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Chronic fatigue and ME/CFS

(Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome)

Chronic fatigue is a common problem. A smaller number of people have severe fatigue that seriously affects their ability to function, including their ability to work and lead a "normal" family life. Chronic fatigue can be related to a variety of infections, autoimmune problems, hormone issues, nervous system and sleep problems, and others. In many cases the body has difficulty with standing upright (orthostatic intolerance) and many patients experience significant trouble with thinking and concentration ("brain fog") as well as other symptoms such as aches, headaches, bowel problems, fevers, difficulty with heat or cold, etc.


Depending on their symptoms, patients with severe exhaustion are sometimes diagnosed as having chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), or ME/CFS. Some doctors may feel that because one cannot, say, run one particular blood test and tell if someone has ME/CFS that it is not a serious illness. This could hardly be further from the truth. There is plenty of evidence that people with ME/CFS have abnormal bodily or cellular problems that are affecting how they feel or their ability to function. Unfortunately, there is no medical subspecialty that has clearly taken ownership of treating ME/CFS, so it is often difficult to find a health care provider who is knowledgeable in treating it.

Dr. Holladay's approach to evaluating fatigue has included taking a detailed history from the start of the illness to the present time and then going over different important aspects of the present illness in detail and performing a detailed physical examination, and considering a variety of factors that affect different patients with severe chronic fatigue. To find out whether appointments are currently available, please call.

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