When patients walk through your door and declare they have “chronic fatigue syndrome” (CFS), they could well be chronically fatigued and need your help, but it is unlikely they fit the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) criteria for CFS, according to Dr Derrick Thompson, a Clinical Associate Professor in the University of Calgary’s Department of Medicine.
“Most patients with complaints of chronic fatigue don’t have CFS, but rather one or often a combination of overlapping sleep disorders, soft tissue pains, allergies, or autonomic nervous system disruptions, such as labile blood pressure, panic attacks, and irritable bowel,” he says.
You can read the rest of this article here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2146574/pdf/canfamphys00088-0180.pdf
Source: Kermode-Scott B. Don’t worry about the label. Diagnose underlying perpetuating factors in chronic fatigue syndrome. Can Fam Physician. 1995 Jun;41:1126-8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2146574/pdf/canfamphys00088-0180.pdf (Full article)