Modern medicine has failed millions of patients suffering from a mysterious and debilitating condition.

We first learned about this problem many decades ago when we interviewed Dr. Paul Cheney on our radio show. He had identified a cluster of patients near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, who were suffering debilitating symptoms.

The condition became known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and was characterized by severe, ongoing exhaustion. The smallest exertion could wipe people out for days. Dr. Cheney found that people with this disorder also suffered muscle pain, sleep difficulties, brain fog and immune system dysfunction.

For many years, mainstream medicine dismissed these patients as suffering from psychosomatic problems. Some people even applied the derogatory phrase “yuppie flu.”

Eventually, though, medicine accepted that many patients were suffering from a real physiological condition. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now calls it ME / CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome). The agency notes that it makes it hard for patients to carry out their usual activities. It has no known cause or cure. More than 3 million Americans may be suffering from ME / CFS.

When Dr. Cheney spoke with us all those years ago, he told us that he suspected a pathogen was responsible for the onset of symptoms. So far, researchers have not identified a particular virus or bacterium that is associated with ME / CFS.

However, there is now a large group of people who know the exact pathogen that triggered their problems, which resemble those of chronic fatigue closely. They call their condition long COVID-19.

Because so many people are suffering following an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it cannot be ignored. Doctors have come up with a number of medical terms: PCC (Post-COVID Conditions) and PASC (post-acute sequelae of COVID-19).

One team of researchers has concluded that 14% of Americans have experienced long COVID-19 at some point (PLoS One, Nov. 2, 2023). In March of 2024, Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that 17 million people were suffering from long COVID-19.

Statistics do not convey what it’s like. One reader described his experience: “I don’t know if my condition is long COVID-19 or long vax. My symptoms are very debilitating fatigue, weakness, poor stamina, chills, muscle stiffness, low appetite and weight loss. Completely contrary to my usual personality, I became very depressed, angry, short on patience and have even had fits of rage.”

His mention of long vax is appropriate. New research on what medicine calls post-vaccination syndrome underscores how similar the symptoms can be to long COVID-19.

When we read that some people report exercise intolerance, lasting and overwhelming fatigue, insomnia, brain fog, palpitations and tinnitus after getting immunized from COVID-19, the similarities struck us (MedRxiv, Feb. 18, 2025).

Yale researchers have found evidence that the vaccine may sometimes reactivate herpes viruses, including Epstein-Barr, the virus that causes mono. This reminds us that many viruses can lie dormant in the body for years or even decades. A new infection might revitalize them.

It is sad to learn that research funds are being cut just as millions of Americans are suffering from a disease that remains mysterious. We can only hope that at some point investigators will figure out a treatment that could ease the incapacitating symptoms of long COVID-19, long vax and ME / CFS.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of King Features, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803, or email them via their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.