Fatigue, tiredness and lack of energy is a very common symptom in patients with FND. Typically people with FND experience fatigue that is a lot worse after they have done a very small amount of activity. Either soon after – or sometimes the next day.

Often despite many more obvious symptoms, many people with FND say that it is the exhaustion and fatigue that really holds them back day to day. Several studies have shown that fatigue is the single most important determinant of quality of life for many people with FND.

Tiredness in this situation can also be thought of as another symptom related to a problem with nervous system functioning.

CFS/ME has been recognised as a genuine illness by National and International Health Organisations around the world

This website is not designed to discuss chronic fatigue syndrome / M.E. in detail.

Fatigue may also occur as part of anxiety or depression, although its important to say that you don’t need to be anxious or depressed to have persistent and severe fatigue. Some people who become depressed develop anhedonia – that means loss of interest of pleasure in things – which can be confused with fatigue sometimes, although they are different things.

Fatigue is also a hallmark of numerous other medical conditions. Its especially important to think about treatable common ones such as:

• Migraine – where it commonly occurs in the build up and afterwards).
• Sleep apnoea – a common sleep condition where people block their airway repeatedly at night. Associated with snoring, weight gain, daytime drowsiness/sleepiness and morning headache.
• Anaemia
• Kidney and Liver problems
• Underactive Thyroid

There is more information at NHS website- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-cfs/

Stories of recovery from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME)

Dr Henrik Vogt is a Norwegian general practitioner with a research interest in functional disorders.

CFS/ME describes persistent and disabling fatigue, usually with many other symptoms such as poor concentration. There are many online personal stories and organisations testifying to how horrendous and longlasting CFS/ME can be.

But patients faced with CFS/ME have often found it hard to find stories of recovery from which they might learn.

Dr Vogts website Recovery Norway – www.recoverynorway.org – aims to publishing stories of improvement which may be helpful to some readers of this website to try to redress the balance.