ME/CFS Diagnosis Information

Getting A Diagnosis

A person with ME/CFS has a bit of a dilemma since many doctors are still quite ignorant of ME/CFS or are uncomfortable rendering a diagnosis. As a patient it is in your best interests to make sure you do not have some other (hopefully treatable) condition that might be mistaken as ME/CFS. On the other hand you can spend a lot of money on a wild goose chase because of a doctor's unwillingness to consider ME/CFS as a diagnosis. A good internist should be able to diagnose ME/CFS without resorting to extensive testing / referrals to specialists. In my opinion the likelihood of undergoing expensive, invasive and potentially dangerous tests and procedures increases if you resort to visiting various specialists in your attempts to get diagnosed instead of visiting a primary care physician.

Picking A Physician

If you never had many health problems before falling ill (like me) chances are you do not have a regular physician so be prepared to see a few before you find one that suits your needs and can properly render a ME/CFS diagnosis. A good place to find recommendations for doctors is your local ME/CFS support group since most members have run the gauntlet of getting a diagnosis and probably have a lot of experience with several physicians. Of course you must be aware that your needs may differ from that of other group members.

Another factor to consider when choosing a physician is their role in substantiating your degree of disability when/if you apply for various disability benefits. Getting the diagnosis is only half the battle - the other half is getting your doctor to advocate for you when you apply for benefits. Many doctors are very sloppy / tardy when it comes to completing paperwork that may make the difference between homelessness vs. an adequate income for their patients. An ignorant physician has the capacity to severely damage an already ill ME/CFS patient by creating a paper trail that damages their patient's credibility - in my opinion this amounts to malpractice and a violation of the Hippocratic Oath.

ME/CFS Information Sources

The following information sources will be useful to both patients and their physicians.


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by Marc Simon