By DAVID TULLER:
The unsettled situation has created a quandary for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and the doctors who treat them. Some patients are seeking to be treated with H.I.V. drugs, which doctors can legally prescribe even though the F.D.A. has not approved them for that purpose.
Many doctors and researchers say it is too early to prescribe the drugs for chronic fatigue because of possible side effects, like bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal problems and liver or kidney dysfunction, among others.
But Michael Allen, a writer and a former psychologist in San Francisco who has been disabled for more than 15 years, said he wouldn’t hesitate to try the medications if he found out he was positive for an MLV-related virus.
It feels patronizing when the medical establishment says the side effects are too risky and we should keep waiting,” he said. “What that says to me is they have no idea whatsoever how sick people like me have been with this disease. Read more>>
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