Hello, I am a 17 year old who was "diagnosed" with CFS nearly one and a half years ago. I say "diagnosed" because I'm being holding on to the hope that it's not Chronic Fatigue at all but something else entirely treatable that my doctor missed. (I finally got an appointment at the Sleep Disorder Clinic, the main doctor there says that a lot of sleeping disorders are misdiagnosed as Chronic Fatigue so...I'm crossing my fingers! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif)

First question, is insomnia a symptom of Chronic Fatigue? I mean, I have often gone days without being able to sleep, the longest was 72 hours. I know that needing to sleep alot is a symptom, but I'm not too sure about insomnia. I can also have the opposite problem and sleep for 24 hours straight without anyone being able to wake me up. Is this a symptom too? Obviously, I know severe fatigue is a symptom, and I definitely have that. And you know that feeling you get when you're getting sick and you're achy all over and cold and you have a sore throat and headache. That pretty much describes a good day for me. Is that also a symptom? I just want to make sure because I feel like the label of "Chronic Fatigue" was just slapped on me because they couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Next question, do any of you guys take sleeping pills? If you do, did you find at all that you had a bad taste in your mouth the next morning that stayed with you all day?

This last question is for women only PLEASE!

Is it normal to get ill when you have your period or would that be a symptom of CFS, or even of something else? What I mean is, that when I have my period I get REALLY, REALLY sick. I mean that I'm throwing up every five seconds as well as having diarreah, and the cramps are so bad they make me scream. (and I'm NOT exagerating.) I went to my doctor about it, and all she did was give me these anti-inflammatory pills which only really sort of help (though not really) with the pain, but not at all with the being sick part. Is this normal? She told me it was...but I guess I just don't trust doctors.

Anyways, sorry for the inquisition. I appreciate your time. Thanks and God bless!
Cath http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Keep your hope. Doctor's can always be wrong darling.

I am a 42 year old woman and I have had CFS since I was about 28 years old.

To answer your question about CFS affecting your sleep..the answer is "yes". I never had a problem sleeping until I came down with CFS. I see a doctor that gives me a drug called "Klonpin" which helps me sleep. You have to be careful with the drug and only take it when I absolutely need it because the drug can be addictive. When my "virus" (what I call the disease) is acting up I can sleep for days if I manage to fall asleep.

I can't answer your female question....sounds terrible though. I do know that when I have really bad periods my virus always acts up really bad.

Keep the faith and know it will get better. I used to be in a wheel chair when this disease first made me sick and now I live a normal life. I come down with the symptoms only when I get run down and they don't last as long as they used to.

Dallas