integrityisall
Just a few thoughts from someone who has studied ME for over 30 years. There's nothing in the story that made me think of this diagnosis. MEpatients are not fatigued all the time. The weakness and other symptoms are exacerbated by minimal exertion. It's therefore a fluctuating condition. Chronic fatigue syndrome does not require patients to experience post-exertional exacerbations. And as the person who first devised and defined pacing, I can state with confidence that it is not the same as adaptive pacing therapy (APT), tested in the PACE trial. It's the failure to check information and the lack of a critical eye that explain not only the anger of patients but also the frustration of scientists like myself.
I too might have suggested CBT and GET for this patient, but that's because I'm pretty sure she did not have ME (as described by experts such as the late Dr Ramsay). In my view, what happened was a combination of overwork, stress (affects adrenal functioning and can result in the type of symptoms described) plus psychological factors. And before I'm dismissed as an ill-informed layman, I have three degrees in psychology, including a PhD.