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ME/CFS News Items

A selection of news items from the UK press and charity organisations

 

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The Guardian

 

I'm so tired I'm falling asleep at work

  • Observer, Sunday March 16 2008
  • Dr Neil Stanley, Dr Patrick Milroy and Azmina Govindji
Question: When I have to sit still for long periods I fall asleep. This can happen at the theatre, at the cinema or, most embarrassingly, during meetings at work. It's almost painful trying to keep myself awake, and I become dizzy and disoriented. I've had the problem for years - at university I dealt with it by avoiding lectures and reading at home instead. I'm a 23-year-old (...)
(...) by further tests. After that, I feel your doctor must consider chronic fatigue syndrome [CFS], also known as ME. The causes aren't fully (...)

Former Labour mayor and wife are jailed for benefits fraud

  • Guardian, Tuesday December 4 2007
  • Duncan Campbell
A former Labour mayor and his wife were jailed yesterday for falsely claiming benefits totalling nearly £37,000. The couple claimed they had been victims of politically-motivated allegations made by their enemies. John Walker, 57, the former mayor of Sefton, Merseyside, was jailed for 15 months and his wife, Catie, was sentenced to eight months at Liverpool crown court. (...)
(...) had fallen ill in 1998. He had suffered from ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, and also from fibromyalgia, which causes muscle fatigue. His illness (...)

I'm so tired I'm falling asleep at work

  • Observer, Sunday March 16 2008
  • Dr Neil Stanley, Dr Patrick Milroy and Azmina Govindji
Question: When I have to sit still for long periods I fall asleep. This can happen at the theatre, at the cinema or, most embarrassingly, during meetings at work. It's almost painful trying to keep myself awake, and I become dizzy and disoriented. I've had the problem for years - at university I dealt with it by avoiding lectures and reading at home instead. I'm a 23-year-old (...)
(...) by further tests. After that, I feel your doctor must consider chronic fatigue syndrome [CFS], also known as ME. The causes aren't fully (...)

Former Labour mayor and wife are jailed for benefits fraud

  • Guardian, Tuesday December 4 2007
  • Duncan Campbell
A former Labour mayor and his wife were jailed yesterday for falsely claiming benefits totalling nearly £37,000. The couple claimed they had been victims of politically-motivated allegations made by their enemies. John Walker, 57, the former mayor of Sefton, Merseyside, was jailed for 15 months and his wife, Catie, was sentenced to eight months at Liverpool crown court. (...)
(...) had fallen ill in 1998. He had suffered from ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, and also from fibromyalgia, which causes muscle fatigue. His illness (...)

Former Labour mayor and wife are jailed for benefits fraud

  • Guardian, Tuesday December 4 2007
  • Duncan Campbell
A former Labour mayor and his wife were jailed yesterday for falsely claiming benefits totalling nearly £37,000. The couple claimed they had been victims of politically-motivated allegations made by their enemies. John Walker, 57, the former mayor of Sefton, Merseyside, was jailed for 15 months and his wife, Catie, was sentenced to eight months at Liverpool crown court. (...)
(...) had fallen ill in 1998. He had suffered from ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, and also from fibromyalgia, which causes muscle fatigue. His illness (...)

The outbreak of hysteria that's no fun at all

  • Guardian, Wednesday November 21 2007
  • Stuart Jeffries
On September 26, a student at William Byrd high school in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia reported suffering twitching, tremors, dizziness and headaches. Days afterwards, another student announced the same symptoms. Later in the month, more students from the school in Roanoke County were seen twitching. "They wave. It's convulsing. They can't stop it," student Layne (...)
(...) paint. Nobody knows." But the blogosphere went into speculative frenzy: drugs, chronic fatigue syndrome, swamp gas, raging teen hormones and an elaborate prank were (...)

'Safe' uranium that left a town contaminated

  • Guardian Unlimited, Sunday November 18 2007
  • David Rose in Colonie, New York
The following correction was printed in the Observer's For the record column, Sunday November 25 2007 Professor Randall Parrish's research, which found depleted uranium (DU) in the urine of people exposed at the former Colonie, New York weapons factory, was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council, not the UK Ministry of Defence, as we said in the article (...)

Anthony Clare

  • Guardian, Wednesday October 31 2007
  • Caroline Richmond
Professor Anthony Clare, who has died aged 64 of a heart attack while in Paris, did more than anyone of his generation to improve the public understanding of psychiatry and to raise it from its former outcast status. His several series of BBC radio programmes, In the Psychiatrist's Chair, reached a wide audience and spawned four books. He was respected by both his public and (...)
(...) wanted a strong chairman for a 1993 media training seminar on chronic fatigue syndrome, Clare was the person they chose, for his authority, courtesy (...)

Anthony Clare

  • Guardian Unlimited, Tuesday October 30 2007
  • Caroline Richmond

Professor Anthony Clare, who has died aged 64 of a heart attack while in Paris, did more than anyone of his generation to improve the public understanding of psychiatry and to raise it from its former outcast status. His several series of radio programmes, In the Psychiatrist's Chair, reached a wide audience and spawned three books. He was respected by both his public and his (...)
(...) wanted a strong chairman for a 1993 media training seminar on chronic fatigue syndrome, Clare was the person they chose, for his authority, courtesy (...)

I spend my life in a fug of tiredness
  • Guardian, Thursday June 21 2007

I am 26 and, for almost as long as I can remember, I have not slept well. It has been worse since I had glandular fever six years ago. I am constantly exhausted and feel my life is pointless, as I find it impossible to enjoy myself: everything is clouded by tiredness, itching eyes and creeping skin. I hate going to bed and trying to get to sleep. I am a very light sleeper, (...)

 

News in brief

Stone sent back to prison after assault on Stormont Loyalist killer Michael Stone, who launched an attack on the Stormont assembly building on Friday, has had his release licence revoked. Stone, 51, appeared in court on Saturday in Belfast charged with attempting to murder five people, including Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. Having served 12 (...)

Government reviews vCJD alerts for transfusion patients
  • Guardian, Thursday August 17 2006
  • James Meikle
The government revealed yesterday it was reviewing the way it warns people they may be incubating the human form of BSE after transfusion with contaminated blood or being infected by tainted surgical instruments, as a coroner called for an urgent shake-up in the present system. John Hooper, deputy coroner for Brighton & Hove, made the appeal after the family of a (...)
(...) already being unwell. He thought he was suffering from ME or chronic fatigue syndrome. Mr Hooper said that even though the disease was not (...)

