Medical Questions » Syndrome Questions » Question No. 968
| Question: | I have chronic fatigue syndrome, and wonder what treatment you would prescribe, as many doctors maintain there is nothing that can be done for it. |
| Answer: | Medical science is constantly advancing, discovering more about the body and its interactions with the environment and diseases. Unfortunately, we are a long way from knowing all the answers about what is an extraordinarily complex biochemical machine that can have its equilibrium disturbed by everything from cancer and infection to stress and allergies.
There are no tests that can confirm a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndtome. Everything in the sufferer appears completely normal except for the fact that they are so tired that they cannot perform their normal daily activities. It is therefore a diagnosis of exclusion, and some doctors claim it is purely psychiatric, but after seeing some of my own patients suffer, I am sure that there is something more to it—the question is what?
Because we don' t know what causes chronic fatigue syndrome, we don' t know how to treat it. There are as many theories and treatments as there are doctors, and every alternative therapist from osteopaths to naturopaths seems to claim that they can cure the problem.
I know of nothing that works. The medical press is constantly full of trial results, letters, case reports and anecdotes from doctors, but nothing conclusive has yet come to light. What we do know is that most victims do fully recover, but this may take many years.
Some patients are affected more than others by the condition, not only because they are more tired, but because in desperation they have spent latge amounts of money from their already depleted reserves in trying exotic and expensive cures that ate promised by charlatans. If there was anything that could be proved to work, the medical profession would be delighted to use it, but because the condition eventually cures itself, any treatment that is being used at that time will be credited with the benefits. Antidepressant and antiinflammatory medications seem to be the best options currently available.
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