Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are serious, debilitating conditions that affect millions of people in the United States and around the world. ME/CFS can cause significant impairment and disability. Despite substantial efforts by researchers to better understand ME/CFS, there is no known cause or effective treatment. Diagnosing the disease remains a challenge, and patients often struggle with their illness for years before an identification is made. Some health care providers have been skeptical about the serious physiological - rather than psychological - nature of the illness. Once diagnosed, patients often complain of receiving hostility from their health care provider as well as being subjected to treatment strategies that exacerbate their symptoms. Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome proposes new diagnostic clinical criteria for ME/CFS and a new term for the illness - systemic exertion intolerance disease(SEID). According to this report, the term myalgic encephalomyelitis does not accurately describe this illness, and the term chronic fatigue syndrome can result in trivialization and stigmatization for patients afflicted with this illness. Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome stresses that SEID is a medical - not a psychiatric or psychological - illness. This report lists the major symptoms of SEID and recommends a diagnostic process.One of the report's most important conclusions is that a thorough history, physical examination, and targeted work-up are necessary and often sufficient for diagnosis. The new criteria will allow a large percentage of undiagnosed patients to receive an accurate diagnosis and appropriate care. Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome will be a valuable resource to promote the prompt diagnosis of patients with this complex, multisystem, and often devastating disorder; enhance public understanding; and provide a firm foundation for future improvements in diagnosis and treatment.
This practical manual comes from a nationally recognised centre for the condition and is jointly written by health professionals and their patients. They give straightforward and specifci expert advice, accompanied by real life stories, on managing different aspects of everyday life that can affect energy and they show how to put this advice into practice. They understand the way fatigue affects concentration and therefore break their guidance into easy to follow steps that can be worked through at the reader's own pace.
An important medical milestone for anyone connected with ME/CFS! Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols includes a clinical definition (clinical diagnostic criteria) for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The clinical case definition was developed by an expert medical consensus panel of treating physicians, teaching faculty and world leaders in the research of ME/CFS. An expert subcommittee of Health Canada established the Terms of Reference for the consensus panel. The definition more adequately reflects the complexity of symptoms of a given patient’s pathogenesis and should establish ME/CFS as a distinct medical entity and help distinguish it from overlapping medical conditions in the absence of a definitive laboratory test. “The clinical definition will enable clinicians to make an early diagnosis which may assist in lessening the impact of ME/CFS in some patients,” said Dr. Bruce M. Carruthers, lead author of the definition. “It will reduce the expensive problem of patients being sent to many specialists before being diagnosed and will allow patients to receive appropriate treatments in a timely fashion.” The panel's clinical case definition determines that more of the prominent symptoms are compulsory and symptoms that share a common region of pathogenesis are grouped together for clarity. In addition to severe prolonged fatigue, the definition includes the hallmark symptoms of post-exertional malaise and/or fatigue, sleep dysfunction, pain, two or more of the given neurological/cognitive manifestations, and at least one of the given symptoms from two of the categories of autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune manifestations. Diagnostic exclusions and common co-morbid entities are also given. The special issue of the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome also includes a discussion of prominent symptoms, clinical practice diagnostic and treatment guidelines based on the best available research evidence, and an overview of available research on ME/CFS. The expert panel of 11 physicians—who have diagnosed and/or treated more than 20,000 ME/CFS patients between them—has developed a clinical case definition that provides a flexible conceptual framework based on the characteristic patterns of symptom clusters, which reflect specific areas of pathogenesis. The expert subcommittee of Health Canada selected the expert consensus panel. Authors include: Dr. Bruce M. Carruthers, lead author of the consensus document; co-author of the draft of the original version of the ME/CFS clinical definition, diagnostic and treatment protocols document; internal medicine, Galiano, British Columbia. Dr. Anil Kumar Jain, co-author of the draft the original version of the ME/CFS consensus document, affiliate of Ottawa Hospital, Ontario. Dr. Kenny L. De Meirleir, Professor Physiology and Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; ME/CFS researcher and clinician; organizer of the World Congress on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Related Disorders; a board member of the American Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; and co-editor of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Critical Reviews and Clinical Advances (Haworth) Dr. Daniel L. Peterson, affiliate of the Sierra Internal Medicine Associates in Incline Village, Nevada; ME/CFS researcher and clinician; a board member of the American Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; and member of the International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Study Group Dr. Nancy G. Klimas, Clinical Professor of Medicine in Microbiology/Immunology/Allergy and Psychology, University of Miami School of Medicine; ME/CFS researcher and clinician; a board member of the American Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; and member of the federal CFS Coordinating Committee Dr. A. Martin Lerner, staff physician at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan; Clinical professor and former chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University's School of Medicine; and ME/CFS researcher and clinician Dr. Alison C. Bested, haematological pathologist; former head of the Division of Haematology and Immunology at the Toronto East General and Orthopaedic Hospital; affiliate of the Environmental Health Clinic and Sunnybrook & Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario; ME/CFS researcher and clinician Dr. Pierre Flor-Henry, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Alberta; Clinical Director of General Psychiatry and Director of the Clinical Diagnostic and Research Centre, both based at Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; ME/CFS brain researcher Dr. Pradip Joshi, internal medicine, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Canada Dr. A. C. Peter Powles, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Health Science, McMasters University, Hamilton; Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Chief of Medicine and Sleep Disorders Consultant, St. Joseph's Health Centre, Toronto; Sleep Disorder Consultant at the Sleep Disorder Clinic at St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, and Central West Sleep Affiliation, Paris, Ontario Dr. Jeffrey A. Sherkey, family medicine, affiliate of the University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario; and diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome nearly 10 years ago Marjorie I. van de Sande, Consensus Coordinator; and Director of Education for the National ME/FM Action Network, Canada Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols also addresses diagnostic exclusions and common co-morbid entities. This groundbreaking book is must reading for anyone connected with the disease—personally or professionally.