Mass medication with Omega 3 would wipe out global fish stocks

  • Guardian, Tuesday June 20 2006
  • George Monbiot
The more it is tested, the more compelling the hypothesis becomes. Dyslexia, ADHD, dyspraxia and other neurological problems seem to be associated with a deficiency of Omega 3 fatty acids, especially in the womb. The evidence of a link with depression, chronic fatigue syndrome and dementia is less clear, but still suggestive. None of these conditions is caused exclusively by (...)

Parents win ruling to send doctors back to GMC over misdiagnosis

  • Guardian, Monday May 1 2006
  • Clare Dyer, legal editor
Parents who were suspected of making up their daughter's illness and fought a lengthy battle to keep her out of care before social workers dropped the case have won a high court ruling requiring that the General Medical Council re-examine their complaint against the two paediatricians who sparked the concerns. The case, which until now has been shrouded in the secrecy (...)
(...) the doctor treating the girl, now aged 15, diagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The family want to tell their tale to the media but (...)

'My body was aching so much I couldn't even wash my hair'

  • Observer, Sunday April 2 2006
  • Interview by Alex Gibbons

It all started to go wrong in 2003. From the start of the year I began to feel suddenly very tired during training and would not be able to recover. It had happened before but as a rule I needed only a day to recuperate. Now, it was taking up to a week. I'd go back to training and, after two days, I was back to square one. One afternoon after training I just slept and slept. (...)
(...) It was then, in September 2003, that I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. I had dedicated my life to canoeing. I started at (...)

Toxic cockpit fumes that bring danger to the skies

  • Guardian Unlimited, Sunday February 26 2006
  • Antony Barnett
Three weeks ago the pilot of a FlyBe flight from Belfast international airport to Gatwick was preparing his passenger jet for take-off . He had just received clearance from air traffic control and released the aircraft's brakes, pushing forward on the power levers in the cockpit to open the throttle. As the plane began to accelerate down the runway at more than 100mph, he (...)
(...) two days the captain was unable to fly, suffering severe headaches and fatigue. Two months earlier on a flight to Gatwick, a pilot handling (...)

Fighting fatigue

  • Guardian, Saturday January 28 2006
  • Joanna Hall
My girlfriend has been advised she is suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. She used to exercise a lot and would like to continue to do something as part of her recovery. Is this sensible? What do you suggest? Chronic fatigue syndrome is an illness with diverse symptoms and unknown causes. For treatment, there is strong evidence that a long-term multiple approach is best, (...)

Raising daily fruit and veg intake 'can ward off strokes'

  • Guardian, Friday January 27 2006
  • Sarah Boseley, health editor
Nearly 40,000 strokes a year could be prevented by a change in diet to include more than five daily portions of fruit and vegetables, according to research published today. There are 150,000 cases of stroke a year in Britain - one every three minutes. Of those, 67,000 people die and a similar number become severely disabled, losing some power of movement or speech. But a (...)
(...) Lancet reviews what is known about the causes and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME. Different factors predispose people to develop the condition, (...)

Watchdog calls for pesticide buffer zones

  • Guardian Unlimited, Thursday September 22 2005
  • David Fickling and agencies

The government's pollution watchdog called today for buffer zones between homes and fields sprayed with pesticides, and insisted farmers give residents warning of upcoming spraying programmes. The chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP), Sir Tom Blundell, also called for farmers to inform residents about which pesticides they are using on their (...)
(...) on pesticide spraying. Crop spraying was also associated with clusters of chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome, although the authors of the (...)

Precious metal

  • Guardian Unlimited, Sunday June 5 2005
While pregnancy is a wonderful thing, it can also be a nutritional drain on the mother. One nutrient that pregnancy can leave a woman short on is iron, and I was interested to read a report regarding the impact that this mineral has on the bonding of new mums with their babies. Scientists have discovered that women found to be deficient in iron relate less well and are less (...)
(...) so a lack of this nutrient commonly manifests as physical and mental fatigue. Iron also has a role in the normal functioning of the (...)

Widow acquitted on failure to prevent husband's suicide

  • Guardian, Thursday April 28 2005
  • Martin Wainwright

A jury took less than three hours yesterday to throw out a prosecution which threatened to extend the crime of manslaughter to carers who fail to prevent suicides by people who have repeatedly made it clear that they wish to take their own lives. Jill Anderson, 49, who told police she and her pain-racked husband, Paul, had exchanged the phrase "I love you" at least 17 times (...)
(...) whose health and business had collapsed, had suffered from both the chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, and years of frustration at what he considered misguided (...)

Widow accused of allowing suicide

  • Guardian, Thursday April 21 2005
  • Martin Wainwright
A woman who deliberately delayed fetching medical help after her pain-racked and bedridden partner took an overdose of drugs went on trial yesterday in a case with implications for the assisted suicide debate. Jill Anderson, 49, denies the manslaughter of her husband, Paul, whose successful career as a translator and owner of a flourishing business was destroyed by a (...)
(...) he also had irritable bowel syndrome, neck strain and a frozen shoulder. He was diagnosed as suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as (...)

Wounded in action

  • Guardian, Friday February 4 2005
  • Alison Roberts
The first symptom was sleeplessness. It was July 2003 and Lance Corporal David McGough of the Royal Army Medical Corps was just back from a five-month tour of duty in Basra, Iraq. Lots of the lads from his unit had trouble settling back to a normal routine at first, but most were OK within a fortnight or so. David, however, did not sleep for an entire month. "My body just (...)
(...) both masked and exacerbated his chronic underlying depression. The army doctor...existence of a Gulf war syndrome, and that post-traumatic (...)

Sleeping sickness

  • Observer, Sunday November 28 2004
  • Clara Penn
Almost 50 years after the term 'myalgic encephalomyelitis' was coined in The Lancet, describing the condition affecting a group of patients admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in London, a network of dedicated clinical services is finally being developed for its sufferers. This year, ý8.5m of government funding will be pumped into creating dozens of regional centres, training (...)
(...) no defining biological marker to aid diagnosis, the personal struggle against Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) - also called by the older terms ME or (...)

Gulf war syndrome claims receive boost

  • Guardian, Monday November 22 2004
What were the inquiry's findings? The inquiry report said all scientific studies agreed Gulf veterans were twice as likely to suffer from ill health than if they had been deployed elsewhere ... Further research was needed to try to pinpoint the causes more precisely, the report said. However, there was no reason for the Ministry of Defence not to accept that the illnesses (...)
(...) complex of multiple chronic symptoms over and...symptoms of the syndrome easy to diagnose...headaches, joint pain, fatigue, diarrhoea, skin (...)

