Llewellyn King interviews Dr. John Chia: ME/CFS Alert, Episode 38

[Ember]

 

[justy]

That was great! i wish he was my doctor.

 

[Old Salt]

I assume he used some type of antivirals?

 

[Sushi]

Great interview! Too bad he didn't have more time to go into the treatments that he has found do work. Look forward to Part 2.

Also, here is another ME/CFS specialist who has a child (or other close relative) who has been sick with the disease--though this is a tough thing, it does fuel commitment to solve this riddle.

Sushi

 

[Persimmon]

Fantastic to hear Dr Chia interviewed.

One bit struck me as extraordinary.
Here's a really clever clinician-researcher; he's a specialist in infectious diseases, who was familiar with ME/CFS and had already conducted research on it prior to his son getting sick; yet he missed the diagnosis in own his son for a whole year.

If the diagnosis is not easy to make for a clinician like Dr Chia, how hard must it be for an ordinary doctor with a low level of knowledge about ME/CFS - remember that most doctors aren't taught anything about it in medical school. Obviously, some cases are easier to diagnose than others, but I'm sure you get the general point I'm trying to make.

 

[justy]

I think sometimes the illness is not clear cut - especially in the young who ares till able to function quite well whilst ill. I first came down with it at 25 - lots of immune problems and fatigue - similar to that described by Dr Chia of his son. It wasnt until years later - after measles and pneumonia at 38 - that i became so sick and had to give up all work, became housebound and got a diagnosis of M.E/CFS. He did say he was in denial about it - not wanting to admit his son was sick with this awful disease that he didnt think he could cure.

I think its sad that many of our best Dr's only got involved or stayed involved for personal reasons - yes we are lucky to have them, but we need to be seeing younger Dr's and researchers moving into this field. As Dr Peterson says inn a different M.E/CFS alert, M.E research is at the cutting edge of medical research, with proteomics, systems biology etc being used, you would think it would attract the keen young things, but it doesnt seem to - and it wont until we have a more well defined illness with some biomarkers and perhaps treatments.

All the best, Justy x

 

[Nielk]

I loved two of his lines.

#1 To doctors: "believe your patient".
#2 "Your brain can't understand something you cannot see." This, in regard to why doctors are non-believing of CFS being a real illness.