Getting it Wrong on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

[wellness1]

This article in the NY Times refutes the conclusions of a study that advocated psychotherapy and a gradual increase in exercise as the most effective treatment for CFS. Whether you have been diagnosed with CFS or not, you may find this interesting if you are a student of the treatment and understanding of chronic illness.

"In short, this episode has damaged public trust in science."

tinyurl.com/musdmyr

[humanbean]

I've become aware in recent years that people with ME/CFS are treated appallingly by the medical profession. And in many ways the UK has been in the forefront of the torture, all in the name of saving money - although they will never admit that is the motive.

[wellness1 in reply to humanbean]

That is terrible humanbean, and no excuse for it. It must be an incredible challenge for people with ME/CFS to act as their own advocates and challenge the system they feel is letting them down. (some thyroid patients would empathise :)) Interesting that one of the researchers who challenged the study suffers with CFS and had the expertise and access to challenge the prevailing wisdom.

[humanbean in reply to wellness1]

I don't have ME/CFS myself, but I do read a forum for people that do. There was an old post I read there recently from someone who went to A&E with a broken rib that was sticking out of the skin. Because the person had ME/CFS a doctor and a nurse ordered him/her out of A&E insisting that people with ME/CFS didn't need treating because they were just making it all up. The person had a carer with them, and neither the person with the broken rib or the carer could get these so-called medical professionals to even look at the rib. They kept on insisting it wasn't real because people with ME/CFS make everything up.

I just wish the person who wrote about this had continued his post to let people know how it all ended, but sadly not.

[wellness1]

Horrific!