Inquiry backs 'Gulf war syndrome' claims

  • Guardian Unlimited, Wednesday November 17 2004
  • Press Association
An independent inquiry into Gulf war illnesses today called on the Ministry of Defence to finally accept that thousands of veterans had suffered ill health as a result of their service in the 1991 conflict. The inquiry, headed by the former law lord Lord Lloyd of Berwick, said there was "every reason" to accept the existence of a "Gulf war syndrome", the existence of which (...)
(...) a "Gulf war syndrome", the existence of...motor neurone disease, chronic fatigue, skin rashes, (...)

Gulf illness research 'could help tackle chemical attack'

  • Guardian Unlimited, Monday August 2 2004
  • Staff and agencies
Further research into the various illnesses suffered by veterans of the first Gulf war could help to reduce the potentially lethal effects of a terrorist chemical attack, a US congressman said today. Bernie Sanders, an independent congressman for the state of Vermont, also said research into the illnesses - alleged by some to be a Gulf war syndrome - could help millions who (...)
(...) connected to diseases for which we currently have no treatment, like chronic fatigue syndrome," he added. He explained that US soldiers had been branded (...)

Gulf war veterans' veracity doubted

  • Guardian, Thursday July 29 2004
  • James Meikle, health correspondent
A former army medical officer yesterday suggested that some veterans of the first Gulf war exaggerated the extent to which their health had been damaged by their service. Retired Major General Peter Craig, who still sits on service pension tribunals, said: "I am not absolutely convinced by the veracity of the evidence I have personally heard. At the very least, in certain (...)
(...) syndrome; a ruling that has dismayed government officials because they do not accept the condition exists. Other payments have been made for chronic (...)

Ill veterans 'made to feel like enemy'

  • Guardian Unlimited, Monday July 12 2004
  • Press Association
Veterans of the 1991 Gulf war were made to feel like the enemy when they complained of a range of debilitating illnesses following the conflict, a new independent inquiry heard at its opening today. Flight Lieutenant John Nichol, who served as an RAF Tornado navigator, described a range of illnesses that service people had suffered and criticised the response from military (...)
(...) called Gulf war syndrome, insisting there was...widely, but included chronic fatigue, memory loss, (...)

'Every part of my body hurt'

  • Guardian, Monday June 7 2004
  • Hilary Mantel
The weekend I first began to bleed, my family had just moved house. The furniture was shrouded, the mood was furious and purposive; we were redecorating, soaking and scraping off wallpaper, layer after layer of it: regency stripes, faded sepia vistas and blown roses. My mother kept me up to the task, lugging buckets of water and pushing around a yard brush. Exercise was (...)
(...) went on the pill. My period pains eased. But soon nausea, vomiting, fatigue and aching legs took me to the doctor. These symptoms lasted (...)

'Going to the loo was like climbing Everest'

  • Guardian, Tuesday April 27 2004
  • Sarah Boseley
David Puttnam's energy and drive as a film producer gave the world some brilliant films, peaking in a phenomenal run of eight hits made in less than eight years, from Bugsy Malone to The Mission, including Midnight Express, Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields and Local Hero. The moral anger and passion of The Killing Fields still burns in him today, as he tours the benighted (...)

Puttnam tells of 16 years with ME

  • Guardian, Tuesday April 27 2004
  • Sarah Boseley, health editor
The Oscar-winning film producer David Puttnam has been suffering from ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, for the past 16 years. It was partly responsible for his departure from Columbia Pictures in Hollywood, he has exclusively told the Guardian. Lord Puttnam was first hit by a bout of ME that lasted six months in 1988. He believes that is was triggered by the joint impact (...)

Health Centres to provide ME treatment

  • Guardian, Wednesday January 21 2004
  • John Carvel
The government yesterday began the first concerted attempt to provide NHS treatment and support for an estimated 240,000 patients suffering from ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, the debilitating condition that used to be dismissed as "yuppie flu". Stephen Ladyman, the health minister, said the NHS would set up 12 centres across England to provide specialist assessment, (...)

Health Centres to provide ME treatment

  • Guardian, Wednesday January 21 2004
  • John Carvel

The government yesterday began the first concerted attempt to provide NHS treatment and support for an estimated 240,000 patients suffering from ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, the debilitating condition that used to be dismissed as "yuppie flu". Stephen Ladyman, the health minister, said the NHS

Clinics boost for ME sufferers

  • Guardian Unlimited, Tuesday January 20 2004
  • Tash Shifrin
New services to support people with chronic fatigue syndrome will be set up across the country, the health minister, Stephen Ladyman, announced today. Twelve centres will be set up to support the development of local services for people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as ME. Each will be run by a specialist "clinical champion". The centres will provide (...)
(...) New services to support people with chronic fatigue syndrome will be set up across the country, the health minister, (...)

Tired and emotional

  • Guardian Unlimited, Sunday August 17 2003
  • Helen Sewell
I have suffered from a dreadful fatigue for five years. Not a dozy tiredness which disappears after a good night's rest, but an overwhelming, debilitating exhaustion which fogs up my brain and totally saps my energy. And to make matters worse, I can't sleep. There are about a quarter of a million people in the UK with the same symptoms as me, but my doctors say I'm a (...)
(...) one specialist hospital consultant has put a name to my illness: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or ME. There's no test for ME. It can (...)

Bowel diseases linked to bug in milk

  • Guardian, Thursday August 7 2003
  • James Meikle, health correspondent
Changes to the way milk and water are prepared for human consumption may be needed to fight "a public health tragedy" linked to a bug causing illness in hundreds of thousands of people, it was claimed last night. Researchers believe they have found the strongest association yet between a disease commonly found in livestock and Crohn's disease, a condition of the digestive (...)
Waking the brain
  • Guardian Unlimited, Wednesday July 23 2003
The sun is shining, your friends are in the park, and you're sitting in a dim and musty library. But while most students attempt to soak up fact after fact, not many would consider improving memory capacity as an exam tactic. "The idea is that if the brain has greater ease to shift between different states of focus ... the individual is then able to adjust to any kind of (...)
(...) function problems such as epilepsy, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and chronic fatigue syndrome. "It appears to be the case that the brain just (...)

