ME Drove my Daughter to Suicide

[Guest guest]

*....The three most prevalent causes of

death were heart failure, suicide, and

cancer, which accounted for 59.6% of all

deaths. The mean age of those who died

from cancer and suicide was 47.8 and 39.3

years, respectively, which is considerably

younger than those who died from cancer

and suicide in the general population.....*

Quote Dr. LA at al;

*Causes of death among patients with chronic

fatigue syndrome* Journal: Health Care Women Int.

2006 Aug;27(7):615-26.

~jvr

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http://bit.ly/MffGar

MailOnline

ME drove my daughter to suicide

by ANDREA PERRY, femail.co.uk

Fiona had a bright future ahead of her as a

landscape architect when she was struck down

with the debilitating illness chronic fatigue

syndrome - also known as ME

After a courageous nine-year battle to get help for

the illness, which left her severely disabled and

often bed-ridden, Fiona could take no more and

took her own life in November last year.

She was just 31

Now her mother Trish has spoken bravely for the

first time of the daughter who she described as 'my

best friend, adviser and confidante.'

Mrs , of Bristol, broke her silence at a launch

of a new report which revealed there is a major

suicide risk amongst ME sufferers.

The report reveals a catalogue of failure and

discrimination through the NHS and social services

towards the 150,000 patients diagnosed with the

illness.

The document highlights, in particular, the problems

encountered by people who are most severely

affected by CFS/ME. Many of those involved in the

study have been confined to their homes or even

bed-ridden for up to 10 years.

Conducted by Action for ME, the leading UK

charity, it is the largest study published into ME

and questioned 2,300 sufferers.

It found that:

* 51 per cent had felt suicidal as a result of the

extreme pain of the illness coupled with a lack of

support from the medical profession.

* 65 per cent had received no advice from their GP

on managing the illness.

* 33 per cent had to endure a wait of more than 18

months before being diagnosed with ME, despite

evidence that early diagnosis can help recovery.

Despite displaying classic symptoms of the illness,

it took 19 months before Fiona was

suspected of having CFS/ME and a further two

months before a formal diagnosis was confirmed.

She became ill in February 1992 after a flu virus

and shortly afterwards was so ill that she had to

withdraw from her post-graduate diploma course.

Fiona deteriorated, becoming bed-ridden in July

1994 and often had no voice, was weak and in so

much pain that she could do little for herself.

Over the next two and half years she improved very

slightly but still was mainly bed-ridden and unable

to wash or feed herself. Without professional advice

she plateaued at this stage for two years.

After a battle with her local health authority, who

initially refused funding, she was referred to an

in-patient unit in Romford where she made a slow

but steady improvement. But a series of relapses

set her back nearly five years.

She had become so weak that she was too frail to

attend six-monthly hospital appointments with the

local consultant and instead her mother went to

update him on Fiona's state.

He could offer no advice and in summer 2000 he

stopped seeing CFS/ME patients and said that

Fiona's GP would have to oversee her care. The

GP had not seen another case as severe and was

unable to help.

Mrs said: 'By last November the future looked

bleak. Now dependent on others for virtually

everything - despite nearly nine years of day to day

struggle to overcome the illness - it seemed that

Fiona decided, quite suddenly, that she had had

enough.

'Somehow she found the courage and the strength

to hang herself from the curtain pole in her room.

'Why is it that some patients, despite maintaining

excellent personal motivation and accepted as not

having psychological problems or depression,

teadily deteriorate to indefinite total dependency

on carers?

'Why do they fail to respond to hospitalisation or

professional interventions, which help others? They

still seem to be a mystery to the medical

profession but inevitably become forgotten as new

patients emerge. I feel this category is seriously

neglected and badly needs highlighting.

'The undertaker in our small village had handled

three other ME suicides in recent years.

'There are many more like Fiona who are still

patiently struggling and we must help them.

'The absence of a cure can be accepted but there is

no excuse for such patients to feel forgotten and

invisible as so many do.'

The Chief Medical Officer working group on CFS/ME

is due to report on the most effective methods of

treatment later this year.

Tony MP, Chairman of the All Party

Parliamentary Group on CFS/ME presented the

report at today's launch.

He said: 'ME is a complex, much misunderstood

illness. My post bag is full every week with people

around the country in despair because of this

illness. There has to be more money put into

research.'

The illnesses cost the public purse £4 billion each

year. Yet just £250,000 is spent on research.

Three times as many women suffer CFS/ME than

men. Many girls under the age of 18 contract the

condition, but there is no research carried out into

the illness in childhood.