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Re: Rugby players ME battle, Driffield Times & Post, 29 September 2011

drjohn

Senior Member
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Driffield Times & Post Letters.

To have been ill for a year may seem like a lifetime, especially to a younger lad like 13-year-old Charles Taylor (Rugby players ME battle, Driffield Times & Post, 29 September 2011 + http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/sport/rugby_player_s_me_battle_1_3822786) but it is still not too long a time to have elapsed to be sure whether he does have M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) rather than some other illness, for which he is just taking longer than normally expected to recover.

If Charles's illness started with a viral infection, such as Glandular Fever, Chicken Pox or 'flu; or if he had a bad reaction to a vaccination; or if he had been affected by something toxic, such as chemicals, or crop spraying, he may indeed eventually come to have a diagnosis of M.E. - when we discover a test that is universally agreed, probably by having a blood test or scan - but some people do recover from the initial cause. Actress Barbara Windsor was so severely ill with Epstein Barr virus that she had to come out of EastEnders for 2 years but she returned and still works today. Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper also had a very bad bout of Glandular Fever, at one time thought to be M.E. and look her successful career now. Some athletes and busy celebrities overdo things and can burn out for a while but if they do rest it can be enough to come back and compete or perform again, Thus is was for Olympic canoeist, Anna Hemmings; MotoGP rider, Casey Stoner, singer & actress, Cher and West End Star, Michael Crawford, amongst many others. These people were chronically ill, with what may have been diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) but they almost certainly did not have M.E., or would not be as able as they are today.

This is why M.E. should not be considered, "also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome", or as one of a bundle of illnesses with a variety of causes, symptoms and prognoses. You cannot just sleep M.E. better. Fortunately, some International Consensus Criteria (ICC) have been published by 26 specialists from around the world (Carruthers et al., August 2011 + http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02428.x/full ), which may help to separate this serious neurological illness from a pack with which it should never have been associated. Doctors trying to offer the best treatment to Charles and fellow sufferers may like to compare the new ICC with the NICE guidelines, 2007 and earlier criteria to see how they more effectively discriminate amongst patients who may have CFS and those who have had M.E., such as "Seabiscuit" author Laura Hillenbrand - and me - for more than 20 years.

I do hope Charles's own defences are strong enough and we see him on the International field one day.

Yours sincerely
drjohngreensmith@mecommunitytrust.org
Dr John H Greensmith
ME Community Trust.org