Clever girl destroyed

  • Guardian, Monday July 21 2003
  • John Sutherland
Tony Blair, Jayson Blair and Blair Hornstine have more in common than a name. Each has come a cropper from accusations of plagiarism. Blair Hornstine, a senior at Moorestown High School, New Jersey, was all set to be valedictorian (top pupil) at the school's graduation ceremony, on June 19. To call Ms Hornstine an outstanding student would be understatement verging on (...)
(...) To cap it all, Blair was legally disabled - a sufferer from chronic fatigue syndrome (quite understandable, her less outstanding classmates may have felt). She (...)

Four soldiers claim new Gulf war syndrome

  • Guardian, Wednesday May 28 2003
  • Richard Norton-Taylor
The defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, was yesterday accused of misleading the Commons over his ministry's vaccination policy amid evidence that four soldiers are suffering symptoms similar to Gulf war syndrome. The four soldiers, who are threatening to sue the Ministry of Defence, say they were given multiple vaccinations in a single day before the war against Iraq, a policy (...)
(...) amid evidence that four soldiers are suffering symptoms similar to Gulf war syndrome. The four soldiers, who are threatening to sue the Ministry of (...)

After the war, a fight for justice

  • Guardian, Saturday May 3 2003
  • Richard Colbey
An unlikely link might be made between maverick MP George Galloway, Forces Law, a consortium of solicitors representing servicemen, and Field Marshall Haig as portrayed in the comedy series Blackadder. Each has advised soldiers on how they might get out of serving in wars. Forces Law is chaired by Wolverhampton solicitor, Justin Hugheston-Roberts. His firm, Rose Williams, (...)
(...) of Gulf War Syndrome. By the end...sexual discomfort and chronic fatigue. The cause (...)
(...) issues facing service personnel and their families making claims over Gulf War Syndrome and friendly (...)

A babel of voices

  • Guardian, Saturday April 19 2003
In her late 20s Ali Smith caught a mystery bug and was laid up in bed for months: the official verdict was chronic fatigue syndrome, which didn't exactly narrow it down. She was a lecturer in English at Strathclyde University, teaching hundreds of students she was encouraged to think of as clients (because they were paying for it), and suddenly one day she couldn't cross the (...)
(...) was laid up in bed for months: the official verdict was chronic fatigue syndrome, which didn't exactly narrow it down. She was a (...)

In a critical condition

  • Observer, Sunday March 23 2003
  • Kathryn Flett

This Little Life BBC2 ER C4 The Clinic C4 In her book, Illness As Metaphor, Susan Sontag writes about the way we attempt to understand illness using the metaphors of war, with the chronically sick invariably battling for survival against an invading army of disease. Sontag argues that 'the most truthful way of regarding illness - and the healthiest way of being ill - is (...)
(...) bedridden with what was then called M.E. and is now chronic fatigue syndrome) and it helped me to stop perceiving a baffling illness (...)

A picture of health

  • Guardian, Thursday March 20 2003
  • David Batty
The speed of the allied victory in the 1991 Gulf war helped exorcise the bitter memories of Vietnam that had long plagued military strategists at the Pentagon. After only four days of ground combat Iraqi forces were driven from Kuwait with only 148 US and 24 UK troops killed in battle. The hope - and the expectation - is that the British and US casualties will be similarly (...)
(...) included chronic fatigue, joint and muscle pain, memory loss, reproductive problems, depression and gastro-intestinal disorders. Collectively these conditions were labelled Gulf war syndrome (...)

The men who know

  • Guardian, Tuesday March 4 2003
  • Sally Weale

Twelve years ago Les McCourt was engaged in what must have been one of the most unenviable jobs of the Gulf war. A private from Gateshead, he was employed in the army war graves section of the Royal Pioneer Corps. It was McCourt's job to recover allied bodies and prepare them to be sent back to the UK; it was also his responsibility to bury any Iraqi casualties, and it was (...)
(...) the Gulf are now suffering from unexplained illnesses, often called Gulf war syndrome, which is still not recognised by the Ministry of Defence, a (...)

This might hurt

  • Guardian, Tuesday February 25 2003
  • Gerard Seenan
There is more than a little irony in the revelation by Lady Thatcher's former aide, Cynthia Crawford, that the Iron Lady's famously high energy levels were sustained by injections of vitamin B12. Her long blue reign over Britain can be attributed, at least in part, to an injection in the bottom with the red vitamin. Alongside the fondness for a late night dram of whisky, (...)

Ray Bristow

  • Guardian Unlimited, Tuesday February 4 2003
Before I volunteered to serve in the Gulf, I used to run marathons for charity. Now, even on a good day, I need a walking stick to go short distances. Any further and I have to use a wheelchair. When I went out to Saudi Arabia to serve as a medical theatre technician in early 1991, I believed our cause was just. But now I feel betrayed because ministers and military officials (...)
(...) health deteriorated over the next few years. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, memory loss, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatism, post-traumatic stress disorder (...)

Disease: the final frontier

  • Guardian, Saturday January 18 2003
  • Simon Wessely

The Deadly Truth: A History of Disease in America by Gerald N Grob 352pp, Harvard, £23.50 Some years ago I attended a conference called "Clinical Futures", at which various medical luminaries were invited to address the audience on the future of medicine and medical care. I recall a disconcertingly young, and disconcertingly famous, professor of medicine from a London (...)

UK troops raise fears over anthrax jab

  • Guardian Unlimited, Wednesday January 8 2003
  • Staff and agencies
Troops expecting to be deployed to Iraq in the event of war are raising concerns about the Ministry of Defence's anthrax vaccine, it was claimed today. The National Gulf Veterans and Families Association (NGVFA), which represents thousands of servicemen who believe their health suffered after they were given a cocktail of vaccinations in the 1991 conflict, said the (...)
(...) have complained of illnesses including chronic muscle and joint pain, anxiety, fatigue and memory loss that (...)

Mystery surrounds secret 1991 vaccines

  • Guardian, Monday December 16 2002
  • David Pallister
Britain sent more than 53,000 troops to the Gulf war 12 years ago. They faced the threat of chemical and biological attacks and a series of medical counter measures were hurredly introduced. The range of vaccines was kept secret, even from the troops, to prevent the Iraqis learning how they were protected. But with the politcal furore over Gulf war syndrome, the Ministry of (...)

Do you often feel ill on holiday ...

