Great news! About six months ago, we began a project to update, expand, and revamp MEpedia. Due to a generous grant, we were able to create a project scope, hire respected experts in accessibility and MediaWiki development, and make several important changes to MEpedia!MEpedia is a Vital ResourceMEpedia is one of the most utilized resources for researchers, clinicians, and people living with ME/CFS, with over 36 million page views.  However, the software running MEpedia, Medi

I’ve got exciting news to share!In early 2024, #MEAction will launch a new grassroots, peer-run program in the United States to help people with ME, Long COVID, and other infection-associated chronic illnesses find and access local services and support for people with disabilities.This will be an innovative and radical program that is run by, and built for, our sick and disabled community. We call it: Canary Corps.Our community knows well what it’s like to be the “canaries in

#MEAction is thrilled to announce a new travel scholarship for providers and medical students to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Conference, Advancing ME/CFS Research: Identifying Targets for Intervention and Learning from Long COVID, this coming December 12- 13, 2023 in Bethesda, MD.  #MEAction is providing this opportunity for one to two promising medical students (MD, DO, NP,  or PA)  and one to two practicing medical providers (MD, DO, NP, or PA). All scholarshi

#MEAction is excited to announce we are partnering with the Writers Guild Initiative (WGI) to offer creative writing workshops for people with ME and Long COVID**. WGI has graciously donated their time to offer these writer workshops through personal mentorship with the writers of the #MEAction community! The workshops consist of three sessions during the weekends in November. The WGI’s mission is to make the art of storytelling accessible to people of all ethnic, cultural, a

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced they will designate people with disabilities as a population with health disparities. This is a win that could have a large impact on people with ME and the millions of people with disabilities across the country. "This designation recognizes the importance and need for research advances to improve our understanding of the complexities leading to disparate health outcomes and multilevel interventions,” said Dr. Pérez-Stable. “

#MEAction is thrilled to share the incredible work our State Chapters have been up to over the past couple of months! They continue to amaze us daily with their dedication and hard work to bring awareness to the ME community. Read more about their success stories:California: • The University of California has added some disclaimers about the harm of exercise therapy in its Long COVID modules; however, further corrections are still in order. • We have continued successful mont

As a charity we were pleased to be able to submit a longer response than is possible using the online survey. Below is the text as submitted to the DHSC. (PDF version available here)This response is submitted by #MEAction Scotland, the Scottish arm of #MEAction UK, a not for profit organisation. Our response is based on the two areas identified in the Foreword of the Interim Delivery Plan (IDP) where it states that the “Scottish Government is keen to understand the views of s

As a charity we were pleased to be able to submit a longer response than is possible using the online survey. Below is the text as submitted to the DHSC. (PDF Version available here)IntroductionThis response is submitted on behalf of #MEAction UK, a not for profit organisation operating in all regions of the UK. We thank the DHSC staff past and present who supported the Delivery Plan and the volunteers on the working groups who put so much effort into this report. We give mor

We are writing this article to share some exciting news!On Tuesday, September 26, ME advocates delivered copies of the book, The Puzzle Solver, by Tracie White with Ronald W. Davis, PhD, along with information about ME and Long Covid to Senators on the Hill. The books were donated by an individual living with severe ME/CFS in an effort to raise awareness and delivered by health allies. Advocates will return next session to deliver books to the remaining Senate offices.Myalgic

RSVP TODAY: We are hosting a preview party for the new, virtual Home of the #MillionsMissing this Sunday, September 24th, at 12 pm PT/ 3 pm ET/ 8 pm BST!We have always had to be creative in telling Our Story - the story of M.E. - to the world since so many of us cannot protest in the streets. How do we shine a light into our darkened rooms and demand the world’s attention? We started with shoes. Send in your shoes with a tag to tell your story. We will show the world that you

MEAction UK have been in communication with the BMJ and are delighted to announce that the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (JNNP) are publishing an edited version of our rapid response to  ‘Anomalies in the review process and interpretation of the evidence in the NICE guideline for chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis’. We have taken out some of the more direct language but left the sense and the sentiment intact. We agreed to a few selected

#MEAction and Long COVID Justice issued a press statement yesterday about our communities’ deep concerns regarding the rollout of RECOVER’s clinical trials for Long COVID. As studies show half of the Long COVID community meets the diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS - and our core symptoms overlap - RECOVER’s research has major implications for our community. In the press release, we wrote about the great need to trial pharmacological drugs that have already shown promise in the M

#MEAction UK has now received a reply to our complaint about the removal of our rapid response from the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (JNNP). ‘Thank you for your email. I can confirm that your complaint has been received and is currently under review by the Content Integrity team at BMJ. We will endeavour to respond to you in full as soon as possible.’ In order to understand who/what might have been behind the re-evaluation and removal of our rapid response

Halfway through summer, we have so much to report about our immense, day-to-day work advocating for M.E., for you, and for each other. On the medical front, our ongoing, grant-funded project with Mayo Clinic Rochester continues to transform medical education at Mayo. Together, we have updated the ME/CFS homepage, written a Concise Clinical Review article that will debut in Mayo Clinic Proceedings with an attendant CME, and created a new diagnostic and treatment algorithm on A

WHO: Dr. Benjamin Natelson at the Mount Sinai Hospital (New York)WHAT: The Pain and Fatigue Study Center at Mount Sinai is looking to examine why post activity fatigue (Post-exertional malaise) occurs in patients with ME/CFS and at what level. We are looking for patients that are between the ages of 25-60 and BMI of 30 and below.In order to confirm your eligibility, we will complete a brief phone intake.WHEN: The study will run for two years or until we reach our target numbe

My full reality: the interim delivery plan on ME/CFS is a great opportunity for the ME community to make our voices heard. Reading the interim plan and completing the survey is a big committment for #pwME so we have put together a document with advice on how to save your answers, a list of FAQs from the DHSC and a preview of the survey questions. • Easy Read version • Saving • Community call slides • Challenging the introduction • FAQs from DHSC • Question previewEasy read ve

MEAction UK has sent the following letter to the BMJ Editor in Chief, the JNNP Editor in Chief the and the JNNP Editorial Office Team to request more information following the removal of our rapid response to the paper published in the JNNP this month.We are disappointed that the JNNP decided to remove our Rapid Response to, “Anomalies in the review process and interpretation of the evidence in the NICE guideline for chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis”.1  

#MEAction and three Long COVID organizations published a statement today urging Congress to support bipartisan legislation to establish a national task force to investigate the COVID-19 outbreak. Our organizations have also signed onto Marked By Covid’s open letter to Congress calling for the bill’s passage. Together, we are urging Congress to hold our federal health and research agencies accountable for their abject failure to be prepared for the Long COVID and ME/CFS crisis

Announcing #MEAction and Body Politic’s new collaboration: we are excited to announce that #MEAction will now host Body Politic’s advocacy work as a project of #MEAction. Many of you know that Body Politic’s support group has officially closed. This was a devastating loss to the community – we know so much of the Long COVID and ME community have mourned the shutdown of their wonderful space and continue to grieve this loss. #MEAction knew we must keep the advocacy work alive

Below is the text of MEAction UK's rapid response submitted to the JNNP article that was published 10th July 2023.In the article ‘Anomalies in the review process and interpretation of the evidence in the NICE guideline for chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis’ published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry on 10th July 2023, the authors claim NICE invented a new definition of ME. These claims are unfounded as NICE used the Institute of Medi