Five Things to Know About CFS

Five Things You Should Know About CFS
by Amanda Rinkel
May 7th, 2009

I’ve already kicked off International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia Awareness Day on May 12 a little early with my post on Five Things You Should Know About Fibromyalgia, and I’ve returned with more information, but this time about the chronic illness Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Once again, no hilarity, no breaking news stories, just some information I think you should know.

Five Things You Should Know About Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

1. The hallmark of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is fatigue, but it isn’t “normal” fatigue. When a healthy person is tired, they can rest or sleep to relieve fatigue, but a person with CFS cannot. Sleep and rest don’t help and activity can make the exhaustion worse.

2. Up to 75 percent of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome potentially have or have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia as well. That is up to 3 million people.

3. There are 4,000 confirmed abnormalities between a CFS patient and a healthy individual, yet none of these abnormalities have been identified as a cause or as a diagnostic marker.

4. 1-4 million people in the United States have CFS yet only 20 percent have been properly diagnosed with the illness and are receiving the proper treatment.

5. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has been said to be as functionally disabling as Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS, End-stage Renal Disease and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

To learn more check out www.wamcare.org.

Soource: blog.su-spectator.com

Five Things to Know About Fibromyalgia

Five Things You Should Know About Fibromyalgia
by Amanda Rinkel
May 5th, 2009

International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia Awareness Day is next week on May 12th. I’m going to take a break from articles on internet wastes of time, movie reviews and news updates. Instead I’m going to take a moment to highlight these illnesses and the necessity for awareness.

Five Things You Should Know About Fibromyalgia

1. 3-8 million people in the United States have Fibromyalgia and up to 80% are women.

2. Fibromyalgia most commonly hits between the ages of 20-40 years old, at the “prime of life.”

3. It has been nick-named “the pain disease” because of the characteristic wide-spread, migrating body pain patients have. The pain has been described differently by each patient from dull aches to deep bone pain to burning, tearing, singeing, stabbing or shooting. The breadth of pain descriptions is what makes diagnosis difficult.

4. People with Fibromyalgia have cognitive difficulties, such as memory problems and attention issues, that has been nicknamed “Fibro fog” or “brain fog.”

5. Fibromyalgia is considered as functionally disabling as rheumatoid arthritis but is much less accepted and recognized by both the medical establishment, Social Security and the community at large.

To learn more check out www.fmsaware.org.

Soource: blog.su-spectator.com