  • Guardian, Tuesday November 26 2002
  • Sally Weale
I don't remember much of the first week of my honeymoon. I was curled up in bed in a hotel in Antigua, feeling nauseous, aching from head to foot, unable to venture further than the luxury bathroom. The complimentary champagne remained unopened; the super-bouncy kingsize honeymoon four-poster no more than a luxurious sickbed. I thought I was suffering from exhaustion. It now (...)
(...) been suffering from something called leisure sickness. Leisure sickness, like paradise syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, seasonal affective disorder and sick building syndrome, is one (...)

How bad is it?

  • Observer, Sunday November 17 2002
  • Helen Foster
Here's a medical mystery - how can I go to bed at 10pm, wake up at 7am, yet still be exhausted? OK, by exhausted do you mean just tired or, 'can't lift my limbs, haven't got the energy to get out of bed', shattered? Umm, just tired really: I'm nodding off in meetings. That's good news - extreme fatigue can signify more serious problems, like ME or chronic fatigue syndrome. (...)
(...) news - extreme fatigue can signify more serious problems, like ME or chronic fatigue syndrome. Instead, you're probably looking at some sort of disturbed (...)

No way out but burnout

  • Observer, Sunday September 1 2002
  • Mary Braid
It was Julie McNamara's job to help the man who had just sloped into her office, shoulders sagging, late for an appointment. She was a therapist and he was one of her clients. 'He was sitting there with this sulky expression,' she says, with a wry laugh. 'He just looked so negative. I looked at him and said, "You think you're having a hard time?" and told him to go to bed (...)

Are we obsessed or are we ill?

  • Guardian Unlimited, Sunday April 21 2002
Some patients do bother doctors with minor problems ('Why it's all in the mind', Focus, last week). Others have disabling medical conditions, difficult to diagnose and not fully understood. Overworked doctors cannot have detailed knowledge of all medical conditions or research findings. As a physiotherapist, I treated many new mothers who had acute back or pelvic pain, (...)
(...) to-assess symptoms are thought to be hypochondriacs. Patients with ME/chronic fatigue syndrome welcome the recent Government report on this complex and very (...)

Why it's all in the mind

  • Guardian Unlimited, Sunday April 14 2002
  • Anthony Browne

It was only after Brendon lost his house, his job, most of his friends, his wife and contact with his kids that he discovered he had a disease. 'It just got worse over the years. I was drinking whisky from first thing in the morning, up to two bottles a day. I hid my drinking until it got so bad I didn't care any more. I just couldn't stop it until I lost everything I had (...)
(...) used to be dismissed as 'yuppie flu', then chronic fatigue syndrome, is also an illness, 'myalgic encephalomyelitis', even though there is no evidence, (...)

Fat and fed up? You're not really ill

  • Guardian, Wednesday April 10 2002
  • Sarah Boseley, health editor

A leading medical journal is about to risk the wrath of patient groups by asking whether certain conditions, from chronic fatigue syndrome to obesity to depression, ought to be reclassified as "non-diseases". The British Medical Journal, with the help of its doctor readership, has put together a list of 174 conditions which it feels could be reclassified. They range from (...)
(...) asking whether certain conditions, from chronic fatigue syndrome to obesity to (...)
(...) such as obesity, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome are not (...)

Battle fatigue

  • Guardian, Saturday March 30 2002
  • Jerome Burne

For ME sufferers, the bitter feud between the scientists as to whether it is a genuine physical complaint, or more a disease of the mind, has only added to the dispiriting nature of their ailment. After all, if even the experts don't know what's wrong with them, what hope is there? Jerome Burne meets the warring parties - and finds that, at last, they're discovering some common (...)
(...) crippling symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), was...of CFS, or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), (...)

An illness, by any name

  • Guardian, Saturday February 9 2002
I am 30 years old and have never been a healthy adult. I am a bedridden, severely affected ME sufferer. No doubt Dr Michael Fitzpatrick's heart is sinking. Well his article made my heart sink with the weary familiarity of it all (The making of a new disease, February 7). So "exhaustive research" has failed to confirm biological causation of ME. Few doctors have specialist (...)
(...) Redfox.martin@virgin.net · There have been enough misunderstandings about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ ME without these being compounded by Michael Fitzpatrick. Far from (...)

The making of a new disease

  • Guardian, Thursday February 7 2002

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) - also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) - must be recognised as a genuine illness, according to a working group reporting to the chief medical officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson. The report insists that doctors must provide "prompt, authoritative diagnosis", appropriate advice and early access to treatment. "This is a real disease (...)

ME recognised as chronic condition

ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), officially came in out of the cold yesterday with a government-endorsed report recognising it as a chronic and treatable condition. Controversy has raged around ME/CFS - once tagged yuppie flu - for decades. Patients have complained that they were told to pull themselves together and that their symptoms were all in the (...)

Sport in brief

Snooker Ali Carter underlined his promise and the current wretched form of Mark Williams by beating the world No1 5-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Stan James British Open at the Telewest Arena, Newcastle. The 22-year-old from Tiptree, who made headlines two seasons ago by beating Stephen Hendry in the Preston grand prix, said: "I didn't play great but Mark was (...)
(...) Marshall, who refuses to quit despite having his career ruined by chronic fatigue syndrome after losing the 1995 British Open final to Jansher Khan. (...)

A very modern epidemic

  • Guardian, Thursday September 27 2001
  • Sarah Boseley

When tuberculosis was rife in the last century, its victims were taken from their homes and shut away in sanatoria. When plague raged in the Middle Ages, the stricken households had their doors marked with a cross - for God alone could help them. There is an illness abroad in the UK that is now striking down hundreds of thousands of people. It is not infectious, but some of (...)

Storm brews over 'all in mind' theory of ME

  • Guardian, Thursday September 20 2001
  • Sarah Boseley, health editor

A review which found that the most promising treatments for ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, were psychologically based, was yesterday expected to provoke a storm of protest from those who believe the illness has a physical cause. Many patients and their support groups are convinced that the condition not only has a physical cause but is probably linked to exposure to (...)
(...) review which found that the most promising treatments for ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, were psychologically based, was yesterday expected to provoke a storm (...)

Parents of ME children accused of abuse

  • Guardian Unlimited, Sunday September 16 2001
  • Gaby Hinsliff

Parents are being wrongly accused of child abuse by doctors who fail to recognise the debilitating illness ME in children, experts have warned. The Department of Health is now expected to change guidelines on child protection after a series of horrifying apparent mistakes culminating in a 'mini-epidemic' of misdiagnosis. In some cases mothers have been accused of (...)

