Wheelchairs are very welcome ...

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Professor Wessely, any chance you can see this lady this week ???

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This is what happens if you miss your CBT sessions ....

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If you are not happy about CBT ...

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CBT is now used for everything as it is ...

CLICK to enlarge

Professor Simon Wessely: how to differentiate CFS/ME from psychiatric disorders ...

The University of Calgary will host 2 symposia on ME/CFS - 24th October and 7th November 2008

A Message from psychiatrist and ME expert Dr Stein, (you can download her ME Guidelines for psychiatrists here .....):

"Now is the time to ensure that the U of Calgary educational programs on CFS/ME are a huge success.

Attached are two posters:

The CME Flyer is appropriate for health care professionals of all types. Please make copies (black and white copies on brightly colored paper are best) and give them to each health care professional that you deal with eg. family doctor, specialist, massage therapist, physio, home care nurse, pharmacist.

The Public Lecture flyer is appropriate for all. Please make copies and ask permission to post them at places where affected people or family members may notice them eg. health food store, grocery store, library, pharmacy, health clinics, church, health club.

Imagine if your doctor attended the CME course and was able to make helpful suggestions about managing your health. Imagine if your friends and family attended the public lecture and got a better understanding of what you are going through.

With your help this can be possible ... and don't forget to register yourself!"

Dr Ellie Stein, psychiatrist

"After attending, participants will be able to:

* Use the Canadian Consensus Guidelines and check lists to accurately diagnose patients presenting with the signs & symptoms of CFS/ME

* Use the Guidelines’ history, physical examination and laboratory tests to exclude other diseases that can cause chronic fatigue, sleep disorders, pain and cognitive difficulties

* Assess occupational disability in CFS/ME

* Differentiate CFS/ME from psychiatric disorders"

Apart from Dr Stein, there will be other psychiatrists like professor Pierre Flor Henry who is a Clinical Professor and the Director of the Clinical Diagnostics
and Research Centre of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta but he is also the Co-Author of the Canadian Consensus Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of ME/CFS

Ean Procter and ME ...

Some say that Ean was thrown into the swimming pool to drown his disease or his false illness beliefs for that matter. But as he couldn’t move they had to jump into the water and rescue him.

Others say that he was just having Hydrotherapy and that Ean was at no danger whatsoever at any stage.

All we know is that 001/7, our master blaster of espionage with ME, has just mailed ME a picture of the new State of the Art Attack Hydrotherapy room at the Magic CBT Kingdom and as you can see, it is a very safe place indeed ……….

Compliments for CBT ...

The invisible illness

TIMES of MALTA:
By: John H. Greensmith, ME Free For All.Org, Bristol, UK

ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is one of the illnesses included among those for consideration during Invisible Illness Week (September 8-14, 2008). An amazing 96 per cent of all illness is invisible and an equally incredible percentage of people with ME remain hidden, unaccounted for and unrepresented.

Some of the reasons for an illness being invisible are obvious. People, who are too ill to go out, or only on occasion when they feel a little better, remain behind closed doors and, ironically, may contribute to it by staying in to avoid disbelief, ridicule and prejudice from an ignorant population and, sometimes, doctors who prefer to say they must be malingering or attention seeking rather than admit they do not understand it.

No one knows, for sure, how many people have ME but it is likely that it is towards the lower end of the UK Department of Health's estimate of between two and four people in 1,000. The range is probably so large because it also includes all illnesses with chronic fatigue as a symptom. The resulting total not only "hides" the number of ME sufferers within CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)/ME patients but distorts any conclusions from experiments in which they are used.

So, where are they? It is so important to find these missing people for a number of reasons, not least to know that they are not alone. We can't know how many people are in any distinct group until we define its characteristics (blue eyes, Sagittarians, over six feet tall etc.) and exclude those which do not fit (all other colour eyes, zodiac signs, under six feet tall etc).

The bigger the sample of people having the most pure definition, the better picture of what we are dealing with will emerge and the more likely we are to find a common physical cause which should, in turn, suggest effective treatment towards cure.

In the meantime, people with ME need advice about the best treatments available for symptoms such as pain, or to aid sleep and they need support with practical matters, including benefits and the opportunity to meet other people in the same boat.

ME Free For All.Org is among those saying that we should make this Invisible Illness Week the one when we take ME off the list of invisible illnesses because it no longer remains behind closed doors.

Professor Simon Wessely and MOOD disorders in CFS ...

Psychiatrist Professor Simon Wessely advises the prescription of lithium for patients with ME/CFS:

“There is no doubt that at least half of CFS patients have a disorder of mood.
The management of affective disorders is an essential part of the treatment of CFS/ME.

Numerous trials attest to the efficacy of tricyclic antidepressants in the treatment of fatigue states. Patients who fail to respond should be treated along similar lines to those proposed for treatment-resistant depression.

Adding a second antidepressant agent, especially lithium, may be beneficial” (The chronic fatigue syndrome – myalgic encephalomyelitis or postviral fatigue. S Wessely PK Thomas. In: Recent Advances in Clinical Neurology (ed): Christopher Kennard. Churchill Livingstone 1990: pp 85-131).

