Category: Opinion

Thoughts on NIH speakers from Dr. Zaher Nahle

It was truly unsettling to learn about the news of an invited speaker lecturing at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on November 9, 2016. For decades, the speaker has been a staunch adversary of studying the pathophysiology of ME/CFS and refuses to acknowledge its root cause. I have written many times previously, including in an editorial in March of this year, on the aftermath of the revitalization of the Trans-NIH ME/CFS Working Group—specifically on the perils caused by what I then called “ME/CFS deniers” and “psychosomatization sympathizers.” We will not dedicate additional time to these individuals or elaborate on their misguided theories on our pages other than to make the following three points…

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Madness

We ask for attention and compassion with energy we don’t have. Often this is misunderstood.

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No more 'should': the aim to stop punishing myself for having ME

Have you ever noticed how so many of us beat ourselves up for having this chronic illness, almost as if it is invisible even to us, even as we feel the pain and exhaustion? While we feel the need to not give up and keep a hold of all we can of our lives, I’m becoming aware that I for one often get this fight tangled up with a lot of damaging self-judgement.

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Increasing Efficacy of the CDC’s ME/CFS Educational Program

INTRODUCTION The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is revising and creating new educational materials for its Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) educational program. The hope is that this fourth try at producing ME/CFS educational materials will result in equality of care for ME/CFS patients and they will, for the first time, experience appropriate care throughout

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The PACE Trial Fiasco

This study is the worst kind of science, and noticing flaws does not mean we are sociopaths or psychopaths. Neither does it mean we’re close-minded members of a group that’s only interested in our own views.

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A Plea for Decency to White, Chalder & Sharpe

The time for decency in the face of the overwhelming failure of PACE for many has justifiably passed you by, but potential futility aside, I make this appeal regardless. Every day there is a new ME/CFS patient. Today you can spare that patient from harm. You can spare them from being accused of malingering by their own friends and family. You can spare them from wrongful imprisonment in a psychiatric ward. Today you can set ME/CFS research on an expedited path that leads to real treatments and ultimately a cure. End this tragedy now.

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Whether I like it or not

Over the years I discarded several pairs of shoes. I no longer felt comfortable wearing high heels, nor needed aerobic shoes, or did not have the stamina for a pair of boots that were simply too heavy. With hindsight, I should have kept that pair of boots, because it might have been helpful with losing

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