Can ME/CFS fatigue be localized?

[Dmytro]

Hello everyone.

I have a (hopefully) short question on ME/CFS diagnosis. I’ve been sick for 7 months now and I have no diagnosis yet, probably because my case is somewhat atypical. Although to me ME/CFS still looks like the most probable explanation.

So, the question is: can ME/CFS fatigue be localized in specific parts of the body? To the point that it is hard to move some limbs in some directions meaning that some muscles are constantly fatigued while others are not? In my case it's hard for me to walk (fatigued legs) but when I sit I feel absolutely no fatigue in wiggling my foot from side to side, for example I find myself doing this involuntarily when listening to music. The pretty similar thing is with my arms--I feel fatigue when moving them in some directions while not others, which seems to me that only some arm muscles are affected.

I think I've read that ME/CFS fatigue is usually more immense, generalized, can be felt everywhere, so I'm curious is someone here with ME/CFS (or maybe someone else you know with ME/CFS) has the similar experience?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Apo Sci]

Are the areas that are affected either twitching or inflammed and tender?

 

[Dmytro]

Are the areas that are affected either twitching or inflammed and tender?

Well, I am having slight twitching during rest but it can happen everywhere (maybe except for the head). No tenderness or inflammation as far as I can feel.

 

[Apo Sci]

Generalized twitching that isn't explainable from some other cause can be an indication of early ME as a manifestation of the body fighting to kill virally infected cells with apoptosis. You can get a nagalase blood test and compare the level to normal. If you do, please report the level. High blood nagalase is due to either viral infection or cancer.

 

[Dmytro]

Generalized twitching that isn't explainable from some other cause can be an indication of early ME as a manifestation of the body fighting to kill virally infected cells with apoptosis. You can get a nagalase blood test and compare the level to normal. If you do, please report the level. High blood nagalase is due to either viral infection or cancer.

Thanks for the suggestion. But, I just checked, it seems there is no such test in Ukraine where I live unfortunately.

 

[Tammy7]

So, the question is: can ME/CFS fatigue be localized in specific parts of the body? To the point that it is hard to move some limbs in some directions meaning that some muscles are constantly fatigued while others are not?

From my experience (I've had cfs/me for 36 yrs), I would say yes.

 

[Apo Sci]

I would say yes also. I think ME is the result of multiple viral DNA infections so as they spread they will affect different parts of the body at different times. At first I had gagging and twitching in my upper arms, then chest stabbing pains that improved with time. I felt it at points of contact due to inflammation (hat, feet).

 

[Creekside]

My (vague) theory of ME is that a lot of the symptoms of due to neural malfunctioning due to changes in the brain's immune cells (glial). If that's true, then it's reasonable for some neural pathways to be affected without all being affected. So, your brain could be misprocessing signals from your main leg muscles, interpreting it as "I'm too tired to move", while signal from minor muscle groups are processed and interpreted normally.


While it may feel like your muscles are too weak to work, it could just be a small clump of neurons not working properly.