Other Conditions With Symptoms Similar to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Fatigue can be a symptom of hundreds of medical conditions. All other possible causes of fatigue will be ruled out before Reference chronic fatigue syndrome Opens New Window (CFS) is diagnosed. Exams and tests are used to rule out the most likely causes of fatigue, depending on the person's medical history and symptoms.

Chronic, persistent fatigue may be a symptom of various conditions, including:

• Reference Fibromyalgia Opens New Window. Although fibromyalgia and CFS can have similar symptoms, people who have fibromyalgia tend to have more muscle pain and more specific tender points than people who have CFS. In contrast, the main symptom of CFS is overwhelming fatigue. Also, fibromyalgia is much more common than chronic fatigue syndrome, affecting as many as 5 million people in the United States.^{Reference 1}
• Reference Lyme disease Opens New Window.
• Reference Depression Opens New Window or Reference anxiety Opens New Window.
• Reference Infectious mononucleosis Opens New Window (mono).
• Reference Multiple sclerosis Opens New Window (MS) or Reference myasthenia gravis Opens New Window.
• Reference Anemia Opens New Window.
• Reference Diabetes Opens New Window.
• Reference Insomnia Opens New Window.
• Reference Sleep apnea Opens New Window.
• Reference Hypothyroidism Opens New Window.
• Reference Lupus Opens New Window.
• Reference Rheumatoid arthritis Opens New Window.
• Infectious diseases, such as Reference hepatitis Opens New Window, Reference syphilis Opens New Window, or Reference human immunodeficiency virus Opens New Window (HIV) infection.
• Certain types of cancer (Reference lymphoma Opens New Window, Reference leukemia Opens New Window).
• Neurasthenia, or nervous exhaustion, a disease marked by intense nervous irritability and weakness.
• Multiple chemical sensitivity disorder, a controversial diagnosis of an allergy-like sensitivity to an unusually broad range and number of substances. This condition has not been subjected to rigorous scientific scrutiny, and there is considerable doubt as to whether it actually exists.

Other possible causes of fatigue include:

• Stress.
• Medicine side effects, or medicines changed or added too quickly.
• Alcohol or drug abuse.
• Too little exercise or excessive exercise (overtraining).

Citations

1. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) (2009). Questions and Answers About Fibromyalgia. Available online: http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Fibromyalgia/default.asp.

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