Welcome Chaz and sognatore!
Sognatore, I'm sorry to hear that you've been diagnosed with CFS. Have you had a chance to read or learn more about it yet? That is usually the first step in getting a handle on your symptoms. Yes, it should be your Dr's job, but most Drs do not know much about it, or how to treat it. The
CFS Resource Center, here at HealingWell (that is a link) will have lots of info, and might be a good place to get started. Then, once you understand more about it, you can identify your symptoms. And once you have done that, you can set out to find ways to treat them.
I think I can speak for everyone with CFS, that we all know what it feels like to have lost control over our own lives. This is probably the greatest challenge any of us have ever faced. But most people I've known, in 20 years of having CFS, do find ways to face the challenge. And I believe you will too. You've already found the courage to post a message on the internet, asking for help. And I think you'll find ways to cope with all your symptoms, too.
The loss of friends and family to this illness, I think, is the saddest and most difficult issue to deal with. But what I have to tell myself, if that what I've lost, is the relationships as ithey used to be. I think some friends and family will recognize this also, and be willing to work on the relationship, and to accept your illness. Others will not be willing to work on it, and personally, I have realized that it if they are unwilling to grow with the relationship, they probably would not have been a lasting friend, anyway. So in that way, and that way only, I see CFS as a blessing. It's not something I would have chosen, but it has served to tell me exactly who are my true friends and family.
So anyway, let us know what we can do to help you learn to cope with this illness, and all it brings. Also, the more you can learn about the illness itself, the more you will be able to help yourself. Don't forget the link I posted above. Take good care.