What are the Possible Causes of Exhaustion?

What Causes Exhaustion?

Exhaustion can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'troubling' to 'serious'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose exhaustion, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "exhaustion" as a symptom. Here are two possibilities:

Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Infectious Mononucleosis

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

having a moderate fever

swollen inguinal nodes

numb/burning/tingling extremities

extreme sensitivity to touch

painful axillary nodes

loss of sense of touch

much reduced sense of taste

unusual current rash

current very sore throat

multiple swollen axillary nodes

multiple painful inguinal nodes

severe muscle weakness

... and more than 10 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of exhaustion:

Cause	Probability	Status
Guillain-Barre Syndrome	91%	Confirm
Infectious Mononucleosis	52%	Possible

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate being fatigued, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Are you currently experiencing fatigue or exhaustion that started suddenly less than 3 months ago? Do not include fatigue that is due to an obvious cause, such as pregnancy.

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No / not sudden onset / started over 3 months ago
→ Yes, it started about 1-3 months ago
→ Yes, it started about 1-4 weeks ago
→ Yes, it started within the past week

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either no recent onset fatigue or recent onset fatigue, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Guillain-Barre Syndrome

The rapid onset of (ascending) weakness, frequently accompanied by abnormal sensations that affect both sides of the body similarly, is a common presenting picture.

Infectious Mononucleosis - Mono

Intermittent and moderate fatigue is one of the early and main symptoms of mononucleosis. It almost always disappears within 2-4 weeks and lasts for months in only 1-2% of cases. Prospective studies among University populations have established that 20% of patients returned to work or school within 1 week and 50% within 2 weeks.

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™