DSM-5 Submission on behalf of The Young ME Sufferers

Submission on behalf of The Young ME Sufferers

PLEASE ENTER OUR COMMENTS BELOW INTO YOUR REVIEW PROCESS

We wish to express concern over your new classification of Complex
Somatic Symptom Disorder.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has commonly been mistaken for a somataform disorder. There are concerns in the UK that it may now be allocated a place under the umbrella of Complex Somatic Symptom Disorders.

In the UK the term Myalgic Encephalomyelitis has been used for half a
century to define a potentially severe and chronic multi-system illness
triggered commonly by the enterovirus family, of which a key symptom is post-exertional malaise. This name is still in use by the UK Government alongside CFS (as CFS/ME) and it received a categorisation from the WHO under neurological conditions many years ago, before the term CFS was invented.

Enough confusion has already been caused by the unhelpful invention of the name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome under which ME then became trapped.

Any possibility that classic ME, already subsumed under CFS, could be
mistakenly classified by default as a Complex Somatic Symptom Disorder would be nothing short of disastrous. It would also be a scientific error of some magnitude which would surely be best avoided for your own sakes as much as that of the patients.

We would be grateful to receive an acknowledgment of our submission.

Best regards,

Jane Colby FRSA
Executive Director
The Young ME Sufferers Trust

Holder of The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service:
The MBE for Volunteer Groups

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