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New NHS referral service in Newcastle for undiagnosed chronic fatigue

charles shepherd

Senior Member
Messages
2,239
New NHS service launched in Newcastle for people with undiagnosed chronic fatigue

From the Daily Mail:

Fatigue is an umbrella term for a range of problems, including tiredness, reduced energy levels, muscle weakness, memory problems, anxiety, dizziness, and palpitations.

The symptoms that patients have are not helped by sleep or rest.

Although fatigue is commonly associated with CFS/ME, which is believed by many experts to be a neurological condition similar to MS or Parkinson’s and affects about 250,000 people in the UK, work at the Newcastle clinic and other centres shows that it is far more common as a symptom of other conditions, and that in some cases, there may be no identifiable cause.

Up to 70 per cent of patients with rheumatological diseases suffer with fatigue, and it has also been linked to lupus, Sjögren’s syndrome, chronic infections, thyroid and liver conditions and restless leg syndrome.

Link to story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...ervice-launched-combat-long-term-fatigue.html

CS Comment:

An NHS hospital-based referral service that is willing to properly investigate patients who have undiagnosed chronic fatigue rather than ME/CFS is a welcome development

This will be in addition to the well respected clinical and research work being carried out in Newcastle by Professor Julia Newton's group
 

Marco

Grrrrrrr!
Messages
2,386
Location
Near Cognac, France
That sounds like a good idea in theory. Belfast City Hospital had a similar fatigue clinic 10-15 years ago which screened patients for a range of fatigue inducing illnesses such as cancer and diabetes which I'm sure would be reassuring in the early stages of illness.

Of course an all clear meant referral back to the GP with a 'likely CFS' diagnosis and no treatment but then no treatment is preferable to an ineffective one.

In this case it will be interesting to see how they intend to treat fatigue associated with RA, Lupus or Sjogrens. The mention of minute changes to the ANS sounds intriguing.
 

Bob

Senior Member
Messages
16,455
Location
England (south coast)
Depending on how it's set up, it seems like a positive move that the fatigue clinic will be separate to the CFS/ME clinic. If it's set up with a rigororous interdisciplinary approach then this seems like a very good idea. If it's just an excuse to offer more CBT to everyone with fatigue then I'm not sure what I think. At least it's still separate to the CFS/ME clinic, and perhaps they are at last acknowledging the difference between fatigue and CFS/ME, and the different needs of the different patient cohorts.
 

Marco

Grrrrrrr!
Messages
2,386
Location
Near Cognac, France
I see, so the NHS needs a special clinic to do what should be the responsibility of every practising doctor, which is to rule out other diagnoses and arrive at the correct diagnosis. Sad.

I would argue that this is exactly what is needed. I'd rather be 'triaged' through a service such as this than spend countless appointments over months or years with my GP while they ordered up/arranged the various tests to exclude other possibilities (assuming they could be bothered).
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
I would argue that this is exactly what is needed. I'd rather be 'triaged' through a service such as this than spend countless appointments over months or years with my GP while they ordered up/arranged the various tests to exclude other possibilities (assuming they could be bothered).
Maybe it depends on how far one would have to travel. I find distance a great obstacle and disincentive to seeking diagnoses, treatments, etc.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I would argue that this is exactly what is needed. I'd rather be 'triaged' through a service such as this than spend countless appointments over months or years with my GP while they ordered up/arranged the various tests to exclude other possibilities (assuming they could be bothered).
Then what is the GP for? Preliminary diagnosis is supposed to be in their sphere of expertise. They're supposed to do the exclusionary testing before sending you off to a specialist.