Kelly Holmes wants to be the next Anneka Rice

  • Observer, Sunday July 29 2001
  • Will Buckley

After Kelly Holmes won a bronze medal in Sydney she said 'I cannot believe it' 20 times in the space of a four-minute interview. If she manages to repeat the feat in Edmonton she reckons: 'I'll say it 30 times.' She has been through some tough times in the months after becoming the first British woman since Ann Packer in Tokyo 1964 to win a medal in the 800 metres. 'I've (...)
(...) a medal in the 800 metres. 'I've been suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome,' she says. 'It happens because your system is run down (...)

Mother and son 'died from despair'

  • Guardian, Friday July 20 2001
  • Steven Morris

An Eton scholarship pupil and his mother killed themselves with painkillers and sleeping pills in despair at her chronic illness and his having to be away as a boarder, an inquest heard yesterday. Keshan Gunawardena, 13, and his mother Dinesha were found on the bed by the boy's father, Kulasiri, in the master bedroom at their home in Ascot in Berkshire. Mrs Gunawardena (...)

Silent but deadly
  • Observer, Sunday May 13 2001
  • Ursula Kenny
As killer viruses go, it's fair to say that hepatitis C hasn't really had the attention it deserves. Highly infectious and eight times more common than HIV in this country, it has been described as a 'viral time bomb' by at least one expert, but it hasn't - since its discovery in 1989 - had anything like the funding and publicity that HIV has, despite experts in the (...)

 

The Daily Telegraph

Earth
ME: 'Invisible disease' is now easier to read
18/03/2008 00:01AM GMT  |  Bob Ward

encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), following groundbreaking work on its genetic origins. 'The stigma associated with the disease can sometimes be as much of a problem as the symptoms' ME/CFS affects about one in 200 ...read 

News
Treat ME more seriously, doctors ordered
23/08/2007 00:01AM BST  |  Daily Telegraph Reporter

on fitness to work or study. Little is known about what causes ME, which is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. Symptoms can be treated with drugs but the condition cannot be cured. Some people seem to improve gradually and may suffer periodic relapses. ...read 

Health
Forever sick, thanks to a cat
29/01/2007 00:01AM GMT  |  Sophie Brodie

symptoms are of "chronic fatigue" which, it transpires, is another name for the dreaded myalgic encephalopathy (ME), or "yuppy flu". This is little consolation because, although there are 250,000 "sufferers" in the UK, it has no cure, few treatments, and ...read 

Health
The puzzle of ME moves a little closer to being solved
15/05/2006 00:01AM BST  |  Barbara Lantin

cannot even agree about its name. And yet, there is no doubting the impact of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), or Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome. In the genes? The Duchess of Kent suffers from ME A survey published ...read 

News
Hope for sufferers of chronic fatigue
02/03/2006 00:01AM GMT  |  Roger Highfield

Hope for sufferers of chronic fatigue. A drug that acts on the body's immune system offers a potential new way to treat chronic fatigue syndrome, according to research on biological effects of the disease. The symptoms of chronic fatigue, which may affect ...read 

News
Husband made 120 calls to receive £3.50 benefit
19/12/2005 00:01AM GMT  |  Nick Britten

West Midlands Regional Development Agency, said: "It beggars belief. It is a disorganised, fractured, chaotic system." His wife, 61, a former nurse who suffers from Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME), which brings on chronic fatigue, became eligible for a state ...read 

Health
More talk, more action
22/08/2005 00:16PM BST  |  Christina Hopkinson

what works with reverse therapy - it recognises that your emotional and physical health is so closely linked." What is chronic fatigue syndrome? Formerly referred to as ME (Myalgic Encephalitis), chronic fatigue syndrome is defined as a severe, disabling ...read 

News
Murray Ramsay
07/12/2004 00:01AM GMT

communications signals. The son of a consultant physician who would become the first to recognise the disease ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome), Murray Ramsay was born in South Africa on May 22 1928. The family moved to London ...read 

News
Centres for ME sufferers to cost £8m
21/01/2004 00:01AM GMT  |  Celia Hall

Centres for ME sufferers to cost £8m. A dozen specialist centres are being set up across England to help people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, the Government announced yesterday. They will cost £8.5 million. The syndrome, once dismissed as ...read 

Comment
ME, ME, ME
16/01/2004 00:01AM GMT  |  Dr Charles Shepherd, ME Association, Buckingham

ME, ME, ME. Sir - It is two years since the Chief Medical Officer for England published his report into the controversial illness known as ME/CFS (myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome). At the time, I was a member of his working group. The report ...read 

Health
In sickness and in health: chronic fatigue
16/11/2003 00:00AM GMT  |  Dr James Le Fanu

In sickness and in health: chronic fatigue. It is always a pleasure to pass on readers' personal tips and remedies, but what follows is in a rather different league - with the potential to transform the lives of thousands. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also ...read 

News
Obesity and ME are not diseases, say doctors
11/04/2002 00:01AM BST  |  Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent

new drugs. Chronic fatigue syndrome (myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME) and the menopause were deemed non-diseases by 13 per cent. Transvestism was named by eight per cent, and seven per cent wanted both Gulf War syndrome and premenstrual syndrome reclassified. ...read 

News
Doctors told they must take ME seriously
12/01/2002 00:01AM GMT  |  Nicole Martin

Doctors told they must take ME seriously. DOCTORS must recognise chronic fatigue syndrome as a serious illness that can be "debilitating and distressing", says a report commissioned by the Government. The ailment, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis ...read 

Comment
How the law is being abused to force treatment on children
11/07/2001 00:00AM BST  |  Margaret Mar

yet to find a cure - myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), often bracketed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). When questioned, the Department of Health acknowledges both the seriousness of the illness and the lack of effective treatment for it. In practice, ...read 

News
Mother's depression 'led my son to suicide'
07/04/2001 00:00AM BST  |  Thomas Harding

in a suspected suicide pact by taking pills prescribed for her condition. Mrs Gunawardena had for many years been suffering from ME - myalgic encephalomyelitis - also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. The bodies were discovered lying next to each other ...read 

News
Eton pupil dies in suicide pact with mother
06/04/2001 00:00AM BST  |  Thomas Harding

at the scene. Mrs Gunawardena was said to have been suffering from severe depression and ME - myalgic encephalomyelitis - also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. Supt Trevor Davies, of Thames Valley Police, said: "There is evidence to suggest the mother ...read 

Health
Enjoy a healthy drink
17/10/2000 00:00AM BST  |  Dr Sarah Brewer

to as chronic fatigue syndrome or, when it follows a definite viral illness, as post-viral fatigue syndrome. Preliminary evidence suggests that B vitamin status, especially pyridoxine (vitamin B6) is low in some people with chronic fatigue and it is worth ...read 

The Times

What is chronic fatigue syndrome or ME?

