How is M.E. diagnosed?

There is no medical test available to confirm a diagnosis of M.E. Doctors can diagnose the illness by taking a careful medical history and carrying out tests to rule out other possible conditions.

It is likely that you will have to see your doctor several times before a diagnosis of M.E. is confirmed. Your doctor should be able to give you a provisional or working diagnosis quite early on and by six months this diagnosis should be confirmed or ruled out. It's usual for your GP to make the diagnosis but sometimes it may be necessary for them to refer you on to a specialist to assist in the diagnostic process.

It is important that a diagnosis is reached as early as possible so that appropriate advice and treatment can be started early on.

If you are experiencing difficulties in getting your doctor to recognise and diagnose your condition it may help to take a copy of Action for M.E.'s Guidance on the management of CFS/M.E. to your next appointment. This guide was designed to help GPs diagnose and manage the condition and was included in the Chief Medical Officer's bulletin to all GPs.

For some individuals it can be frightening to receive a diagnosis of M.E. but it is a vital step in the recovery process, to come to terms with the diagnosis and gain control of the illness. For others, a diagnosis can come as a relief after a long period of worry and fear about what might be wrong.

View a selection of related articles from past issues of InterAction, our quarterly magazine.

Real experiences

John
'I had always been reasonably fit and healthy, apart from a bad bout of glandular fever. I became seriously ill around 10 years later, following a flu-like illness diagnosed as acute viral pneumonia. A week later my doctor said I was better but may have some post-viral debility 'for a few weeks'. I was clearly not getting better and returned to the surgery again and again. Within three to six months I was diagnosed with M.E. My GP, his colleagues and hospital doctors have been very sympathetic. I have never been disbelieved or derided. I now know that this is exceptionally good treatment, rather than the rule. I think my condition has been helped partly by my early diagnosis. Sixteen years after my diagnosis I am reasonably independent and mobile, but still not able to have a normal working or social life.'

Stacy
'When I got sick I struggled to hold down my job. My GP kept saying there was nothing physically wrong with me, so I pushed on. Eventually my sister took me to hospital where the doctor took one look at my punky hair and slurred speech and said I had all the symptoms of a drug addict! I went back to my GP who eventually referred me to a neurologist. I really got my hopes up during the year-long wait but after checking my reflexes, his diagnosis for all my exhaustion and pain was hyperventilation. Finally, after more let-downs, a different GP asked if I'd been referred to an M.E. consultant. It was worth another long wait to hear the words: 'I believe you' from the consultant. He diagnosed M.E. All in all it took six years.'

Information first produced November 2003. Currently under review.