Letter, Re: Therapies 'moderately improve' CFS (Fife Today.co.uk, 26 February 2012)

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Fife Letters.

It is widely reported that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Graded

Exercise Therapy (GET) can help M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)

sufferers (Therapies 'moderately improve' CFS, Fife Today.co.uk, 26

February 2012 --

http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/health/behind-the-headlines/therapies_moderately\

_improve_cfs_1_1463092),

yet anecdotal, hard-knock, experience from M.E. sufferers together with

all research evidence (Twisk & Maes, 2009) show the opposite that CBT is

disappointingly ineffective, is usually followed by relapse and GET

makes a majority worse, some never recovering to where they where when

they started exercising.

Both positions cannot be true. So, why such polarised views? One

explanation is that the subjects tested may have some type of illness

that could be subsumed under Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but which is not

M.E. and, therefore, conclusions should not be applied to them.

But this is never put to the test because researchers are only funded

for CFS, or the conjoined hybrid, CFS/ME and those who assert that M.E.

is a discrete illness with a physiological cause, which can be

identified quite separately from CFS don't get a look in. This

organisation proposes conducting such research to settle the matter in

order to better inform GPs who are referring M.E. patients to something

potentially harmful.

Yours sincerely

drjohngreensmithmecommunitytrust (DOT) org

Dr H Greensmith

ME Community Trust. org