...Ormond Street Hospital Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME...conditions can cause fatigue, for example glandular...org.uk. In summary: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is more common.....

Jane Collins

14 September 2007 Times Online

Coping with ME

...dismissed as “yuppie flu”, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or ME (myalgic encephalopathy) is now recognised by the World...condition, whose symptoms include debilitating fatigue, pain and problems with sleep, memory and.....

02 September 2007 The Sunday Times

Mum, nothing works. I can’t move

...much of the time he has suffered from ME (myalgic encephalitis, otherwise known as chronic fatigue syndrome). On Friday parts of the diary...more tired ever.” Facts about ME Myalgic encephalitis (ME): myalgia is muscle pain.....

Penny Wark

23 July 2007 The Times

Fatigue syndrome is not all in the mind

...to suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), as...declared it a genuine chronic illness and its classification...can result in years of chronic, painful fatigue that, crucially, is...CFS, it is also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME...

22 January 2007 The Times

Mailbag: Letters

...read the advice about chronic fatigue syndrome given by Dr...patients with CFS/ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis...Bristol MORE THAN JUST FATIGUE Whatever the physical...dysfunction not present in chronic fatigue. Thus, even if some...

21 January 2007 The Sunday Times

Drug to be tested on ME patients

...debilitating effects of myalgic encephalopathy (ME...ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS...result in years of chronic, painful fatigue. In January 2002...declared ME a genuine chronic illness that may cause...

Rebecca Anne Smith

11 January 2007 Times Online

Chocolate helps ME sufferers

...contains 85 per cent cocoa solids and is rich in polyphenol flavonoids can combat the tiredness caused by chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a study by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust found. Steve Atkin...

19 December 2006 The Times

Mysterious fatigue illness that costs Britain £6bn a year

...000 people in Britain are so severely affected by myalgic encephalomyelitis, once dismissed by many doctors as...cent) has never heard of ME, which is also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The illness particularly affects the nervous...

08 May 2006 The Times

Inside story: chronic fatigue syndrome

...The diagnosis: chronic fatigue syndrome. The prognosis...8217;m so tired . . . Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is the nearly same as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME...sometimes called post viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS). CFS...

04 February 2006 The Times

Be clear — it’s a drag

...influenced by the crowd. Chronic fatigue In the first week of the autumn...other conditions that can cause fatigue, such as glandular fever or...three months, she may have chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, which affects...

05 November 2005 The Times

'Yuppie flu' may not be all in the mind - it might be in the genes

...8212; also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS...condition, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or...expression that lead to chronic fatigue. “CFS often...energy and suffer from fatigue,” Dr Kerr...

Mark Henderson

21 July 2005 The Times

A fight for health and recognition

...condition called ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis...despite the crippling fatigue and myriad physiological...condition, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Epstein...definitive diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome and an even...

22 August 2004 The Sunday Times

Letters: Effect of exercise on chronic fatigue

...exercise therapy (Peta Bee article, T2, February 2) is indeed a promising treatment for ME/CFS, (myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome) although the evidence is not definitive, and there are concerns, which I share, that inappropriate...

Peter D. White

09 February 2004 Times Online

Effect of exercise on chronic fatigue

...exercise therapy (Peta Bee article, T2, February 2) is indeed a promising treatment for ME/CFS, (myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome) although the evidence is not definitive, and there are concerns, which I share, that inappropriate...

Peter D. White

09 February 2004 The Times

Fit to fight fatigue

...developed it were labelled hypochondriacs. But chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), sometimes called ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), is now a recognised...Symptoms include bouts of overwhelming fatigue accompanied by painful muscles, aching...

02 February 2004 The Times

Health news in brief

Fatigue research

A dozen centres to treat patients who have chronic fatigue syndrome, sometimes called ME (myalgic encephalopathy), are to be opened around England in an attempt to improve care, the Government said. The centres, using an...

21 January 2004 Times Online

Brain test proves fatigue syndrome

...they may have found the first scientific evidence for chronic fatigue syndrome, which affects more than 150,000 people...brains of sufferers of CFS, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or “yuppie flu...

Oliver Wright

22 December 2003 The Times

Brain test proves fatigue syndrome

...they may have found the first scientific evidence for chronic fatigue syndrome, which affects more than 150,000 people...brains of sufferers of CFS, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or “yuppie flu...

Oliver Wright

22 December 2003 Times Online

Cover story: The agony and the fantasy

...years ago he developed severe, chronic back pain pursuing a career...Occupational injuries do cause chronic back pain, and a positive...debilitating conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME...

19 October 2003 The Sunday Times

Backache: The agony and the fantasy

...years ago he developed severe, chronic back pain pursuing a career...Occupational injuries do cause chronic back pain, and a positive...debilitating conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME...

19 October 2003 Times Online

Chronic fatigue syndrome: Tired or emotional?

...first UK seminar into the physical causes of chronic fatigue syndrome is being held in Scotland next weekend but its location is being kept secret. Chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), provokes strongly...

Jerome Burne

27 September 2003 The Times

Scottish researchers in ‘yuppie flu’ breakthrough

...important breakthrough in proving that myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a genuine...that sufferers of ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, produce higher levels...ME should be recognised as a chronic and treatable condition. The report...

Sue Leonard

02 February 2003 The Sunday Times

The Independent

 

 

 

The Daily Mail

 

 

Shoplifter who killed innocent man in supermarket queue jumping row could be freed 'within a year'

By COLIN FERNANDEZ All By This Author - 01/04/2009 16:51:11

The relatives of an innocent shopper killed by a violent thug in a Sainsbury's queue spoke of their disgust yesterday that he could be free in less than a year.

 

Moment the queue jump killer struck: CCTV images show how innocent Sainsbury's shopper lost his life

By COLIN FERNANDEZ All By This Author - 27/02/2009 09:37:58

Harrowing CCTV footage emerged today of the moment an innocent shopper was killed in a supermarket in a row over queue-jumping.

