--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: people with ME/CFS do not have “fatigue…" description: "\"“people with ME/CFS do not have “fatigue as their main symptom”; they have post-extertional fatigability accompanied by malaise as their main symptom (..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/margaret-williams-79787_cfs_people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-a_615252.jpg" --- # people with ME/CFS do not have “fatigue as their main… ![“people with ME/CFS do not have “fatigue as their main symptom”; they have post-extertional fatigability accompanied by malaise as their main symptom (their voluntary muscles do not work properly and are exquisitely painful after exercise)” quote by Margaret Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/margaret-williams-79787_cfs_people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-a_615252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/margaret-williams-79787_cfs_people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-a_615252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/margaret-williams-79787_cfs_people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-a_615252.jpg) > ““people with ME/CFS do not have “fatigue as their main symptom”; they have post-extertional fatigability accompanied by malaise as their main symptom (their voluntary muscles do not work properly and are exquisitely painful after exercise)”” Margaret Williams ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The main issue in ME/CFS is post‑exertional malaise, not ordinary fatigue; exercise triggers severe muscle pain and dysfunction. **In simple terms:** ME/CFS is characterized by worsening symptoms after activity, not simple tiredness. Key Takeaway Avoid overexertion; manage activity levels. Themes health chronic illness patient experience exercise physiology Mood cautious informative Type clinical educational When to use this quote - daily planning - exercise therapy - patient education - support groups Key Concepts post‑exertional malaise muscle pain energy regulation Questions to Reflect On - How can patients balance activity and rest? - What strategies reduce post‑exertional symptoms? A Different Perspective Standard fatigue treatments may worsen symptoms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chronic-fatigue-syndrome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Malaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malaise/) [Me-cfs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me-cfs/) ## Related quotes > [“The evidence of inflammation in people with ME/CFS is important because the incremental aerobic exercise recommended by the Wessely School and encapsulated in NICE’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-williams/the-evidence-of-inflammation-in-people-with-me-cfs-is-important/) Margaret Williams > [“In summary, patients with CFS are not “deconditioned”. Neither their muscle strength nor their exercise capacity is different from that of other sedentary members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-c-scroop/in-summary-patients-with-cfs-are-not-deconditioned-neither-their/) Garry C. Scroop > [ “Individuals are often stigmatized and told their illness isn’t real… People with \[ME\] CFS face an incredible burden just getting doctors to take their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-e-hurwitz/individuals-are-often-stigmatized-and-told-their-illness-isn-t-real/) Barry E. Hurwitz > [“When people with ME/CFS report symptoms of post-exertional malaise, those symptoms are independent of emotional distress, but when the general population report what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-a-jason/when-people-with-me-cfs-report-symptoms-of-post-exertional-malaise/) [Leonard A. Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-a-jason/) > [The second stage set in ten or fifteen days after the bombing. The main symptom was falling hair. 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This is inconsistent with the assumption that there is pathological avoidance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sten-helmfrid/there-are-many-reports-that-suggest-a-biomedical-basis-for-post/) Sten Helmfrid > [“The term “myalgic encephalomyelitis” (muscle pain, “myalgic”, with “encephalomyelitis” inflammation of the brain and spinal cord) was first included by the World Health Organization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-hooper/the-term-myalgic-encephalomyelitis-muscle-pain-myalgic-with/) Malcolm Hooper > [“The renaming of ME to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in 1988, giving misplaced emphasis to “fatigue”, trivializes the substantial disability of the disease 1…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-hopper/the-renaming-of-me-to-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-cfs-in-1988-giving/) Malcolm hopper > [“The Wessely School rejects the significant body of biomedical evidence demonstrating that chronic “fatigue” or “tiredness” is not the same as the physiological exhaustion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-hopper/the-wessely-school-rejects-the-significant-body-of-biomedical/) Malcolm hopper > [“The neurological/cognitive symptoms are more characteristically variable than constant and often have a distinct fatiguing component to them. 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Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-a-jason/) Browse all 134 Cfs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“people with ME/CFS do not have “fatigue as their main symptom”; they have post-extertional fatigability accompanied by malaise as their main symptom (their voluntary muscles do not work properly and are exquisitely painful after exercise)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Williams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-williams/people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-as-their-main-symptom-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cfs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-williams/people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-as-their-main-symptom-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/margaret-williams-79787_cfs_people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-a_615252.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/margaret-williams-79787_cfs_people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-a_615252.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/margaret-williams-79787_cfs_people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-a_615252.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“people with ME/CFS do not have “fatigue as their main symptom”; they have post-extertional fatigability…” — Margaret Williams", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Margaret Williams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-williams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“people with ME/CFS do not have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-williams/people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-as-their-main-symptom-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-williams/people-with-me-cfs-do-not-have-fatigue-as-their-main-symptom-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```