty yards of ditch today" or fell forty trees, or build not-quite-two cross drains.
But as I was snoozing to the sound of my downstairs neighbours thumping bass music this afternoon, I was sleepily reflecting how much nicer it was to be able to sleep too much and at least wake up with a little bit of energy for a little while, than the "good old days" when I was too tired to even sit in a chair but had horrendous problems trying to sleep...and would even wake up more tired than when I went to sleep ! Eternity itself spent sleeping does not seem to have enough hours to overcome such fatigue. I'd guess this is your situation, Tennessee. In which case you may be glad to know that I know a fair number of people who have been through this, and come out the other side. It can go away.
When I first started suffering from chronic fatigue, I was extremely active with cycling, ski-ing, backpacking, running etc. The first symptoms I noted were a tendency for my body to over or under heat during exercise - I sweated and chilled more drastically. The other tell-tale sign was that I started to take much longer to recover my energy after any activity. But in between these bouts of severe fatigue where I had no energy at all, I had whiles of almost normal energy levels. During which I tried to get as much done as possible, to make up for lost time...boy, that was a mistake.
Eventually as time went on and I kept on trying to ignore my fatigue, it encroached more and more on my life, I became very depressed, and eventually the fatigue was more or less constant and severe, as opposed to episodic.
Nowadays, in retrospect, I would say that my food intolerances had a huge amount to do with the severe "can't move, can't sleep" fatigue. In fact I call this sort of scenario "instant starvation" and usually try to overcome it by resting in bed if neccessary - not trying to sleep, just lying listening to music is as good - then eating a cooked, protein based meal afterwards.
Generally, I find that I will then have a relatively high level of energy for a few hours, until the nutrition wears off.
So why don't I have any energy just now, if I have it sussed, I hear you ask ? ( Good question. )
Because I have Crohn's Disease - which is probably the root cause of my Chronic Fatigue - and when my gut is particularly badly inflamed, it does not absorb nutrients well. Eating makes me ill, and I have to balance the trade-off between improving fatigue and worsening other symptoms.
But that's just me. Lupus, Fibro, MS, and a whole host of other auto-immune disorders can cause severe fatigue, not to mention viruses, infections of almost any sort, thyroid problems etc.
So as Brynn pointed out Charlie, it would be a good idea to see a doctor. IMHO, preferably a rheumatologist (specialist in inflammatory diseases) as they tend to be much better at diagnosing fatigue related disorders. The road to diagnosis I'm afraid is generally long and full of educated idiots. Most doctors are not inclined to consider fatigue a "serious" problem - right, Tennessee ?
Hope this helps....

Hi Ralph,
Well, I'm sure snohare will be glad to reply when she wakes up! LOL!!
But meanwhile, I'll have a go at answering. I don't know that much about it, but I do know that autoimmune diseases frequently behave as relapses and remissions. (Remission means the disease goes away for some time, sometimes mysteriously, sometimes resulting from successful treatment; and when it recurs, it's called a relapse.) So it could be that he's been in a long period of remission. And also the severity of the disease may vary, so that maybe he had severe symptoms many years ago, but now has more managable symptoms. And I also know that sometimes the disease damages the intestines so badly that the intestines, or portions of it, have to be surgically removed. So another explanation might be something like him having surgery which removed so much diseased tissue, that his body was able to overcome any remaining disease (which would then send him into perhaps a long remission). Or yet another explanation, perhaps some great drug has been discovered that works well for him?
Also, there's a VERY active Crohn's Disease forum here at HW. I'm sure you would be welcome to ask them as well

You're welcome, Ralph.
No disrespect intended. I have a tendency towards details, and sometimes, not knowing the knowledge and experience of a member, I present too many!
Yes, snohare did mention that she is going through a "sleeping for days on end" phase. Winters often tend to trigger such, in suceptible individuals. (No offense if you already knew that.)

Aw shucks Ralph ! Thanks ! You know you've got a new friend when you are humbled by someone's concern for you...
I'm not managing to get online everyday at the moment, not least because of brain fog. Saturday morning I felled and dug out a cypress in someone's garden, just to see if I was fit.
Judging by the way I felt later that day, probably not. But my energy levels are rising, v e r y slowly.
BTW, 'fess up. You're calling me "he" because you're always wondering what's happening with the lassie across the street that I said I was interested in, aren't you ? (Of course Brynn wouldn't have read that post.)
Before your jaw drops too far and hits the floor, don't worry, you were right. Sadly, a Valentine's Day planter tub full of flowering crocuses, irises, hyacinths, daffodils etc, were not enough to do the job. Or maybe the accompanying 28 verses of doggerel were overdoing it ? (You could say she was "a verse" to me. )
Ah well, all part of life's rich tapestry. You don't get light without shadows.

Hi Ralph,

I am from the Crohns board and was checking out this site for info on Chronic Fatigue.

Hey Snohare, wassssup!

Brynn actually answered you very well. We have what we call flares and remissions. When the bowels are inflamed or have fistulas (ulcer like sores) we are in a flare. We are treated with meds such as steroids and immunosuppresants and can achieve remission with these meds. When remission cannot be achieved then surgery is the next step. The stats are 75% of people with CD will have surgery in there lifetime. Surgery can also put us into remission. The biggest problem with Crohns is everyone is different. I for instance have only had problems with inflammation and never fistulas. I have had to have surgery to remove 12" of diseased bowel while others have had many surgeries or none at all. It is a very individualistic disease which I think is also why it is so hard to diagnose and treat. I am what is termed surgically induced remission and the docs estimate I will get 3-5 years with relatively mild symptoms. I am on year 3 now and hoping for more.

This is very generic but I hope it helps and I hope your friend is enjoying a long remission.

Thanks linc.
Good advice!
I sure hope Charlie is ok (and not seriously ill), and eventually returns to read it
All best.

Thank you for all your advice everyone!!!!!
I have been thinking about it alot lately and i have come to the decision that it is probably my anxiety and depression that has made me soooo tired. It's been good to have all this support though, thanks!!

Well, I'm with Brynn here... not sure if that's good or bad news... BUT... ongoing depression and anxiety are nothing to
fool around with either so, if symptoms persist longer than say... six weeks or so, go see a doc about it, ok?

And we're here for ya regardless. Hang in there!!

and P.S.
guys are notorius for NOT going to seek out medical help/physicals... at least all the ones immediately surrounding me anyway,
so if it's been awhile since you've actually HAD a physical, they don't take that long to do & maybe consider one???? Ok, I'll quit now.
Don't want to nag.

Oh geeeze...
Imagine my red face... tsk...tsk...tsk... I guess between Brynn & myself, we really are putting
ya'll through some real gender crises' of late! :lol: :lol:

Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake Charlotte
Hope you'll forgive my assumption.

Glad to hear that you'll consider going back if it continues though.
Sometimes we don't take our emotional symptoms seriously enough & I know that
the right dr. can help sort things out and maybe help.


and keep hopeful that things will improve!!

Sorry snohare, if I revealed a secret. It wasn't really meant to be all that humorous. It's just the tone of the messages which followed crack me right up!! Hahaha-aaaaahahaaahaha

To be honest, I originally guessed you might be male. But then there was some reference to female issues, to which you replied in such a comfortable manner, and I just seem to recall that you initiated it. So I then concluded you must be female, and like me, obsessed with science (which is stereotypically not a female interest).

Well, well, well.... Whew, that laugh exhausted me! LOL!
Take care everyone

i dont think you have cronic fatige syndrom i think you are just laying around to much get up and start with a slow walk and time yourself each day till you can inprove to better your time any questions let me know