 

I know that ME exists ... I suffer from it twice a year, says G4 star Jonathan Ansell

By GARY EDWARDS All By This Author - 27/12/2008 22:10:32

After being struck down by glandular fever as a student, singer Jonathan Ansell has suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME. He tells MoS how he has been able to resume a normal life.

 

I spent £20,000 trying to beat ME with quack cures. And all I really needed to do was slow down

By MARK ANSTEAD All By This Author - 15/12/2008 20:31:06

For the past ten years Suzi Walker, 37, has been struggling with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as ME, a condition affecting 250,000 people in the UK and for which there is no cure.

 

Government 'must help' Gulf War Syndrome soldiers after it's recognised as legitimate condition for first time

By CAROLINE GRANT All By This Author - 18/11/2008 01:40:27

There were fresh calls for government help for sufferers from Gulf War illnesses after a high-level US report blamed their ill-health on exposure to neurotoxins for the first time, 17 years after the conflict ended.

 

Is debilitating ME in the genes rather than in the mind

05/05/2008 23:00:52

The debilitating disease ME could be in the genes, scientists say. They found that patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis shared certain genetic characteristics

 

Chocolate could be the cure for chronic fatigue syndrome

02/10/2007 09:15:26

A dose of chocolate may be the answer for thousands of sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome. A study found that patients with the debilitating condition experienced significantly less fatigue after eating a special dark chocolate

 

Stomach virus 'could cause ME'

13/09/2007 10:56:56

Chronic fatigue syndrome may be linked to a stomach virus, experts have found. A study of patients with the debilitating condition, better known as ME, found more than 80 per cent suffered indigestion problems and irritable bowel syndrome

 

Doctors are ordered to take 'yuppie flu' seriously

23/08/2007 15:45:24

Doctors have been ordered to treat chronic fatigue syndrome far more seriously and not to dismiss it as 'yuppie flu.' They should instead offer patients 'acceptance and understanding' according to new guidelines

 

'Dark chocolate eases ME symptoms'

19/12/2006 11:10:33

Eating small amounts of dark chocolate every day can help combat a chronic illness, has emerged. The specially formulated chocolate helps reduce the symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)

 

Trapped in bed for 14 years with chronic fatigue

05/07/2006 08:36:06

She can't swallow. She can't speak. She's in constant pain. Yet some doctors say Lynn's illness is all in the mind. Read her story and you'll never be flippant about 'yuppie flu' again

 

Is this the cure for ME?

By JEROME BURNE All By This Author - 16/05/2006 11:53:18

Chronic fatigue sufferers who have been unable to leave their homes for years, were given fresh hope after a herpes drug was shown to dramatically improve the condition. Learn more about the remarkable treatment

 

Fatigue Syndrome 'not in the mind'

21/07/2005 08:34:21

Suspicions that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is 'all in the mind' may finally have been laid to rest with the discovery that sufferers have biological abnormalities, claim experts

 

MoD 'must accept' Gulf War syndrome

17/11/2004 12:18:51

An independent inquiry into Gulf War illnesses has called on the MoD to accept the existence of a 'Gulf War syndrome' which has affected thousands of personnel. Veterans welcomed the report, which said they were twice as likely to suffer from ill health than if they had been deployed elsewhere, and said the Government should provide compensation

 

Will doctors now take ME seriously?

31/03/2003 18:11:46

Little is known about ME, otherwise known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. But a recent report says that doctors should recognise ME as a real medical problem

 

Will I recover from my chronic fatigue?

By DR ROSEMARY LEONARD All By This Author - 29/01/2003 09:31:26

Post viral syndrome, or ME ( which is an abbreviation for myalgic encephalomyalitis ) is the name that many people use to describe the condition where someone feels incredibly tired, often to the point of exhaustion,most of the time, so that leading a normal, active life is impossible. In addition, there are other symptoms, such as frequent minor illnesses ( such as a sore throat, or colds, with swollen glands ), aching, weak muscles, and changes in sleep pattern - either sleeping a lot ( which doesn't help the fatigue ) or having disturbed sleep. Many patients also have symptoms of depression, anxiety, and have a poor memory, and have difficulty concentaring.

 

Can eating fish relieve chronic fatigue syndrome?

By ANGELA DOWDEN All By This Author - 17/09/2002 11:21:07

Fish oils are thought to play a beneficial role in many conditions that

 

Can changing my diet cure chronic fatigue?

01/05/2002 09:14:17

Is there a nutritional way of treating chronic fatigue syndrome? I have heard that a wheat free diet can help

 

Doctors vote on non-diseases

11/04/2002 10:17:11

Life-threatening conditions such as diabetes and chronic fatigue syndrome have been dismissed as "non-diseases" by a poll

 

More amino acids

10/04/2002 13:02:47

RESEARCH suggests that supplementation with this amino acid can help with symptoms of ME (chronic fatigue syndrome) because it reduces levels of tryptophan (a precursor to sleep) in the brain.

 

How to spot if you have fatigue

26/10/2001 19:10:03

Here, we show you how to spot the signs of fatigue and tell you how to boost your energy levels

 

What can I do about my energy levels?

17/10/2001 15:12:56

I was diagnosed with Glandular fever in January 1998 and didn't ever really get better. I lost all my energy and can now only work time. I think I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

 

Do copper bracelets really work?

01/08/2001 17:04:53

Do magnetic copper bracelets really work? I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and believe it can cure migraines and low energy

 

Help! I'm allergic to alcohol

25/04/2001 17:12:45

I have suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for the past nine years. During that time I have suffered extreme reactions to alcohol, antibiotics, paint, cigarettes and petrol

 

Are you tired all the time? You could be ill

28/03/2001 13:03:52

It is easy to blame exhaustion on the stresses of a demanding lifestyle or work. But severe fatigue could be hiding a more serious illness

 

What can you do if you have chronic fatigue?

21/03/2001 18:24:53

What can you do if you have CFS/ME? At present there is no cure, although early diagnosis and advice on managing the illness can help recovery.

 

My daughter has chronic fatigue

By DR ROSEMARY LEONARD All By This Author - 06/03/2001 18:28:44

Huge numbers of scientific papers have been written about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but the exact cause remains a mystery, and there is no consensus as to the best way it should be treated.

 

'Rocket fuel' to conquer fatigue

04/12/2000 11:34:18

Fatigue is one of Britain's most debilitating epidemics. Until now, there has been little in the way of a quick fix

 

 

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