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Chronic fatigue syndrome is a commonly misunderstood disorder. Because of this, patients with CFS are also misunderstood, and this could affect their medical treatment as well as the way they are treated by friends, family, coworkers, employers and medical professionals.

The disorder has been called chronic fatigue syndrome since 1988, but it wasn't until 1994 that CFS research experts agreed to a definition of the disorder: A patient must have severe chronic fatigue lasting at least 6 months and also have 4 or more of these symptoms: problems with short-term memory or concentration, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, muscle pain, multi-joint pain without swelling or redness, headaches unlike those they have had before, unrefreshing sleep, and post-exertional malaise (worsened fatigue with mental or physical exertion) lasting more than 24 hours (www.cdc.gov/cfs/consumers.htm ).

Armed with this definition of chronic fatigue syndrome is, let's discuss 4 misunderstandings about CFS.

Misunderstanding 1

We may think that there was no such thing as CFS before the 1980s, that it's a relatively new malady brought on by pollution or other modern problems. But, according to a 1999 article published in the British Medical Journal, the disorder, which has gone by various names, has been around since the Crimean war (ie, the 1850s).

Misunderstanding 2

We may also believe that people who say they have CFS aren't really sick. In the workplace, coworkers and employers may think they're lazy and are "telling tales" to avoid work. Friends and loved ones may believe they're just faking it to attract attention. Husbands and boyfriends may assume that it's all in their head. Because women are diagnosed with CFS 2 to 4 times as often as men (www.mayoclinic.com/health/chr onic-fatigue-syndrome/DS00395) , some may assume that it's related to that "female problem" that occurs once a month. Unfortunately, even some doctors might look at their patients with a jaundiced eye.

The reality is that CFS makes the person suffering from the disorder feel as if he's come down with the flu, drains his energy, and can linger for years. CFS may occur after an infection, a stressful period of time, or without any apparent cause. The disorder is different for each person, and can be accompanied by a wide range of other problems, including allergies, chronic cough, diarrhea, earache, irregular heartbeat, jaw pain, chills and night sweats, depression, and blurry vision. Symptoms may come and go over time, and

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