The long-term outlook for patients with CFS is variable and difficult to predict when symptoms first start. Some patients have been reported to completely recover after 6 months to a year. Others may take longer for a complete recovery.

Some patients report never returning to their pre-illness state. Most studies report that patients treated in an extensive rehabilitation program are more likely to recover completely than those patients who don't seek treatment.

• Depression (related both to symptoms and lack of diagnosis)
• Lifestyle restrictions (some people are so fatigued that they are essentially disabled during the course of the illness)
• Side effects and adverse reactions to medication treatments
• Social isolation caused by fatigue

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you experience persistent, severe fatigue, with or without other symptoms of this disorder. Other more serious disorders can cause similar symptoms and should be ruled out.

See also:Chronic fatigue syndrome - resources

Harris ED, Budd RC, Genovese MC, Firestein GS, Sargent JS, Sledge CB. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 7th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2005:525.

Rakel RE, Bope ET. Conn's Current Therapy 2008. 60th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008.