Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Debilitating Condition if Untreated

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a complex, debilitating, and difficult-to-diagnose illness affecting between 0.3% and 0.5% of the population. Experts at Vithas hospitals in the Valencian Community agree on the need for a multidisciplinary therapeutic approach to effectively address this condition.

Dr. Cristina Medrano, a rheumatologist at Vithas Medimar Alicante Hospital, describes CFS as "a condition characterized by extreme persistent fatigue lasting more than six months, significantly limiting the patient's daily life and often accompanied by concentration problems, memory issues, and dizziness upon standing."

These symptoms are joined by other manifestations such as insomnia, anxiety, depression, digestive and skin disorders, and swelling of lymph nodes in the head and neck.

The diagnosis of CFS presents a clinical challenge, as indicated by Dr. Alejandro Broch, an internal medicine specialist at Vithas Castellón. "It is necessary to first rule out other pathologies with similar symptoms, such as endocrine disorders, autoimmune diseases, sleep disorders, fibromyalgia, or psychiatric problems."

Due to the diversity of affected systems—nervous, immune, cardiopulmonary, among others—and the absence of a specific treatment, Dr. Koen Jerusalem, coordinator of the Internal Medicine Service at Vithas Valencia Turia, emphasizes the importance of a personalized and multidisciplinary treatment focused on the predominant symptoms.

This approach includes the involvement of multiple medical specialties: family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry or clinical psychology, cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, sleep medicine, and physiotherapy, among others. Each contributes from its field to rule out associated causes and establish treatment guidelines tailored to the patient.

In acute episodes, Dr. Juan Carlos Montalvá, medical coordinator at Vithas Alzira Medical Centre, recommends the use of anxiolytics such as duloxetine, along with anti-inflammatories and vitamin complexes. Additionally, he highlights the importance of moderate and consistent physical activity, such as daily walking, to prevent relapses.

Dr. Manuel Valls, coordinator of Internal Medicine at Vithas Valencia Consuelo Hospital, notes the relationship between CFS and fibromyalgia, two diseases sharing numerous symptoms such as fatigue, chronic pain, insomnia, and "brain fog," although with differences in their main manifestation: while fibromyalgia is characterized by musculoskeletal pain, CFS is dominated by incapacitating fatigue.

Meanwhile, Dr. Julián Ruiz Baixauli, from Vithas Valencia 9 de Octubre Hospital, warns about the consequences of a late diagnosis: progressive deterioration in quality of life, inability to perform daily tasks, cognitive problems, and episodes of fainting.