Combining a self-help manual, personal histories of chronic fatigue sufferers and a dictionary of symptoms and treatments, this comprehensive volume details every facet of the disease and thoroughly discusses every treatment currently available--from diagnosis to symptoms to traditional and alternative therapies to support groups.
This book provides a helpful structure and framework for understanding Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) and its effects as well as practical exercises to help address some of the symptoms that patients may experience.
Significantly updated with the latest developments in diagnosis and treatment recommendations, Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2020 features the popular "5 books in 1" format to organize vast amounts of information in a clinically relevant, user-friendly manner. This efficient, intuitive format provides quick access to answers on 1,000 common medical conditions, including diseases and disorders, differential diagnoses, and laboratory tests – all reviewed by experts in key clinical fields. Updated algorithms, along with hundreds of new figures, tables, and boxes, ensure that you stay current with today's medical practice. - Contains significant updates throughout, covering all aspects of current diagnosis and treatment. - Features 27 all-new topics including chronic traumatic encephalopathy, medical marijuana, acute respiratory failure, gallbladder carcinoma, shift work disorder, radial tunnel syndrome, fertility preservation in women, fallopian tube cancer, primary chest wall cancer, large-bowel obstruction, inguinal hernia, and bundle branch block, among others. - Includes a new appendix covering Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Measures. - Provides current ICD-10 insurance billing codes to help expedite insurance reimbursements. - Patient Teaching Guides for many of the diseases and disorders are included, most available in both English and Spanish versions, which can be downloaded and printed for patients.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating illness, characterised by severe exhaustion and flu - like symptoms affecting possibly 10 per cent of the UK population, for which conventional medicine currently has no cure. Now the authors, who practise at the CFS Research and Treatment Unit, University of London, have developed this new self -...
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is one of the most enigmatic medical disorders of our time, striking adults most often in their most productive years. With the controversial debate over cause and treatment of the illness in mind, the authors seek to unravel many of the questions surrounding the disorder and its features and characteristics. Integrating an overview of the latest research with patients' personal experiences, they look at CFS in relation to: * clinical features * personal and economic implications * biological and psychosocial factors * experiencing symptoms * coping with the illness. This book will provide hope for people with chronic fatigue syndrome and will assist health professionals in working with people with CFS to improve their quality of life.
Lifestyle Balance Program for Less Pain and More Energy If you're struggling with fibromyalgia or CFS, this book can help you. It offers an evidence-based improvement program that can help you achieve a healthy balance between activity, rest, and leisure-a balance that can significantly reduce pain and fatigue and increase your energy. In this book, author Fred Friedberg, a clinical psychologist and a leading researcher in chronic fatigue, first explains how lifestyle impacts the severity and persistence of fibromyalgia and CFS. He then goes on to show how the seven step lifestyle balance program can help you to function and feel better. In step one, you'll learn how to use active relaxation techniques to lessen ongoing stress. Better sleep, anger management, and activity pacing make up steps two, three, and four. Step five focuses on overcoming worry and guilt, and you'll learn how low-effort pleasurable activities can ease pain and fatigue in step six. Finally, in step seven, the importance of finding and maintaining personal support is covered. This effective lifestyle-focused program has brought relief to many others like you who have struggled with these misunderstood illnesses-illnesses that modern medicine cannot cure. You can start on the path to a better quality of life today!
