Two weeks ago,
NICE abruptly announced that it was putting the brakes on publication of its new ME/CFS guidelines—a move precipitated by fierce opposition from key members of the GET/CBT ideological brigades in the British medical establishment. Then last week,
Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a well-known journal, published
a different set of ME/CFS guidelines that—like the unpublished NICE document—specifically advises against the traditional GET/CBT approach.
The article, developed by a group of specialists known as the
US ME/CFS Clinician Coalition, is called “Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Essentials of Diagnosis and Management.” The clinicians make it clear that no treatments have been shown to be curative. Instead, they focus on advice for managing and treating symptoms like orthostatic intolerance, cognitive dysfunction, pain and sleep dysfunction. That the article appears in a publication affiliated with the Mayo Clinic represents something of an ironic twist. The Mayo Clinic has been pretty persistent in offering GET/CBT-type rehabilitation approaches for ME/CFS, despite years of appeals from patients. I hope in future Mayo patients bring a copy of this article to their appointments.............
