Is this CFS

[Ryan7817]

First i have no idea If i have CFS.

About 3 months ago I got sick after eating something, my throat got swollen and i felt sick. After that I have felt sick for about 3 months now. My main symptoms are constant malaise, Runny nose, black under my eyes and burning under my eyes and a general feeling of feeling like i have the flue. Does this sound like CFS? I just got some blood work done but no results yet?

 

[Esther12]

Hi Ryan.

CFS diagnosis is a bit vague, but it generally requires six months of illness. It seems that quite a lot of people go through an extended period of ill health that lasts less than that, and then just recover. At this point I'd just try to live as healthily and relaxed a lifestyle as possible and hope you get better on you own. Good luck with it, and hopefully you won't ever reach the point of needing a CFS diagnosis!

 

[Ryan7817]

Is a runny nose and black under your eyes common symptoms that last threes months?

 

[leaves]

This could also be a (new) allergy/ intolerance. I'd try an elimination diet.

 

[justy]

Is a runny nose and black under your eyes common symptoms that last threes months?

Hi Ryan, i wouldnt say they where specific M.E symptoms. For a specific criteria for M.E/CFS you can look here at the Canadian concensus criteria and see if that fits your experience. http://www.cfids-cab.org/MESA/ccpc.html

 

[Esther12]

Is a runny nose and black under your eyes common symptoms that last threes months?

They don't sound like typical CFS to me.

leaves could be right about it being some allergic reaction?

I had a problem with a runny nose for most of my child-hood, then my bed-room carpet was replaced and it cleared it. Wish we'd done that a decade earlier!

It does seem strange that it started when you ate something - not normal for CFS either. What were you eating?

Sorry not to be of more use.

 

[caledonia]

It does sound like some kind of allergy to me too. Possibly food allergy. The top food allergens are wheat, corn, milk, peanuts, eggs.

 

[slayadragon]

If what you were eating was fish, then I would be more inclined to suggest that this could be (or be related to) CFS.

Some fish has a biotoxin called ciguatoxin in it (from what the fish ate). In theory, this fish is just in certain places, but I suspect that plenty of what gets shipped all around has ciguatoxin in it.

Ciguatera is virtually indistinguishable from CFS. (Ritchie Shoemaker just wrote a paper on this.)

Whether it actually IS CFS is unclear, as of yet.

Best, Lisa

 

[lancelot]

At a minimum, you need both mental AND physical disabling fatigue not relieved by rest or sleep, brain fog/concentration/memory problems, unrefreshing sleep, sleep disturbances(insomnia, hypersomia, frequent wakings, etc), tender lymph nodes, Post Exertional Malaise(PEM) AND Delayed Post Exertional Malaise(DPEM).

 

[Athene]

Ryan,
I just looked for this thread after reading your hair loss thread.

Have you had a proper test for glandular fever? If you live in the UK, you may have only had the useless one on the NHS, which comes up negative unless you do it in the first three weeks of infection.

The dark rings under your eyes are often called allergic shiners, as other people have already mentioned, because some people, especially children, get them as part of their allergic reaction. They result from an acumulation of certain types of toxin and are also typical in patients with liver adn kidney diseases. Since they came along with this illness in your case, I would think tests of these organs could be a good idea. You'd need blood tests to check creatinine, transaminases (GOT and GPT), bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, and a urine test to look for protein in urine and various other things (cannot remember details).

I assume you've had a full blood count? I've seen people with simple iron deficiency anaemia with these panda eyes.