Long-term fatigue can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose long-term fatigue, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Cancer In General | 98% | Confirm |
Anemia | 19% | Unlikely |
Adrenal Fatigue | 17% | Unlikely |
Immune System Imbalance | 4% | Ruled out |
Low DHEA | 1% | Ruled out |
Lupus (SLE) | 0% | Ruled out |
Chronic Fatigue-Fibromyalgia | 0% | Ruled out |
Pulmonary Fibrosis | 0% | Ruled out |
Have you experienced an episode of fatigue that lasted 3 months or longer?
Possible responses:
→ No / don't know→ In the past only, now resolved → Yes, I have had minor fatigue for 3+ months now → Yes, I have had major fatigue for 3-12 months now → Yes, I have had major fatigue for over a year now |
Prolonged or extreme fatigue is reported by 81% of lupus patients.