Do you feel tired, irritable and run-down even after a good night’s rest? Chances are you are suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is a condition that urban Indians are increasingly becoming susceptible to, according to Sushum Sharma, senior consultant, internal medicine, and head of the preventive healthcare programme at Max Healthcare, New Delhi. “If the symptoms of fatigue persist for over two weeks, a person must immediately seek medical attention,” he says.
What are the symptoms?Chronic tiredness or fatigue is described as a condition where people lack energy, feel unwell (doctors call it malaise), get drowsy or sleepy, have poor concentration, find it hard to make even simple or accustomed decisions, and perhaps feel depressed over a period of time. “Quite often, patients with CFS display asocial behaviour and say they do not like the company of friends and want to be alone,” says Sharma, pinpointing symptoms that are akin to depression.
Such symptoms can be a manifestation of underlying medical problems, or even psychological causes, which too can manifest themselves as physical tiredness. Besides medical issues, faulty lifestyles (either too little or too much physical activity, improper sleeping and eating habits or excessive travel) can lead to persistent tiredness. Mental tiredness can show up as headaches, fluctuating blood pressure and, in some cases, generalized pain or body aches. The absence of underlying fever can be a clue, helping to rule out a physical cause.
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Physical tiredness typically results from the overuse (or unaccustomed use) of muscles, which can be overcome simply with sufficient rest. “But when such muscle fatigue persists, it is important to understand the root causes of it,” says Prateek Gupta, consultant, orthopaedics and sports medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi. CFS sufferers typically report pain in different body parts and muscle weakness.
Why is this happening to me?
In a fifth of all CFS sufferers, underlying conditions are the root cause of the tiredness. “As soon as a patient comes in, a routine blood pressure and body temperature test is essential,” says Dr Sharma.
“If a woman in her thirties complains of persistent tiredness, there could be thyroid malfunction; in the case of a woman in her forties, it could be menopausal syndrome,” he adds. For instance, he discovered that one patient with a history of chronic tiredness was running a low-grade fever (98.8-99.4 degrees Fahrenheit), and it emerged that she had a urinary tract infection. “In her case, a course of antibiotics solved what was an ongoing, long-running case of chronic fatigue,” he says.