The National Institute of Health has finally recognized the seriouness of chronic fatigue syndrome. Last week, it launched a major campaign to create awareness of this illness that is so misunderstood and often misdiagnosed.

This is an illness that is shrouded in mystery, difficult to diagnose and therefore treat. People who suffer from depression often complain about feeling tired and lethargic. The campaign hopes to help patients know they have an illness that requires medical attention and help physicians be able to diagnose the illness, and be able to validate and understand the incredible suffering that many people and their families experience in this context.

This is a very ambitious campaign and the NIH and CDC( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is taking the illness very seriously. The campaign will consist of public service announcements, brochures, a “tool kit” for health-care professionals and a photo exhibit called “The Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” which will travel to cities across the country throughout 2007.

There is even a Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndome (CFIDS) Association. The Association hopes that it will be a turning point in the public’s awareness of the disease as well as in health-care professionals’ ability to diagnose and treat it.

I do not think that this illness gets the respect it deserves. The general public is more likely to call a sufferer “lazy” or “not-motivated”, rather than encourage them to seek help. With the new brain imaging techniques, scientists can identify changes in the brain structure of people with CFIDS. The brain hormone systems of people with CFS are different than those without the disease. Brain functioning is also impaired and cells’ energy metabolism seems to be compromised.

According to the CDC, 1 million Americans suffer from the disease. Women are affected at about four times the rate as men and non-white women are affected more than white women. The disease can affect any age and demographic but is most likely to strike when a person is 40 to 59 years of age.

Unfortunately I have personal experience with a disease ( depression), that people do not understand nor appreciate its seriousness. It’s embarrassing, because you always have to fake it. Do yourself a favor and seek treatment. It could change the quality of your life.

Charles Donovan was a patient in the FDA investigational trial of vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for chronic or recurrent treatment-resistant depression. He was implanted with the vagus nerve stimulator in April of 2001. He chronicles his journey from the grips of depression thanks to vagus nerve stimulation therapy in his book:

Out of the Black Hole: The Patient’s Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression

His all inclusive book prepares depression sufferers to make an informed decision about this ninety-minute out-patient procedure. It is a “must read” before you discuss this treatment with your psychiatrist. A prescription for the procedure is required from an M.D. and it is covered by most insurance plans.

He is the founder of the http://www.VagusNerveStimulation.com Web Site and Bulletin.

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