Common symptoms in addition to fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalitis (CFS/ME) (taken from National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines Quick Reference Guide, Box 1, page 64)
| Symptom | Notes |
|---|---|
| Difficulty sleeping | Eg, insomnia, hypersomnia, unrefreshing sleep, disturbed sleep–wake cycle |
| Muscle and/or joint pain | multisite and without evidence of inflammation |
| Headaches | |
| Painful lymph nodes | without pathological enlargement |
| Sore throat | |
| Cognitive dysfunction | Eg, difficulty thinking, inability to concentrate, impairment of short-term memory, and difficulties with word-finding, planning/ organising thoughts and information processing |
| Physical or mental exertion makes symptoms worse | |
| General malaise or ‘flu-like’ symptoms | |
| Dizziness and/or nausea | |
| Palpitations | In the absence of identified cardiac pathology |