Low doses of anti-anxiety drugs have been anecdotally reported to be of value. Many CFS patients suffer from depressive symptoms, such as sleep disturbance, loss of enjoyment of life, and decreased appetite. Low doses of antidepressant drugs, taken at bedtime, have been reported to improve many of these and other CFS symptoms. In persons who have depressive symptoms, formal psychological testing should be performed to confirm their severity. For such patients, full doses of antidepressants may be expected to produce significant improvement.
Antidepressant drugs are very potent and have a number of possible sideeffects.
They must be used under the careful guidance of a physician. A variety of antidepressant agents are available, each with its own range of side-effects. If one agent fails to be tolerated, another may be tried. All treatments have potential side effects, and in many instances the risk of side effects outweighs the potential beneficial effect of treatment. A number of currently used treatments are of no proven value, are often costly, and may actually be harmful.