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Yes! I'll leave this one for @Cheshire, as it falls within some of the topics she has been working on.

I suppose they would argue that fatigue is a subjective measure - by definition. That if you use objective measures, you're actually measuring something else - physical function or mental function or whatever. I think there's a question as to whether the subjective feeling of fatigue is as...

Here is the article, which is open access. @Marco, please feel free to add the link to your OP so people can directly click through if they want to: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002496 The study is problematic, because it collapses across alzheimer's...

You both have a point, @Sisyphus and @Arnie Pye. Of course every country needs a free health care system - you're totally right, @Arnie Pye. Just saw that video of the US guy with ALS pleading to Trump not to roll back Obamacare because he would lose access to treatment. That's why you need...

Yea, it seems to mean they can claim they consulted patients, but then if anyone asks if those patients were representative, they have an instant defence - "no, no, we never said they were patient reps, they're just lay members".

I'm less worried about whether the underlying relationship between ratings and fatigue is linear or logarithmic or whatever. I just want there to be a relationship. We can worry about scale when we've got that first part right.

Sure is. Added. Link is: https://www.s4me.info/threads/historical-studies-pre-2000-of-particular-scientific-interest.2191/ You're the first person to actually take up the invitation in my signature line!

The entire November 1978 issue of the Post Graduate Medical Journal was devoted to ME and can be accessed here (note ME is called Epidemic Neuromyasthenia in this issue): http://pmj.bmj.com/content/54/637 Click on the article name in the table of contents, and then click on the PDF symbol on...

I agree. Sorry Descartes, we're not rational beings and never will be. We're driven by emotion and belief. We are quite good at using our rational capbilities to support our emotionally motivated beliefs. But that's not really the same thing, is it? You can't educate people to be rational...

Prof Wessely is chair of this esteemed institution, no? I wonder whether this was his plan going in - to use the position to gain access to media?

I think the BPS proponents really believe that a huge portion of illness is having the wrong thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Its just that recently, they have learned their work gets more attention if they make a point of highlighting the economic benefits of this perspective.

Yes, I wondered that too, @Barry, since inflammation seems to interfere with cellular energy production. Yes, I think that's the whole reason people are encouraged to learn how to pace. For most of us, our bodies don't always tell us to stop early enough. If it did, then we wouldn't need to...

Thanks for posting these, @Sly Saint. I just had a look at the abstract for this one, and its kind of interesting. This is what they did: This is what they found: This suggests that even from the first visit, these US doctors are judging - based on your symptom profile - whether you are worthy...

Since I spend about 80% of my time bedbound (physically, I'm on the more severe end of the spectrum), I feel a little offended at the idea that there's anything "luxurious" about my situation. But I'm figuring you didn't mean it that way, @deboruth. What you say does point to the idea that...

I just saw this article you posted, @MSEsperanza, and it's really interesting. A really good effort to try and identify subtypes of fatigue. We really need a system for describing and rating the different types that can be used across all illnesses where fatigue is a component. The only...

I smelt hypocrisy right away. Especially give that it was recommended on twitter by some of the worst offenders. What they say seems reasonable - even useful to put it all together - but we know some of these authors do not follow their own advice.

Key Concepts for Informed Health Choices: a framework for helping people learn how to assess treatment claims and make informed choices. Chalmers I, Oxman AD, Austvoll-Dahlgren A, et al. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2018; 23:29–33. http://ebm.bmj.com/content/ebmed/23/1/29.full.pdf. (full text...

Good thoughts, @unicorn7. Its interesting that you chose IBS as a sort of "test case" for the BPS model. I agree its a really good example. I don't think the BPS people ever "leave" any illness. They continue to find a place for themselves, even after an organic cause has been found for the...

I lived in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s, and of course it was a different place then. But when I first went to a doctor (pre-ME), she kept me waiting for an hour and a half, and I thought this was outrageous. I asked why couldn't I have been kept informed about the delays and not just...

I agree that such people might exist, especially in a free GP situation like the UK (probably less so where I live, where it costs $50 a pop to go to the doctor). But in every case description, I saw myself. "Fat file" patients, "heartsink" patients. That's me. That's what they think of me.