A Beginners's Guide to ME/CFS

by Nancy Blake

THE MOST DANGEROUS 'FALSE ILLNESS BELIEFS' ABOUT ME/CFS ARE THAT IT IS A PSYCHIATRIC PROBLEM, AND THAT EXERCISE WILL HELP. The Beginner's Guide to ME/CFS states unequivocally that it is complete rest from the very beginning of this illness which creates the necessary precondition for progress towards recovery. Currently recommended treatments - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Graded Exercise Therapy - can wipe out this possibility, sending patients down a path towards severe and long-term disability - for which the patient can then blamed. The Guide contains useful advice about how to maintain a semblance of normal living while conserving physical exertion. Les Simpson's research - ignored by the medical community - provides additional recommendations which can improve your well-being.

Genres: Health

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2012

Reviews

[Kim]

Read this based on the number of stars it had received. It is helpful but very short with a fair amount of repetition. I also found myself resenting the author’s insistence that she knows what sort of person the reader was before they were diagnosed. “A go-getter who always went the extra mile and loved keeping fit”. What if you weren’t? What if you’d not been particularly sporty?

Also the insistence that you only have ME if you are at the severe end of the spectrum. Does that mean the rest of us are suffering from the very psychiatric disorder that the book is attempting to disprove?

I went in to the book eager for answers and support but came away feeling “othered”. I’m sure that isn’t the intent, and maybe it was just my perception of it, but just wanted to offer a slight word of caution to others newly diagnosed.

[roberta lee patterson]

Highly Recommend

This book is worth it's weight in gold. I am a long time, very knowledgeable patient and advocate and I would recommend every M.E. patient to heed the advice about rest and request family and friends (that care) to read this book, as well as medical professionals and caregivers involved in their care. It is easy enough to read to do so. It drives home the most important factor in survival of M.E. and possible improvement, which is rest and lying down, and never pushing through. It is very clear and easy to understand. I look very forward to Nancy's next book.

[Robert]

Good introduction

This short book gives a good overview of what to do when you have ME/CFS, based on particular research up to its publication. The suggestions are very specific. They rule out CBT and GET as appropriate therapies for patients and provide references for their reasoning. Many important resources are both cited and included in the book. There are minimal instructions for applying for benefits or accommodating for severe effects of ME/CFS, but additional resources and points of information are provided. Overall, a good book for new patients with ME/CFS and their carers.