Posted by TENA/DIAMOND on 3/3/2009, 6:20 pm, in reply to "Re: What is ME/CFS? #3"
Pain
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Most (but not all) ME/CFS patients report having some degree of pain. Types of pain include:
Muscle pain
Joint pain
Headaches
Jaw pain (TMJ)
Eye pain
Abdominal pain (usually from irritable bowel syndrome)
Lymph node tenderness
According to Dr. David Bell, the chronic pain of ME/CFS is rarely treated adequately. Since there are so many different symptoms with ME/CFS, pain is often given a low priority. So if pain is one of your worst symptoms, be sure to make that clear to your doctor.
Cognitive Function
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Many patients say impaired cognitive functioning is the worst part of ME/CFS. It can certainly be the most frustrating. The cognitive functioning difficulties ME/CFS patients must cope with include:
Short-term memory loss
Difficulty with concentration
Inability to retain what is read
Word-finding difficulty
Inability to calculate numbers
Slowed comprehension Impaired speech
Inability to keep track of things
Problems with reasoning.
ME/CFS patients have coined the term “brain fog” to describe their cognitive functioning problems. It’s an accurate description because it feels as if your brain is in a thick fog, unable to “see” its surroundings.
For some tips to help you cope with and improve your cognitive functioning, read “Clearing the Fog: Coping with the Cognitive Dysfunction of Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.”
TENA/DIAMOND
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