Conner said:Chronic fatigue is usually caused by an illness like Fibromyalgia.  My wife has both and it is very hard to diagnose.  I think sometimes the doctors use these two illnesses as a catch all and don't really take it seriously.

I have to respectfully disagree that Chronic Fatigue is caused by an illness like Fibromyalgia. But I do agree that doctors sometimes lump the two as a catch-all and don't take it seriously.

CFS and FM are two separate diseases (in my experience–I have both and one can flare while the other remits and vice versa. Or they can flare at the same time.) I had CFS for two years before my fibro showed up. They do tend to share a cloud of symptoms and so some doctors say they are the same illness. Other people say they are different illnesses on the spectrum of a larger disorder which Gulf War syndrome and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome are also a part of.

I thought chronic fatigue was not getting enough rest or overworking. I wonder about this too because it seems like a lot of the apparent symptoms are similar to depression. So, I wonder if people are often misdiagnosed.