A global energy crisis that has nothing to do with oil

Dr Kojo Cobba Essel:

One will hardly complete a day’s work at the clinic without talking to a patient who complains of fatigue. The whole world appears to be in the “fast lane” and it is almost fashionable to complain of fatigue.

Colette Bouchez refers to this whole fatigue syndrome as “a global energy crisis that has nothing to do with oil” and I totally agree with her. We all do experience fatigue once a while but when we know the likely cause(s) then we are in a position to make the right choices to correct this.

Many of us may confuse fatigue with weakness and this may throw our diagnosis in a totally different direction. Always remember that the information we give our healthcare professional goes a long way to determine the conclusion he/she will draw.

Weakness is “a lack of physical or muscle strength and a feeling that extra effort is needed to perform daily activities that require you to move your arms, legs or other muscles”

FATIGUE on the other hand is “a feeling of tiredness, exhaustion or lack of energy”

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Of all the causes of fatigue my favourite is “The Working Mom’s Syndrome”. I am not sure if that has been coined yet but all ladies who have to juggle work (remember stay at home moms also have a lot on their plates) and taking care of under ten year olds will swear they are destined for the Intensive Care Unit.

Make no assumptions my dear reader, this diagnosis is purely one of exclusion. Essentially your doctor should have considered all the various causes of fatigue before settling on this.

When fatigue persists for over six (6) months then we are wading into the area of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and our management may require medical/psychological means. Read more>>