How is it diagnosed?
There are no lab tests for ME, so it is usually a diagnosis of exclusion - your GP will test you for other illnesses first. The main criteria for diagnosis are persistent fatigue which does not improve with rest and is severe enough to limit activity; the symptoms have lasted for at least six months; symptoms are made worse by exercise, and other conditions have been ruled out.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms can include:
* Muscle weakness and pain
* Muscle twitching
* Blurred vision
* Numbness/pins and needles
* Tender swollen lymph nodes, particularly underarms and neck
* Joint pain
* Poor circulation (cold hands and feet)
* Chronic sore throat, often with recurrent flu-like symptoms
* Irritable bowel syndrome
* Sensitivities (to light, touch, food, chemicals, perfume, paint etc.)
* Alteration of taste and smell
* Headaches
* Rashes
* Dryness of mucous membranes (throat, mouth ,eyes)
* Mouth ulcers
* Uncomfortable or frequent urination
* Poor concentration
* 'Foggy' thinking
* Difficulty speaking and choosing words appropriately
* Poor memory
* Interrupted sleep patterns
* Depression
* Mood swings, anxiety
* Feeling 'disoriented'

You may not suffer all of these symptoms, and you may have other symptoms not on this list. However, it is wise not to blame all new symptoms on ME - consult your GP if you have a new and worrying symptom. Also, the severity of symptoms may vary from person to person and, in any one person, from day to day - many people with ME have good and bad days (or bad and not-so-bad!).

What's the cure?
Sadly, there is not yet a cure for ME, but several approaches have been tried with varying degrees of effectiveness. A graded exercise program is often suggested, but it is a controversial approach. Many sufferers report that even fairly light exercise makes their condition worse. My personal belief is that you need regular very gentle exercise to avoid deconditioning, but 'gentle' is definitely the key word. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an approach that helps some understand how their thinking affects their health and wellbeing. But this is also a controversial approach that fosters the view that CFS/ME is an 'all-in-the-head' condition that needs a psychiatric or psychological approach. Painkillers, antibiotics and antidepressants are often prescribed, but these are not long term solutions and can only treat the symptoms, not the cause. Complementary Therapies and Counselling are popular with some sufferers, especially when their condition is not taken seriously by the medical profession.

History of ME
In the past the medical profession answered the question 'what is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis' by suggesting it was an 'all-in-the-mind' condition more related to depression that anything else. But today most experts agree that ME is a distinct illness with physical symptoms. However, ME still remains controversial and many doctors still don't recognise it as a real condition, which often makes getting a diagnosis very difficult.

World Health Organisation classification of ME/CFS in ICD10
Me (as myalgic encephalomyelitis) and PVFS (postviral fatigue syndrome) are both classified as neurological disorders by the World Health Organisation in Section G93.3 of their tenth international classification of diseases (ICD10). CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) is indexed to this classification in the neurology chapter - because the term was not in common use when ICD10 was produced.

The UK government position
Government ministers have repeatedly made it clear that their departments accept the WHO classification of ME/CFS as being neurological. A Department of Health response written by Lord Warner to the Countess of Mar following a House of Lords debate on 22 January 2004 on the subject of classification is available in the parliamentary section of the MEA website at:
http://www.meassociation.org.uk/doh_reply_11_02_04.htm.

The Gibson Inquiry into Research
As part of their presentation to the 2006 Parliamentary Inquiry - 'The Gibson Inquiry' - into research into ME, the ME Association summarised the growing evidence for neurological classification and called for an urgent programme of government-funded research which would help to produce a better understanding of the neurological abnormalities so far described. The full text of both MEA presentations to the Gibson Inquiry is available on the MEA website blog in the April archive.