BMJ RAPID RESPONSES

I'm very proud, that after weeks of trying, my so called rapid response has finally been published on the BMJ site. Please remember though that so far all my very POLITE RESPONSES with regards to the recent four very misinformed articles in the TIMES have NOT been published at ALL. Nor have I received a response from my EMAIL to the EDITOR, that is, NOT the Science Editor as you can Imagine. Really strange if you think about it as they invite you to send them an email but then don't respond at all. I can imagine that they are busy so that they might not respond the same day or so. However, an automated response, saying we have received your mail and are dealing with it, or a similar text, would then be a possibility in this area of technology. But NOT for Mr TIMES I'm afraid. But I won't give up hope, maybe he is just like ME and he just needs a lot more TIME to do simple tasks.

So back to the BMJ. Click on:

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/335/7617/411#top for responses to the editorial where you can find my response or http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/335/7617/446#176151 for responses to the article in that same number of the BMJ.

Re: WHO is relieved by NICE?
22 September 2007

Dr Speedy, GP ME Place of work: MY BED.

Many things have already been said, but I would like to take this opportunity to add a few things: The recently finished Gibson Enquiry states that: “In Britain, there has been a clear historical bias towards research into the psychosocial explanations of CFS/ME. This is despite Parliament recognising ME as a physical illness in a Private Members Bill, the ME Sufferers Bill, in 1988.” Furthermore it mentions that “The WHO (World Health Organisation) in Geneva holds an internationally recognised classification that ME is a neurological disease." And in February 2004, the then Health Minister (Lord Warner) made it very clear, in a formal written acceptance, "that the UK ACCEPTS the World Health Organisation classification of ME as a neurological disorder.”
And now if you keep that in mind and just read the NICE guidelines on ME again DEAR MR EDITOR. More than a hundred pages and NOWHERE do they mention that ME is a NEUROLOGICAL illness. NOWHERE AT ALL.

Now I also have a question for all the people who have written excellent responses on this page. I have started a BLOG: http://niceguidelines.blogspot.com/

Is it alright if I would use some of your comments on my BLOG?? If not or if you have any suggestions, please let me know. My email address is on the right hand side of my Blog. All the patients and carers for patients with ME, all the best. Can I take this opportunity to thank all the doctors who are working hard and trying to help us. And for Mr NICE, maybe go and visit a few patients with Severe ME, I'm sure you will get a totally different view and you will understand why the Canadian and Australian guidelines are so much better and also so much more helpful to get the diagnosis right. Because remember, people with ME we can't cure, but the many people who haven't got ME, see also professor Mirza's response on
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/335/7617/446#top , who wrote that 90% of the patients he sees with a diagnosis of ME have something else with fatigue, we can ACTUALLY TREAT. And that sounds a lot better I can assure you.

Competing interests: Bedbound GP with ME.

PS: rectification: Australian Guidelines should read: SOUTH Australian guidelines. Thanks for correcting ME.