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Anyone familiar with Harvard's Fatigue Handbook?

southwestforests

Senior Member
Messages
575
Location
Missouri
I don't have personal experience with it but after playing a bit in Google I am going to accept the 1 review of it on Amazon and the following article.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-...f=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1614010579
Carole Fults
2.0 out of 5 stars Alot of hype about information we already know. Nothing ...
December 7, 2016
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Alot of hype about information we already know. Nothing new here, kind of trite and basic. If you are looking for something to spark your curiosity or add to your knowledge, this is not it.

And; https://www.thehealthy.com/fatigue/boosting-your-energy-harvard-report/

The Harvard-Approved Plan to Transform Your Energy For Good
Joanne ChenUpdated: Jun. 28, 2018

Harvard Medical School recently published a special report on energy, covering everything from banishing long-term fatigue to boosting energy immediately. These are some of the highlights.

Avoid fruits that make you more tired in the long run

Stick with fat-infused meals that won’t make you sleepy

Look to water as an energy elixir

Squeeze in a workout to improve sleep

Don’t limit yourself to aerobic exercise

Bounce back from stress

Get crafty

Head outdoors

Put down the cigarettes

Keep busy (without overworking yourself)

Run on solar power
 

southwestforests

Senior Member
Messages
575
Location
Missouri
I wonder if it can be inferred from this report on it that it is mostly irrelevant to CFS/ME?
https://www.biospace.com/article/re...oosting-your-energy-i-special-health-report-/

The segment I consider significant:

Anthony Komaroff, M.D., Harvard’s world-renowned expert on chronic fatigue syndrome points out that it is an unusual illness, and an uncommon cause of persistent fatigue. Despite the high prevalence of fatigue, only about 4 to 8 of every 1,000 adults in the United States suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome which is about twice as common in women as in men. The causes of this syndrome are still unknown, and there is no accurate diagnostic test. However, scientists have found abnormalities in the brain and peripheral nervous system, in the immune system and in energy metabolism in people with this diagnosis.

It’s important to see your doctor if you feel so weary that you can’t do your regular activities as well or as often as you once did. Fatigue is a symptom of many illnesses, so describing your symptoms in detail can help narrow down the possible causes. How, exactly, does the fatigue feel to you? Do you have trouble concentrating? Does your body tire more quickly? Answers to these questions indicate how severe your fatigue is and whether it mainly involves muscle fatigue, brain fatigue, or both.

Once you’ve described your symptoms, your doctor may want to do some tests to rule out underlying causes. Conditions that include fatigue as a primary symptom include:
- Anemia
- Congestive heart failure
- Diabetes
- Hypothyroidism
- Infection
- Kidney disease
- Chronic fatigue syndrome If these conditions are ruled out, it’s good to know that there are lifestyle changes you can make that will help relieve fatigue from a variety of causes. The Harvard Special Health Report, Boosting Your Energy includes a step-by-step plan for boosting your energy naturally. Certain kinds of exercise have been shown to relieve fatigue. Sleep habits, diet, stress relief techniques, and other methods to alleviate fatigue are described in this report.

Also in this report:
- Aging and energy
- Finding the cause of fatigue
- When to see a doctor
- A 7-step plan to jump-start your natural energy
 

southwestforests

Senior Member
Messages
575
Location
Missouri
When Grandfather W was alive a lot of the rest of the family would criticize him for his pretty much universal negative attitude toward and dislike of doctors and the health care industry.
More and more my own experiences since the 1980s are strongly influencing me to go down a similar path.

And talking about Hahvahd brings to mind when we moved from Virginia to New England when I was between 2nd and 3rd grade and the public school system in our new town was trying to bully my parents in to putting me in speech therapy class. Fortunately they seem to have profoundly underestimated the determination of my auburn-haired Ozarks farm girl become dietitian Mom and my Navy Officer Dad.

Still remember Dad asking my teacher, "What's the name of the town you are from?"
Her answer, "Cahvah"
Dad, "So, tell me again who has what speech impediment?"

As it happened I did have a bit of dyslexia and the decades-later diagnosed autism, but a speech impediment was definitely one thing I did not have.
 

wabi-sabi

Senior Member
Messages
1,458
Location
small town midwest
Are we seriously sure this handbook is meant to apply to ME/CFS?

Honestly, I don't see how this advice could be of use to anyone, with any chronic illness. And if you're not sick, but burnt out and exhausted from working two jobs, being a single parent, and going to night school at the same time, I still don't see how this advice will help. In a weird sort of way, it's almost more condescending to to the well person in this situation. We know we are seriously ill and have the research to prove it, but to tell the unfortunate who is working multiple jobs and locked in the financial battle for survival, that they need a glass of water?! What defense against this do they have?

Let's all patent Water as an Energy Elixir and then we won't have to worry about being able to work or getting disability to survive.
 

southwestforests

Senior Member
Messages
575
Location
Missouri
but to tell the unfortunate who is working multiple jobs and locked in the financial battle for survival, that they need a glass of water?!
But see, if they drank more water then they would not be so fatigued and instead of working both a 25 hour job and a 30 hour job they would have the mental and physical energy to go get that 60 hour job which pays more.
 

YippeeKi YOW !!

Senior Member
Messages
16,047
Location
Second star to the right ...
Honestly, I don't see how this advice could be of use to anyone
Couldn't possibly agree more. This is absolute, condescending, useless crap, and as you noted, even more insulting to the well, struggling to survive and possibly even improve their lives.


It's just gob-smackingly witless on every level, and as I said in my post above, it really makes me wonder who Komaroff really is and where he's coming from, both treatment and research-wise.