What Causes Chronic Fatigue?

What Is Chronic Fatigue?

Experiencing high-stress levels over prolonged periods takes a tremendous toll on your body’s ability to function normally. Prolonged stress also taxes your adrenal glands, which regulate the release of stress hormones. 

Before long, your adrenal glands enter an exhausted state and can’t function properly. These conditions set the stage for chronic fatigue syndrome to take shape. 

Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue

Since stress affects different people in different ways, symptoms of chronic fatigue tend to vary from person to person. Symptoms can also vary in severity from day to day.

Here are a few common symptoms to watch for:

• Headaches
• Random muscle or joint pain
• Sore throat
• Fatigue
• Feeling tired, even after a full night’s sleep
• Swollen lymph nodes along the neck or armpits
• Cognitive difficulties, such as memory or concentration problems
• Physical or mental exertion brings on extreme exhaustion
• Dizziness, especially when going from lying down to sitting or sitting to standing

With no clear cut way to diagnose and treat CFS, traditional treatment approaches can easily miss the mark. Dr. Cutler of Cutler Integrative Medicine takes a holistic, “whole body” approach to diagnosing and treating symptoms. In this way, we provide the type of individualized treatment approach that’s most needed when diagnosing symptoms that look like chronic fatigue. 

Causes of Chronic Fatigue

Chronic fatigue typically manifests as a syndrome or group of symptoms. To date, no known single cause for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) exists. Consequently, it can be difficult to diagnose CFS since several other conditions can produce similar symptoms. 

However, certain conditions do appear to co-occur with chronic fatigue symptoms on a frequent basis, including:

• Hormonal imbalances
• Viral infections
• Trauma (physical or emotional)
• Immune system problems