A ray of NHS light ..Cambridge progressive medicine

[Shimmyaway]

cambridgeprogressivemedicin...

A team are designing a treatment programme for GP's to use with patients with functional symptoms .. no particular mention of FND, but see below.

'Who is the programme designed for?

The short answer is anyone who is feeling unwell. The impact of health beliefs on actual health is well documented. When we are feeling unwell the way we process this, and the subsequent actions we take, are an integral component of our recovery.

Through compassionate exploration of fundamental beliefs surrounding health, we may be able to discover new strategies which can help us to heal. The programme may be especially helpful for people suffering from functional symptoms and central sensitivity syndromes.

What are central sensitivity syndromes?

These conditions go by a variety of names, central sensitivity syndromes, functional illness and Tension myositis syndromes (TMS). These are umbrella terms which are trying to describe the same group of illnesses, which are not well understood. Examples are Fibromyalgia, chronic regional pain syndromes, and irritable bowel syndrome.'

Further explanation on the website...which is very comprehensive.

[Van604]

Thanks for posting this. I do wish they would stop using language like "health beliefs" though. I don't "believe" I'm unwell - I AM unwell! Just because they haven't got to the bottom of what is going wrong with my brain, doesn't mean there isn't something wrong with my brain. The other one I hate is "behaviour". I know they mean it in a different sense but it causes no end of trouble for us.

[Van604 in reply to Van604]

I just went to his site and watched the youtube video with Raelan Agle. I thought he came across very well. Open-minded and willing to admit doctors don't know everything! I couldn't tell though if his practice is NHS or if this program is private. I think he would be a great GP to have. He did touch briefly on FND specifically and emphasised that it is not "all in your head". In fact he said it's not psychological at all, so I appreciated that. I got worse with psychotherapy and his theory explains why that happened.

[Shimmyaway in reply to Van604]

I liked the way he proceeded with great caution with his patients, first planting a seed to see if they responded positively to his idea that it's the patient who can bring change and that medicine does not have the answer (yet?)

He is a GP in the NHS, also running a long covid clinic, and it looks as if he is developing a programme for functional illnesses in collaboration with others on behalf of the NHS. No info on how it will be delivered though ..probably not by doctors, and injected with a lot of online interaction. ..which means limited individualisation.

[210272]

Interesting but (call me an old cynic, since that cap fits some of the time) it still has the whiff of psychobabble, to me. These 'illness beliefs' constructs have been used for people with M.E. for years and we only have to follow David Tuller's blogs to know that any perceived improvements are rarely if ever 'statistically significant'. Yes, it's good that they make it clear that drs don't know everything (as anyone with a rare condition can testify) but they lost me at this:

'Everyone experiences functional symptoms all of the time, and there is always a functional component to any symptom.'

Really?? I'm in remission so not experiencing symptoms at all, 'functional' (whatever that means on any given day of the week - it was 'hysteria' last time I checked) or otherwise.

I'm sure some people will benefit from the focussed attention of a kind and considerate doctor and maybe this is the type of intervention that's needed for the doctors who treat people with FND with scorn and/or tell them stupid things like them questioning the diagnosis proves that it's the right diagnosis.

[Lady4]

Thanks for sharing.

I listened to the sleep one but think most information you can find on other sites. I just hope its not a way of taking away the face to face contact, as we need to feel we are being listened too.