CFS and ME?

[Willosul]

Hi

What is the difference between CFS and ME?

[Dr Charles Shepherd]

ME and CFS are both syndromes in medical jargon - which simply means a collection of symptoms

There are similarities and differences between the symptoms that are used to define ME (using Ramsay or London Criteria) and CFS (using by Fukuda, Oxford criteria etc)

But we are not in a position to say that there are any clear and consistent pathological abnormalities or investigations (=test results) that can separate the two

Most doctors prefer to use the term CFS (which I do not like - it's rather like describing dementia as a chronic forgetfullness syndrome) and patients prefer ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis)

ME/CFS is often used as a messy compromise to try and bridge the gap between medical and patient opinion

The bottom line is that can choose which term you want to describe your illness - but your doctor may or may not agree with you!