It is very important to find a health practitioner who is familiar with thi=
s illness. The
symptoms of CFS can be mimicked by other illnesses (autoimmune illnesses, c=
ancer,
hepatitis, diabetes, etc.), and if you in fact have another illness that is=
 not properly
diagnosed, you may be losing out on getting treatments that might be effect=
ive for you.

It is still an uphill struggle to find a doctor who is experienced in diagn=
osing and treating
CFS. The best source of advice for identifying local doctors who may be fam=
iliar with
CFS is your local support group. And the best way to identify local support=
 groups is
to contact one of your national organizations (see question 5.06). If there=
 are no CFS-
knowledgeable doctors in your area and you wish to find an out-of-town spec=
ialist,
you may read about such specialists from time to time in the newsletter of =
your national
organization.

If your own doctor is sympathetic but not knowledgeable, you might gather t=
ogether
some medical articles which discuss CFS treatments and encourage your docto=
r to
study them. (See question 2.036 below.) Read the essay on "Dealing with Doc=
tors
When You Have CFS" by Camilla Cracchiolo, R.N. which can be obtained by sen=
ding
the command GET CFS HANDLEDR as an e-mail message to the address
LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU.