Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). In order for a patient to be correctly diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, according to the Center for Disease Control website,

  1. The patient must be clinically evaluated (in person) so that other explanations of the fatigue can be ruled out. There is no test that specifically diagnoses chronic fatigue syndrome. Tests are for confirming or excluding other possible explanations.
  2. The fatigue must be persistent or relapsing for at least 6 months, must have a definite onset (i.e., not lifelong), must not be the result of ongoing exertion or substantially improved by rest, must significantly reduce a patient's normal activities.
  3. Patients must also get four or more of the following symptoms for 6 consecutive months and after the fatigue starts:
    -decreased memory or concentration
    -sore throat
    -tender lymph nodes
    -muscle pain
    -multi-joint pain without swelling or redness
    -headaches
    -unrefreshing sleep
    -feel bad after exertion for more than 24 hours.

The CDC goes on to explain that before a patient is diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, other conditions that may explain the chronic fatigue should be ruled out. And the very first such example that is listed is untreated hypothyroidism. What the CDC means is that patients with symptoms of chronic fatigue might actually be suffering from low thyroid function.

The CDC also says that people can be correctly diagnosed for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome if they have sufficiently treated hypothyroidism. The standard mentioned to document and verify adequate treatment is "normal thyroid-stimulating hormone levels"! That is, normal TSH levels. But we know that many people with normal TSH levels still respond beautifully to T3 therapy for Wilson's Temperature Syndrome and many are also persistently cured. The whole concept behind Wilson's Temperature Syndrome is that people can still be suffering the effects of low thyroid function even though TSH levels are normal (far more people suffer from low thyroid function due to WTS than due to hypothyroidism).

Thus, the CDC say that it's OK to diagnose people with normal thyroid tests as having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, when actually they could be suffering from WTS and respond beautifully to proper T3 therapy. Indeed, many patients diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have responded dramatically well to proper T3 therapy for Wilson's Temperature Syndrome.