Symptom Streaks Sinister Significance

Hidden in plain sight, symptoms are often present whether we are in the mood for it or not. Symptoms do not care if you’ve had enough of them. Symptoms do not mind if there’s just a few present or if it’s a full onslaught with either a massive crowd of a bunch of different symptoms or the really stubborn ones screaming for attention.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has a variety of debilitating symptoms outlined on the FM-CFS Canada website (italics added by me), describing it as a

“pathological exhaustion not reversed by rest, no matter how much one has. This situation results in a substantial reduction of previous levels of activity. In order to be clinically diagnosed with CFS, an individual must meet both of the following criteria:

1. clinically evaluated, unexplained persistent or relapsing chronic fatigue that is of new or definite onset, is not the result of ongoing exertion, is not substantially alleviated by rest and results in substantial reduction of previous levels of occupational, educational, social or personal activities; and
2. four or more of the following key symptoms are concurrently present for 6 months or longer:

• substantial impairment in short-term memory or concentration (attention deficit, memory lapses, frequently using the wrong word, spatial disorientation);
• sore throat;
• extreme joint and muscle pain without swelling or redness;
• headaches of a new type, pattern or severity;
• unrefreshing sleep (hypersomnia or insomnia, nightmares);
• painful lymph nodes;
• post-exertional malaise lasting more than 24 hours.”

I am writing today about the impact of one of these symptoms and how I have learned to live a productive life with it. The cool thing about CFS is that the symptoms vary by day, week, month, year. This translates to having better days than others and needing to handle the rough days appropriately. Not only is everyone’s experience with CFS unique to themselves, it is also unique to that person’s life. In this post, I focus on the short-term memory/concentration symptom.