If fatigue is your only symptom, it's impossible to say what could be wrong. Most serious illness will cause fatigue, so it's really no good as a diagnostic marker. The name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was a very unfortunate choice made by inexperienced investigators at the Centers for Disease Control to describe the illness they encountered in the 1980's. It's normally diagnosed by looking at symptoms other than fatigue.

If it's possible to do so, it would be good to see a competent physician who can give you an overall examination to find out if you are seriously ill.

Richie D gave you the best advice, because with CFS they check you for alot of other things before they diagnose you with CFS, which like Richie said is a poor choice of words for the Syndrome. I have been diagnosed with CFS, it is one of several problems I have that go with my Gulf War Illness and they tell me to exercise as well and guess what, I don't have the wind to exercise anymore. I get on the treadmill for 3 minutes and I am zapped. I am trying acupuncture now to see if it helps!

I'm 25, and I know how hard it is to not get to do everything my friends are able to do with their lives. They work, have multiple other activities, and still hang out with friends. I'm happy if I make it through the week working without crashing on the weekend. It's been a long and ongoing process for me to accept the way that my life is different and try to enjoy the things that I do get to do, even if it's just that I have enough energy one weekend to watch a movie or get to have a phone conversation with a friend. It's not easy, though!

I also meant to add . . . I hope you find something that helps you get some energy back and enjoying some of the things you want to do! :-)

I believe their is a common thread in codegirl's post on heartburn, emma's post on fatigue and stormys comment on GWS.Carnitine is essential for the function of the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the "power houses" of the cell. Carnitine plays a critical role in energy production. It transports long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria so they can be oxidized (burned) to produce energy. Carnitine is created from the essential amino acids lysine and methionine. Amino acids are a result of the breakdown of dietary protein. If you lack the digestive enzymes (proteases) to break down proteins, you cannot produce Carnitine.

The definition of a poison is that it kills enzymes. The gulf war veterans were exposed to many toxins that could have targeted these enzymes. If your pancreas is lacking enzymes this would cause many GI upsets.

I'm sorry Emma. I'm also 26 and find it so tough to look at other people are age. I have had so many people tell me to exercise too. You are doing enough activity (exercise) just with the work you are doing. A lot of times when people tell us to exercise, they are thinking 15- 30 minutes of cardio. Exercise to me is stretching, tai chi, yoga, and/or 5 minutes of biking. It sounds like any activity (just being awake) is too much for you since your are coming home completely spent. You do deserve to have a life outside of your work. I would suggest cutting back on some of your work hours or finding a different job (I know this is easier said than done). You probably won't be able to party out late, but you should still be able to do something you enjoy (movie, tv, dinner/coffee outing, hanging out with a friend/family).

I am up to walking 20 minutes on the treadmill and it is helping me get my wind back, I listen to my Mp3 player while I am walking, the music seems to take my mind off of what I am doing and I can walk farther!!

Emma welcome.
I'm sorry to read about your predicament.
I fully encourage you to listen to your body.
I had to learn to listen to my body.
It wasn't easy to learn because I had such expectations and demands.
Meditation in conjunction with slow stretching accompanied with music seemed to help me better listen to my body. I used to do slow stretching on the floor (lead by someone experianced and gentle) and finish with medatative relaxation. Sometimes I'd end up a blubering wreak on the floor but that was OK, it was my inner emotional brain letting out bottled up frustration about my deteriorating health state. Tears are better let out than botled up as I found out. It helped me move on a come to terms with what was happening. Lastly I'd encourage you to find a CFS literate doctor who can go through all the exclusion criteria and testing so that you can have the best possible understanding of whats going on.
Keep in touch with us all. Keep us in the loop. There are a lot of wonderfully experianced and helpful people here.
Al

It's hard finding a CFS literate doctor, most that I go to still want to blame everything on my Fibromyalgia which isn't the case!!!