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Dr David Tuller:Professor Paul Garner's Powerful Cognitions

Countrygirl

Senior Member
Messages
5,429
Location
UK
This is something which has caused a huge stir in the UK ME community.

Prof Paul Garner of the Liverpool School of Tropical Diseases who developed Long Covid last spring was supported and advised by the ME community and Dr Charles Shepherd of the ME Association. Prof Garner became a voice for the ME ............and then became bewitched by Live Landmark, a LP (Lightning Process) practitioner from Norway.

This week in the BMJ he wrote that he has cured himself by positive thinking and avoiding patients who remain ill while only listening to those, thanks to their positive mindset, who cure themselves of the illness.

He is now something of a poster child for the Lightning Process in Norway..............just when they are undertaking a government-funded trial.

Meanwhile, to make matters worse, a couple of days ago, Prof Garner appeared on the BBC Breakfast Show alongside Dr Clare Gerada, Professor Sir Simon Wessley's wife. Mrs Wessley told the nation that she too had had Long Covid and that as 'there is nothing that exercise cannot make better'............which she then repeated for emphasis.......she hired herself a personal trainer to enable her to recover, and so she ran herself back to full heath. Prof Garner then related his story and told the audience that it is positive thinking, avoiding patients who fail to do that (because of weakness of mind) and so chose to remain ill, that enabled him to recover.

Very conveniently, the timing is crucial as the draft NICE guidelines for ME are about to be finalised and they are likely to remove GET and the influence of PACE, and, specifically, LP. These two high profile figures are a powerful weapon for the BPS group who want to retain GET and LP. One might be forgiven for thinking that the timing of the public appearing of this duo just a little..........convenient,...........if not downright suspicious.

Does Prof Garner realise that he is just a pawn of the BPS and LP practitioners?

But all is not as it seems. The ME community have now found that Prof Garner, who claims he fulfilled the CCC definition of ME, was able to walk 5km a day by about August, was considering taking up running, and then went to the Caribbean for a prolonged(three months?) scuba-diving holiday (during lockdown, of course when we are confined to our homes) He was clearly just about recovered when he claims that he acted on the guidance of the LP practitioner.

This has stirred up great anger and a sense of betrayal in the UK ME community who, while glad he has recovered, is shocked that the person to whom they reached out to at the beginning of his illness should attack them with such hostility and team up with the Wessleys while promoting a programme of magical thinking that has harmed so many.

Here is the link to the BMJ article (and do read the comments):https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/01/25/paul-garner-on-his-recovery-from-long-covid/#comment-5242667119

https://www.virology.ws/2021/01/28/...ers-bmj-blog-post-on-his-powerful-cognitions/


Trial By Error: Professor Paul Garner’s BMJ Blog Post on His Powerful Cognitions

28 JANUARY 2021

By David Tuller, DrPH

Professor Paul Garner, an infectious disease doctor at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, has had a rough time with long-Covid. He has written about his experiences in a series of compelling blog posts on BMJ’s site. At first, he bonded with members of the ME/CFS community and expressed shock at the shoddy treatment these patients have experienced for years. He even invited me to give a presentation to his research group on the discredited PACE trial, which I was pleased to do.

This week—around nine months after he first contracted Covid-19–he reported in a new BMJ blog that he is fully recovered. Moreover, he claims to have recovered solely through the effect of positive thinking. Once he began believing he could get better and turned off all the negative messaging from other patients, he went to a military-style training exercise and felt great—in tip-top shape. And that was it. He was recovered...............................................
 
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Messages
28
Location
Hungary
I've been following this myself and right now my brain fog/fatigue combo is a bit too strong but I wanted to express how upset I am.

