A plea from a fallen doctor on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) (
self.cfs)
submitted 4 months ago by
fallendocR53-82
I was educated at Baylor and practiced medicine for 30 years. I had a thriving practice, a rich social life, and excellent physical and mental health. I loved what I did and loved my life. I ran marathons, spoke at conferences, and chaired non-profits.
I am now completely bedridden from post viral CFS.
I am writing this to beg my fellow colleagues to take this disease seriously, understand that it is 100% organic in origin, and that it can happen to anyone.
I used to see CFS patients fairly often in my practice. Some of them were quite debilitated and some semi-functional. I always tried to be sympathetic and did what I could to help, but truth be told there was always a voice in my head questioning if their symptoms were psychosomatic. At times I delayed a diagnosis because the literature told me to wait 6 months. I recommended exercise, antidepressants, and psychotherapy because that had always been the conventional wisdom. And when patients didn't come back, I subconsciously assumed they had gotten better, and that I was justified in my approach. I feel tremendous guilt about this now.
When I got the flu that started this, I thought I would be out of work for 10 days. 10 days turned into 10 weeks, and then 10 months. The virus was gone, my labs were clean, and yet I still felt horribly ill.
My symptoms:
- I could barely stand up in the shower due to orthostatic intolerance. Later my wife would have to install a shower chair
- I could not read or write due to cognitive dysfunction
- I could not walk more than 45 steps without extreme lactic build up in my muscles