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ME/CFS South Australia Inc supports the needs of sufferers of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and related illnesses. We do this by providing services and information to members.
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ME/CFS South Australia Inc aims to keep members informed of various research projects, diets, medications, therapies, news items, etc. All communication, both verbal and written, is merely to disseminate information and not to make recommendations or directives.
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed on this Web site are not necessarily the official views of the Society or its Committee and are not simply an endorsement of products or services.
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Why Are Doctors And Patients Still At War Over ME?
Wednesday 16 August 2017
 Myalgic encephalomyelitis can leave those affected bedridden for years. It's linked with as many as 60 symptoms, the most common being a feeling of constant exhaustion (file pic) |
Why are doctors and patients still at war over M.E.? How the best treatment for the debilitating condition is one of the most bitterly contested areas in medicine
- Myalgic encephalomyelitis can leave those affected bedridden for years
- It's linked with 60 symptoms, most commonly a feeling of constant exhaustion
- There's been a long-running debate between doctors and patients about cause
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a debilitating condition that can leave those affected bedridden for years. It's linked with as many as 60 symptoms, the most common being a feeling of constant exhaustion — 'like a dead battery'.
The condition first reached mainstream consciousness in the Eighties following outbreaks in New York and Nevada. By then it was officially known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
For a time, it seemed everyone knew someone who was affected by it, and it was derisively dubbed 'yuppie flu' because it seemed typically to affect young professionals.
For years there's been a long-running and bitter debate between doctors and patients about its cause and how to treat it.
The lack of a clear physical cause meant many doctors dismissed it as all in the mind. This infuriated patient groups who insisted it was all too real and the result of an infection or immune system failure.
Even now, when it is generally accepted that ME/CFS is a genuine condition, it remains one of the most angrily contested areas of medicine. But the battle lines are no longer drawn just between patients and doctors: the medical community itself is at loggerheads.
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Registered Charity 3104
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