Search results

I have been thinking about this further, and I may have misled anyone who took any notice. It would' of course, have been entirely wrong to refer to the thirty plus years' experience of Royal Free patients and there advisors. Were they not a bunch of hysterics? SW himself had written on the...

I think hat previously I did not include the reference to Ramsay. It is significant that the bit of the ME Action Campaign leaflet to which objection was taken is broadly in line with the advice of someone with in excess of thirty years experience in the field. What was Wessely's expeience in...

I think I have probably quoted this before, but may be wrong. I usually am. In the book Chronic Fatigue and its Syndromes 1997 p286 Wessely et al seem to have a number of people in their sights including Ramsey, ME Action Campaign and Colby. They say this The beneficial effect of rest and the...

Lyme borreliosis is a tick borne infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. I thought that infection in Europe was often caused by B afzelii. EDIT typo

Yes, but there are dangers in taking pragmatic decisions if one conceals information from, or misleads, others who might be affected. You have to hope that all turns out well.

There seems to be little hope for effective preventative action. It is reported this morning by Sky News that the British passengers on the cruise ship who were flown home were told that all had tested negative before being allowed onto the flight. There was some surprise at the speed of the...

You know that we are on the same side. I just think that it is necessary to be aware of contrary arguments and express the criticism in appropriate terms.

The NHS is buying quack therapies from quack experts based on the definitions they all use. It seems to be, as always, a matter of caveat emptor

She would only be doing what everyone else has done and created definitions to suit her own views. She probably has as much right to do that as anyone else. There is no obligation to agree with her

Our dear Prime Minister employs colourful language to describe such funding. Money "spaffed up the wall". They have some strange customs at Eton.

The date of that memorandum struck me as interesting. There is a Wessely paper which I have been looking for but unable to obtain. Wessely S (1990)The natural history of chronic fatigue and myalgia syndromes. In D Goldberg. N Sartorius et al (eds) Psychological disorders in General Medical...

While historically a psychological aetiology has been assumed to underpin FND, this has now largely been replaced by more nuanced biopsychosocial models (7). I was amused by this. I could not help myself. Does anyone recall the PVFS: time for a new approach of 1988. Then it was time to set...

Is "having depression" the same as "having a depressive disorder"? They sound different and yet the title refers to "depression" and the first sentence to "depressive disorder".

It would be interesting to pin down exactly when the ludicrous idea of sleep hygiene became significant in ME. Early discussion seems to have centred around Moldofsky's work on fibromyalgia. At the Ciba conference his paper and subsequent discussion did not appear to point (Edited for typo) to...

I did hear recently of a professor who wished to refer a patient for treatment at a private clinic where the practitioner's highest qualification appeared to be one in creative writing. It seems to be a useful skill these days.

It is strange, given the general societal concerns over issues of "health and safety", that there should be such an absence of concern and lack of safety protocols to protect those who seem harmed by treatments. Some might consider it negligent. EDIT Others might consider it deliberate.

We never have got to the bottom of how David and Wessely - I discount the initial role of Chalder and Butler on the basis of their qualifications, not their sex- came up with the idea of CBT and GET in 1989, or before that, as the paper was published in 1989. Clearly the idea of anxiety and...

Maybe the sellers of herbs are the business partners, or sleeping partners, of those who recommend their services. Such arrangements exist.

I like the idea that most GP's live in the real world. What world, I wonder, does he inhabit, and is it the same one as his patients?

That is now considered best practice.