RE: The videol So much ignorance from yet another 'A' grade schoolgirl who went to University to study Medicine and gain the title 'Doctor'.
1) She states ME is 'all part of the same spectrum'. FALSE.
ME is a SINGLE disorder and is not an umbrella or spectrum disorder.
CFS/ME (a British self made title) is an umbrella disorder that includes the neurological disease of ME and CFS. This however has no classification in any medical coding, it is a 'brand' sold by the UK Department of Health
and is no more accurate as saying Cough/COPD.
Very importantly, the disease ME involves inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. In the rare cases that autopsies are allowed on British ME patients, there has been evidence
of this shown. Also very importantly the British Department of Health state that ME describes brain/spinal cord inflammation are do NOT refute this.
ME by classification, and by acceptance by the British Department of Health of what ME means - cannot be a psychological disease whatsoever.
ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is a neurological disease. Very importantly ME (Myalgic Encephalopathy) is not classifed as disease and can include clinical depression. It is favoured by Pro Psychiatric ME charities in the UK.
2) She states ME is 'very hard to diagnose' and then goes on to describe Fukuda Criteria CFS!
ME is not very hard to diagnose, if you know what ME is, and can look for signs and symptoms of the disease.
ME does not need 4 symptoms to diagnose. ME requires evidence of neurological/cardiovascular/nervous system damage.
Canadian Criteria CFS does, yet she failed to mention this.
3) She states 'Graded Exercise' and 'CBT' and 'Pacing' are treatments for ME. FALSE.
These treatments are for people with CFS. All the research (the little research that is done that supports CBT/GE/Pacing)
is explicitly on people with Oxford Criteria CFS, or Fukuda Criteria CFS, which is not ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis).
Secondly the severely affected (ME is a disease that is severe) are excluded from ALL research studies that show
the 'effectiveness' of CBT/GE.
4) She states that people think ME can be caused by psychological factors. Interesting thought when ME is classified
as a neurological disease (ICD-10 G93.3) by the World Health Organisation since 1969.
5) She states that a virus is not causative of ME. A strange comment when Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome and ME are coded
in the SAME category - directly linking ME to a viral onset.
6) She states the NICE Guidelines on ME are a tool to help patients.
Firstly they are on CFS/ME an umbrella term of fatigue disoders and not ME.
Secondly all severe patients were excluded from any 'evidence' base - thus voiding the accuracy and relevance of the guidelines towards people with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis).
Lastly it should be noted that outside the UK, CFS is not and never has been classified as a metal illness.
CFS has been hijacked by the British Psychiatric Profession who (terribly) now advise the American CDC.
CFS has so many 'criteria' that many are too broad and 'let in' mentally ill people. Specifically the British OXFORD '91 Criteria.
CFS is not coded as a mental illness, and one cannot meet the criteria for somatization disorder AND CFS simutaneously.
Despite this, the myth that CFS is a mental disorder is perpetuated and claims are made CFS is a form of 'illness belief' and a 'functional somatic syndrome'.
Lastly, patients with CFS label (that includes ME) have been found to test positive for XMRV in multiple countries around the world, pointing the finger firmly on a retroviral origin and far away from a 'debate' or 'disagreement' over psychological vs physical.
At the end of the day (ME) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis never was, and never has been a psychological disease at all. If this doctor is going to use the term 'ME' and not 'CFS/ME' then it
would be wise for her to learn the difference between the two.
NB: Permission to re-post anywhere given.