I spent so much time in a mononucleosis forum back in my first few years. It was full of people with post-viral fatigue syndrome in their first 1-2 years (and barely anyone with the acute infection). Plenty of people got better there. It is just how it seems to be with PVFS. Studies that looked at this also showed that fewer people had it at 12 months than 6 months. Long covid might be similar. Some people just get better. Some don't. He got lucky, that's it. I tried working out too, I'm super positive and outgoing and tried maintaining my original life the best I could (except that I couldn't really), I was full of hope it will go away. And here I am, still sick somehow. Except that my personal experience matters much less than his. 😣
 

keepswimming

Senior Member
Messages
327
Location
UK
Action for M.E. responded to his article here.

I like their response - correlation is not causation. A sample of one person cannot be extrapolated for all.

Interesting to hear some of the background details to this @Countrygirl thank you for sharing, it gives some insight.

I too spent the first year of illness trying to push though, I "thought positive" - thinking I was better every time I had a good day. It was an awful year, I was a physical and emotional wreck. Now I've learnt a level of acceptance, and stay within my limits, I feel so much better both emotionally and physically. I still hope to improve, but I think my best chance of improvement is by listening to my body. I heard someone say once - "you can't fight M.E., you have to work with it as a team." Personally, for me, that seems the best strategy. ❤️
 

gbells

Improved ME from 2 to 6
Messages
1,491
Location
Alexandria, VA USA
But all is not as it seems. The ME community have now found that Prof Garner, who claims he fulfilled the CCC definition of ME, was able to walk 5km a day by about August, was considering taking up running, and then went to the Caribbean for a prolonged(three months?) scuba-diving holiday (during lockdown, of course when we are confined to our homes) He was clearly just about recovered when he claims that he acted on the guidance of the LP practitioner.

Long covid isn't ME. It's just part of the longstanding UK campaign to discredit ME disability claims with false claims that it is a mental disorder. He can go F himself. The UK community should be very incensed by this.

The course with LP treatment for ME patients is that they regress and worsen because the underlying causes aren't addressed.
 
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Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,249
a mononucleosis forum back in my first few years. It was full of people with post-viral fatigue syndrome in their first 1-2 years (and barely anyone with the acute infection).

In theory, I recovered from my repeated bouts of mononucleosus and what was "mild" ME CFS, experienced over decades.


Then one day, recovery ceased. It intensified into- the ME one does not want to have. Every day, affecting everything.
 

andyguitar

Moderator
Messages
6,595
Location
South east England
Very conveniently, the timing is crucial as the draft NICE guidelines for ME are about to be finalised and they are likely to remove GET and the influence of PACE, and, specifically, LP. These two high profile figures are a powerful weapon for the BPS group who want to retain GET and LP. One might be forgiven for thinking that the timing of the public appearing of this duo just a little..........convenient,...........if not downright suspicious.
Sounds like a set up to me.
 

Countrygirl

Senior Member
Messages
5,429
Location
UK

Husband of

Senior Member
Messages
313
https://www.healthcarehubris.com/po...er-s-change-of-heart-on-long-covid-and-me-cfs

This an excellent, if lengthy, blog written by a patient and ex-clinician on the politics that consciously or otherwise motivated Professor Garner to betray both the ME and Long Covid communities. It is well-worth reading. It probably deserves a thread of its own, but I will leave it here for now.
Hi, interested in this but the link doesn't work. You don't have enough details for me to do a google search to see if it still exists somewhere. Or perhaps it's been struck by lightning
 

Husband of

Senior Member
Messages
313
Sounds like a set up to me.
I totally agree. He never had me/cfs type illness. More importantly He never even thought he did. He pretended to advocate for ME, he contacted dr shepherd and others who tried to help him, and all so he could then come out and say, like all of the fake testimonials for LP, that he was at first a skeptic but then saw the light, and he could then go on mrs wessellys show to promote LP at the same time as mrs wessellys could promote GET.

these people are evil, and they have a lot in the medical community believing them.

the neurologist we saw, who used to work at the cfs hospital, recommended my wife take a look at recovery Norway , which is basically an ad for LP and other things, an ad against MECFS having a biomedical cause.

A neurologist supporting an NLP course created by an expert tarot reader. Feel like telling her we prefer course based on astrology, but there are none. Alas, the stars haven't aligned for us.