Now what is lithium used for??? Exactly, Bipolar disorder and it is used to stabilise the mood swings.

But lets go back to the past when Bipolar disorder was still called manic-depressive illness.

And what does Wikipedia say about manic episodes:

“People commonly experience an increase in energy and a decreased need for sleep. A person's speech may be pressured, with thoughts experienced as racing.

Attention span is low and a person in a manic state may be easily distracted.

Judgment may become impaired; sufferers may go on spending sprees or engage in behavior that is quite abnormal for them.

They may indulge in substance abuse, particularly alcohol or other depressants, cocaine or other stimulants, or sleeping pills. Their behavior may become aggressive or intrusive.”

And yes I fully agree with the professor, this is exactly what we suffer from and what being bedridden with ME in particular is all about....

The more I learn about CBT-ism the less I need stand-up comedians. I won’t say more but yeah you wonder about medical training and so …

Or is all the psycho research on CFS and ME actually done on patients with a mental health disorder and "just" Chronic Fatigue ???

Would explain a lot don't you think ....

Professor Wessely: please give this lady Emergency CBT ...

CBT - Computer Behavioural Therapy

Someone kindly mailed me the following:

HOW TO START EACH DAY WITH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

1. Open a new file in your computer.
2. Name it 'Professor CBT'.
3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.
4. Empty the Recycle Bin.
5. Your PC will ask you: 'Do you really want to get rid of ' Professor CBT?'
6. Firmly Click 'Yes'.
7. Feel better ....?

Zombie science: A sinister consequence of evaluating scientific theories purely on the basis of enlightened self-interest

By: Professor Bruce Charlton, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Hypotheses; Emeritus Professor of Public Policy at the University of California and Reader in Evolutionary Psychiatry at the University of Newcastle (UK).

"Although the classical ideal is that scientific theories are evaluated by a careful teasing-out of their internal logic and external implications, and checking whether these deductions and predictions are in-line-with old and new observations;

the fact that so many vague, dumb or incoherent scientific theories are apparently believed by so many scientists for so many years is suggestive that this ideal does not necessarily reflect real world practice.

In the real world it looks more like most scientists are quite willing to pursue wrong ideas for so long as they are rewarded with a better chance of achieving more grants, publications and status. The classic account has it that bogus theories should readily be demolished by sceptical (or jealous) competitor scientists.

However, in practice even the most conclusive ‘hatchet jobs’ may fail to kill, or even weaken, phoney hypotheses when they are backed-up with sufficient economic muscle in the form of lavish and sustained funding.

And when a branch of science based on phoney theories serves a useful but non-scientific purpose, it may be kept-going indefinitely by continuous transfusions of cash from those whose interests it serves.

If this happens, real science expires and a ‘zombie science’ evolves.

Zombie science is science that is dead but will not lie down. It keeps twitching and lumbering around so that (from a distance, and with your eyes half-closed) zombie science looks much like the real thing. But in fact the zombie has no life of its own; it is animated and moved only by the incessant pumping of funds.

If zombie science is not scientifically-useable – what is its function?

In a nutshell, zombie science is supported because it is useful propaganda to be deployed in arenas such as political rhetoric, public administration, management, public relations, marketing and the mass media generally.

It persuades, it constructs taboos, it buttresses some kind of rhetorical attempt to shape mass opinion.

Indeed, zombie science often comes across in the mass media as being more plausible than real science; and it is precisely the superficial face-plausibility which is the sole and sufficient purpose of zombie science."

The above abstract can also be read here

More from Professor Bruce Charlton:

“This is ‘enlightened self-interest’ a powerful factor in scientific evaluation because the primary criterion of the ‘validity’ of a theory is whether or not acting upon it will benefit the career of the scientist;

“Theories may become popular or even dominant purely because of their association with immediate incentives and despite their scientific weaknesses”.

If you want to read the whole article by Margaret Williams with a large number of more quotes from Professor Bruce Charlton and some utter silliness about CFS, for example comparing it with anorexia nervosa, whoch is what the CBT gang are planning, to give the idea that CFS is a psychiatric disease, now doesn’t that remind me of the way the RCGP went about their business and then later came back as dishonesty and misleading are not on the list of duties of a doctor as defined by the GMC.

But apparently psychiatrists are not ruled by the GMC nor have they sworn the Hippocratic oath…………

You can read Margaret’s article here….

And what did the professor say:

“it is precisely the superficial face-plausibility which is the sole and sufficient purpose of zombie science.”

And when he talks about the ‘enlightened self-interest’ which is a powerful factor in the world of CBT as we all bloody well know and by the way, is he actually talking about the the real Functional Bullshit Syndrome as defined by the doctors when they talked about Functional Symptoms in their ACNR article ??

And how would Mr Clarkson solve this problem? Well very simple actually, he would ….

Psychiatrist in diar need of money and attention ...

Functional Symptoms in Neurology: Diagnosis and Management, or how to lie to patients ...

Source: ACNR • VOLUME 4 NUMBER 6 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

“What should we call these symptoms?

