Symptoms

If your symptoms fit into multiple sub-forums or don’t seem to fit into any of the sub-forums, you can post about them here.

Does minimal activity result in muscular weakness and cognitive exhaustion? Does it take days/weeks to recover? This is the place to discuss post-exertional malaise (PEM), post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE), and other types of crashes. This is also the place to discuss the bone-crushing abnormal exhaustion that can occur outside of crashes.

Many with ME/CFS report a significant degree of muscle soreness (myalgia), nerve pain (neuropathy), or other types of pain. This is the place to discuss any pain — except for nerve pain (neuropathy), which has its own forum called "Peripheral Neuropathy & SFN".

Do you have light sensitivity (photophobia) or sound sensitivity (hyperacusis)? Do you experience sensory overload, seizures, or disturbances of taste/smell/perception? This is the place to discuss symptoms related to the brain (neurological symptoms) — except for brain fog. (Please discuss symptoms related to thinking, reasoning, or brain fog in the "Cognition, Brain fog, and Emotion" forum.)

Do you experience any cognitive dysfunction — which is any dysfunction related to attention, memory, concentration, language, learning, reasoning, or severe "brain fog"? Discuss these symptoms here. During a crash, do you experience irritability, mood swings, anxiety, social anxiety, depression, anhedonia, or lack of emotions? If so, this is the place to discuss such neurological symptoms.

This is the place to discuss insomnia, prolonged sleep, frequent awakening, awakening early, disturbing dreams, non-refreshing sleep, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome.

Peripheral Neuropathy refers to damaged nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord. Small Fiber Neuropathy (SFN) is one type of Peripheral Neuropathy. This is the place to discuss nerve pain, numbness, burning, twitching, crawling sensations, and itching (unrelated to allergies).

Do you have recurrent sore throats, flu-like symptoms, and tender lymph nodes? Do you have reactions to immunizations? Want to discuss allergies or the immune system? This is the place to discuss these symptoms. (Some symptoms similar to allergic reactions are also discussed in the "Mast Cell Activation (MCAS)" forum.)

Do you have hypersensitivity to airborne mold spores, chemicals, or other types of environmental intolerances? Post about them here, including Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). (But hypersensitivity to light or sound is discussed in the "Neurological and Sensory Sensitivity" forum, and allergic reactions are discussed in either the "Immunology, Inflammation, Allergies" forum or the "Mast Cell Activation (MCAS)" forum.)

Problems when you stand or sit up? Discuss the various forms of orthostatic intolerance (OI) found in ME/CFS, including orthostatic hypotension (OH) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). (Other symptoms of dysautonomia are discussed in the "Dysautonomia: Cardiovascular, Respiratory, etc." forum.)

This is the place to discuss autonomic symptoms such as irregular heart beats, poor blood flow, air hunger, difficulty breathing, and difficulty regulating body temperature. You can also discuss any other type of dysautonomia not addressed elsewhere. (Symptoms while standing up are discussed in the "Dysautonomia: Problems Standing, OI, POTS" forum.)

Post about symptoms related to hormones and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. This includes both endocrine (e.g. thyroid, pituitary, adrenal) and reproductive (e.g. estrogen, testosterone, progesterone) hormones. Note that we also have "Thyroid dysfunction" and "Adrenal dysfunction" forums under the "Related Conditions" category, where problems with thyroid hormones and adrenal function can be discussed.

Digestive disturbances are often a large part of ME/CFS. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) refers to regular constipation, gastroparesis, or diarrhea, and can come with nausea or cramps. Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) refers to an excess of bacteria, fungi, or archaea in the small intestine, which normally does not contain such pathogens. Some patients demonstrate low-grade gastroenteritis in an endoscopic exam. Food Intolerance is a general term that refers to any bad reaction from eating food. Some patients seem to have a deficiency of digestive enzymes or stomach acid, leading to malabsorption. Severe ME patients often have problems swallowing food and intestinal paralysis, leading to dehydration or malnutrition. This is also the place to discuss urinary symptoms such as abnormal urinary frequency or bladder dysfunction.

Oily skin, dry skin, generalized skin changes, broken bones, fractures, stiff joints, changes in hair, dental problems, and nail abnormalities. However, problems with collagen and connective tissue disorders should be posted in the "Connective Tissue Disorders: Collagen, EDS, CCI" sub-forum.