Paul Garner on Long Covid and ME/CFS - BMJ articles and other media.

Garner seems to have a particular vendetta vs ME charities which is maybe because he detests the thought that these illnessss are chronic and people not being able to muster up their strength to overcome them but is rather strange and unfortunate when Charles Sheppard gave him management advice earlier on which arguably enabled him to have a positive trajectory. Garner, alongside being a privileged male, is an MEA "management only" success story, fulfilling the ideal of convalescence +early expert intervention = positive outcome - without meds, drs, tests , research or treatment that the MEA has less focused on & now, with an understanding that this is actually the cheapest & most effective way, the BACME & NIHR has caught up with them, to make a happy party focusing on "pacing is what you need". Fibromyalgia is a different kettle of fish &doesn't have outcomes as dependent on the utmost careful care, but the majority with ME have not been so fortunate and *do* have chronicity &often because of how the NHS failed them, severe disability and therefore need much more than pacing because of harm and they are not gonna just get better.

Doctors S is using the article to present MEA as a great defender of biomedical research ... mmm a defender of a biomedical versus a psychosocial model maybe but rolling over at all MRC refusals to serve the community fairly with any special measures, never leading any campaigns & not doing serious fundraising for most of it, whilst giving away hampers, no it's not served my biomedical research needs enough .

MEA fundraising has been low ,So Garner's alleged money-making strategy hasn’t worked, ironically partly because so many are out of work and also face disbelief/ stigma….. Psychiatrist Peter White's horror at a person in a wheelchair being on an MEA magazine front cover was another face of the biopsychosocialist denial/ attempt to control the narrative, & it never happened again I don't think, except for a woman with both EDS & m.e who was using her wheelchair as a dance teacher. I think that whilst the MEA association does stress chronicity it does also stress upward trajectories & minimise severity, on the Dr shepherd video used by the nhs on websites, Dr shepherd frames the severely affected as a small minority & rarely is it acknowledged that the cause of many’s demise was the NHS. Arguably, where MEA *has* gone wrong is by keeping themselves afloat by catering primarily to the more easy management needs of the newly ill and sanitising the story of & not serving the needs of the more severely affected.
 
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So what is PG's view on multiple sclerosis?

Are MS patient charities promoting permanence and dismissal of mind-body approaches and do they also risk exploiting vulnerable people while they dismiss recovery and promote a wait-for-a-drug narrative?

After all we have similarly well-evidenced mind-body cures of MS. Take this guy for example —

 
It’s the day after the 12th as well (this isn’t relevant unless you’re in parts of the UK where there are sectarian tensions, which Paul is)
It’s actually rather offensive to the general public to advertise “I recovered from Long Covid” whoop de do, you not only didn’t die from Covid but you also weren’t disabled by it.

He's a "medical advisor" on Amy's Positively COVID

It's very concerning for those who decide to join and don't feel improvements. What type of advice will they be receiving in this case? Are they going to take away their badge?
 
On Garner's 'ive-recovered' site

"A note on sharing and respect:

We know that not everyone feels comfortable using the word recovery, and that some in the ME/CFS community don’t believe recovery is possible and may be outspoken about it.

If you choose to share and receive any negative or challenging reactions, please know you’re not alone. You’re welcome to highlight these in DMs to Instagram account @recovered_stories, or email hello@ive-recovered.com and we’ll do our best to make sure you feel heard and supported.

Our hope is that Recovery Day remains a compassionate, understanding space for everyone to share their truth."

Totally hypocritical. They are doing the exact opposite by dismissing and shutting down lived experiences from the ME community by portraying us as harassers and militants.
 
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