There is a baffling array of terms, to list a few:

1. ‘nonorganic’,
2. ‘psychogenic’,
3. ‘hysterical’,
4. ’somatisation’,
5. ‘conversion disorder’ and (the title we were given for this review)
6, ‘unexplained neurological symptoms’.

We prefer the old term ‘functional’ symptoms because:

(a) it doesn’t offend the patient by implying their symptoms are ‘all in the mind’;

(b) it sidesteps unhelpful and illogical dualistic debates about whether symptoms are in the mind or the brain;

(c) functional imaging studies are beginning to discover the neural correlates for some symptoms;

(d) neurologists can diagnose them reliably and on positive criteria; and

(e) it provides a useful explanation to the patient for why things have gone wrong (‘Your nervous system is not damaged but it is not functioning properly’)”

“the misdiagnosis rate at follow up for patients with functional neurological symptoms in modern case series is consistently under 10% and usually around 5%. This is the same rate as for other neurological and psychiatric conditions such as MS and schizophrenia. When neurologists do get it wrong, gait and movement disorders and patients with a psychiatric history (probably because this biased the diagnosis) figure disproportionately.”

1. Indicate you believe the patient: “I do not think you are making up or imagining your symptoms”

11. Making the psychiatric referral: ‘I don’t think you’re mad but Dr X has a lot of experience and interest in helping people to manage and overcome their symptoms’”

Before I give KAZOOM a chance to respond just a few minor details.

"It doesn’t offend the patient by implying their symptoms are ‘all in the mind’, that just makes me laugh. Lying to patients who know damn well they have a physical problem and then saying it is all in your mind, you have false illness beliefs and more quackery terms. And we should be happy ......

Yes of course people go to a neurologist when they have a problem and they are worried that they have a braintumour or so. But they are very happy once the scan comes back normal, or do they suffer from Functional Bullshit Syndrome as well guys ????

A few years ago there was a survey from a MS organisation. On average it took 1-3 years before patients were diagnosed with MS in this day of we know it all technology.

In those 1-3 years these patients suffered from:

1. silly docs
2. and diagnosis like Functional Symptoms untill someone got their act together.
3. and they were right, they did have a major problem ... called MS and not Functional Bullshit Syndrome ....

Furthermore, in 2005 a scientist called Hugo Vrienken demonstrated that brain tissue from MS patients that looks normal on a MRI scan is already diseased if you use quantative MRI scanning and if you compared scans from MS patients that were deemed abnormal with normal MRI scanning, than with his technique one could demonstrate that the disease had progressed a lot further and that so called healthy brain tissue on a normal MRI scan was already diseased.

So wakey wakey guys from the functional brigade.

But I know, it is a lot nicer to use the old terms like hysteria etc for MS….

Furthermore, if we misdiagnose 5% that is one in twenty guys. So if I assume that these figures are correct, and I don’t but that is another issue, as these docs just never fail to amaze me with their we know it all attitude, than lets talk motor racing.

If every one in twenty refuelling pit stops goes wrong, as that is what we talk about, then we would have a DRIVER burning at every GP as we have twenty cars in a race.

If all of them stop twice then we have two cars burning with drivers, mechanics etc involved. I know we’ve had problems with the refuelling rigs but one in twenty is way too much guys.

A bit like a surgeon cutting off the wrong leg or breast in every 20th patient he operates on. Not good news I would think, but normal practice in neurology…

And the result is that for years you are treated as a malingering sod yet the docs were blatantly wrong.

Will they apologise, well I don’t think so either………..

And then there is:” functional imaging studies are beginning to discover the neural correlates for some symptoms” so more and more we start to find out that these patients actually do have a physical problem but we as docs are too daft too ….

Just remember Celiac disease for which we have a bloodtest, yet it still takes an average of FIVE years to diagnose the disease.

90% of patients have bloodtests and one in THREE sees a consultant and has an endoscopy. All were negative so they had a functional problem for FIVE years (on average, so it could be SIX, SEVEN or more years of seeing a psychiatrist talking at you instead helping the cells in your GUT !!!).

They all have to see a psychiatrist until a smart doc decides to do the right blood test.

Suddenly these malingering sods, become patients who have been right all the time that they have a physical problem. We solve it with a gluten free diet, and not psycho therapy. I know, just a minor detail…..

Anyway, I will leave the commentating to KAZOOM.

And what does KAZOOM have to say about this: Well 2 things actually:
First of all he talks about:

Appointment - Functional Neurological Symptoms



And then:

I knew It was Coming But I am So Mad !!



Now A.J. Allmendinger; who was driving a Champcar, and not an F1 car, that runs on Methanol with fuel hoses etc that never leak, has kindly offered his help to show what happens if the figures of these docs are right and we would have a burning patient and his family etc until the docs sort their business out.

Inside the patient something like this is happening but I agree, it is all part of our imagination, malingering, hysteria and false illness beliefs but we don’t want to offend the patient so we would call this Functional Neurological Symptoms. And that is what is happening here to Allmendinger and his team, just watch and you will see a Functional Invisible Methanol fire, yet it is out there ….



Oh, and if you want to read the whole article, than you can download that here ……….