Gabby Klein gives an overview of the P2P process, shedding light on the pitfalls with advice as to what we can do in protest … Right after I wrote this article, the draft review was made public HERE. We have started a thread HERE on Phoenix Rising in order to discuss this review. The review in its final form will be the evidence
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Can You Come for a Visit? My ME/CFS Says No
New grandma Jody Smith shares her frustrations about not being able to visit the new baby… My daughter and son-in-law just had a baby last week. We are thrilled. But we won’t be able to see the baby or hold her any time soon. We won’t be able to take over little gifts or help out with housework or babysitting.
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ME/CFS: A disease at war with itself
Persuasion Smith shares some thoughts on the stigma that comes with ME/CFS … We can all agree that ME/CFS is a nasty disease, particularly in its severe form, but there are abundant nasty diseases in the world. What is unique and particularly confounding about our disease is that so much controversy surrounds it, and not only surrounds it, but invades it too. It
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Knitting Equals Pleasure, Despite ME/CFS
Jody Smith loves knitting. Again. She thought her days of knitting and purling were long over but … she’s back … A dozen years ago I was so decimated by ME/CFS that I couldn’t read, watch TV, or flip through a magazine. My days were spent zipping back and forth along the spectrum of waking and sleeping. I was wide
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Nitric oxide and its possible implication in ME/CFS (Part 2 of 2)
Andrew Gladman explores the current and historic hypotheses relating to nitric oxide problems in ME/CFS. This second article in a 2-Part series puts nitric oxide under the microscope and explores what it is, what it does and why it is so frequently discussed in the world of ME/CFS. The focus of this article is to build upon the previous article and explore how the
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New Exercise Study Brings Both Illumination and Questions
Simon McGrath looks at new objective evidence of abnormal response to exercise in ME/CFS patients, and the questions that researchers are still trying to answer … Given the doubt, scepticism and even denial of benefits that often confronts ME/CFS patients, it’s not surprising that many patients crave clear-cut, objective evidence of physiological problems in the illness. Preferably something that will
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August 8th – What is the one thing about suffering with severe ME that the world needs to know?
Andrew Gladman brings our coverage of the Understanding & Remembrance Day for Severe ME, airing the voice of patients … Long, lazy August afternoons. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the garden growing, and the children are free from school. For many this time of year means holidays, family get-togethers, and a period of general relaxation. However, for sufferers of
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Hyperparathyroidism: An Often Overlooked Differential Diagnosis to ME/CFS
Andrew Gladman puts hyperparathyroidism under the microscope, exploring what the disease is, how it can mimic ME/CFS in presentation and how it is treated. Chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS is, whether we like it or not, by current definition a diagnosis of exclusion. The biggest diagnostic task is therefore differentiating it from the plethora of other disorders that also have
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ME/CFS and Beating the Clock
For Jody Smith, the ticking of a clock was enough at one time to chase her back to her bed. But with the passage of time, she has been able to reclaim her living room … I have two clocks in my living room. One clock is on the wall across from where I usually sit at my computer. The
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Never Ask Us if We’re Hungry — The Answer’s Always No
If you’re ever at Jody Smith‘s house, don’t bother asking anybody if they are hungry … One of the most ridiculous questions you can ask in my house is “Are you hungry?” There are three of us here and for many years, none of us ever got hungry. When our brains would turn to mush, when our faces would go
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Lessons from ME/CFS: Finding Meaning in the Suffering
Andrew Gladman muses upon what lessons he has taken from two years of ME/CFS. If you’re aware of my previous articles here at Phoenix Rising then it’s pretty clear that I don’t generally spend my time musing upon the philosophy of the disease. I find it better to spend my time reading research and trying my best to break it
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First Direct Evidence of Neuroinflammation – ‘Encephalitis’ – in ME/CFS
Simon McGrath reports on the new study that indicates low-grade encephalitis in ME/CFS … A small study with just nine patients has captured the attention of patients and researchers alike after reporting direct evidence of inflammation in the brain of ME/CFS patients. The finding was one of the highlights picked out by Professor Anthony Komaroff in his IACFS/ME conference round
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