When the news spread that the Institute of Medicine was looking at CFS/ME, many diagnosed with this debilitating disease were hopeful that it was another step towards public recognition that this disease is not in their heads. But the new name “systemic exertion intolerance disease” doesn’t seem large enough to encompass the disease. While sufferers do share in common an exhaustion and fatigue that is chronic and severe, the new name doesn’t seem to insure that the disease will be taken seriously any more than did “chronic fatigue syndrome”, which was coined in 1988.
However, for purposes of social security disability for CFS/ME, new diagnostic criteria may lead to a listing, which would be good news. The new diagnostic criteria includes: (1) six months of profound fatigue; (2) six months of postexertional exhaustion; and (3) six months of unrefreshing sleep. In addition, the diagnostic criteria states that patients must also exhibit either cognitive problems or an inability to stand upright for more than a short period.
For more information: The Institute of Medicine