Chronic fatigue syndrome, once thought by some doctors to be a psychological problem or even an excuse for malingerers, has been officially recognised as an illness that affects more than a million Americans.
But that hasn't made diagnosing the symptoms any easier.
Fatigue is a warning signal of a variety of diseases and conditions, and persistent feeling of fatigue should never be ignored.
In my case I missed the tell tale signs, until my family doctor suspected that I could be suffering from a condition (ME) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or (CFS) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as it is more widely known, I suffered from this debilitating illness for approx five years and it took half that time for the Doctors to accept their own diagnosis.
My condition was characterised by debilitating exhaustion with no apparent reason.
Eventually, with the help of medication and some sound medical advise I managed to overcome the illness and won through back to good health.
I am not going up against scientific or any medical school of thought of the cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, because of the diversity of symptoms with individual.
I can only relate to my own illness, symptoms, diagnosis and the eventual treatment that worked successfully for me The condition itself is due to a biochemical disturbance within the central nervous system inside the brain and this disturbance is made worse by overdoing things both mentally and physically, Medication was prescribed to correct these complex chemicals within the brain that are disturbed by the illness process.
These medications are called neurotransmitter regulators, or by another name.
'Antidepressants'.
But that is not to suggest that the illness necessarily has anything to do with depression Neurotransmitter regulators are used to treat many other illnesses, such as bladder problems and combating pain.
In the case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome the antidepressant medication only effect one neurotransmitter at a time, and therefore a complete treatment had to be developed to suit my particular condition The second part of the therapy was regulating my activities to enable these neurotransmitter regulators to work effectively.
This would mean sleep and wakening at the same time.
Meals etc and not becoming involved with any one thing for any length of time physical or mental One of the most difficult things that can help or hinder the recovery program is the support of family and friends.
They can accept your illness and work with you, or unfortunately, in some cases they can be too wrapped up with their own lives and are either unaware of what's happening to you, or just don't care.
For a sufferer, this only adds to the frustration, because from my own experience, some days were better than others.
Energy level rise, only to be followed by a day of complete lethargy and 'brain fog'.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers often lose touch with normal life because they are perpetually worn out.
It's like being lost in a fog of despair with no guiding light There's no quick fix, to recovering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and the condition can be as hard on the people around you as the illness itself.
The condition usually impairs normal day-to-day living and many sufferers find it disabling to the degree of being housebound.
Patients and understanding goes a long way in helping sufferers to live through it.