MAGICAL MEDICINE: HOW TO MAKE AN ILLNESS ... - Invest in ME

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• have the main symptom of fatigue that is often made worse by exertion
• often have other symptoms – including headaches, sleep disturbance, sore throat, muscle or joint aches and
pain, and tender lymph glands (this is wrong and misleading: apart from the Wessely School’s Oxford
criteria that were used in the PACE Trial, all the other case definitions require the presence of other
symptoms; they are not optional).
“What causes CFS/ME
“We don’t know what causes CFS/ME (but on page 12 of the SSMC Manual – to which the Patient Clinic Leaflet
is attached as Appendix 2 ‐‐ doctors are required to have “a sound knowledge of the aetiology” of “CFS/ME”),
although there are various theories – well‐informed scientific ideas that have yet to proved or disproved” (what
scientific theories does the PACE Trial attempt to prove or disprove? None. Vincent Deary ‐‐ described in
the PACE Trial literature as a “First wave therapist (CBT)” and as a contributor to the treatment design ‐‐
describes the “CBT Model” as a useful trial‐and‐error way of approaching a problem, but this is not a
scientific theory. The Wessely School ignore the scientific evidence that does not support their own model,
which is the antithesis of science).
“There is evidence that CFS/ME can be triggered by certain infections, most of them viral. There is no strong evidence
that these infections are maintaining factors in CFS/ME” (in the light of the biomedical research evidence, many
clinicians and medical researchers accept that ongoing infection causes and maintains ME/CFS and
participants should be told this).
“Minor abnormalities of the immune system are commonly found in people with CFS/ME” (this point has been
addressed in Section 3 above at point 13 under “Apparent misrepresentation in the PACE Trial?”.
Other alleged causes of “CFS/ME” listed include “Sleep disturbance”; “Doing too much and doing too little”;
“Loss of physical fitness and strength”, for none of which is any proof provided.
“Food intolerance
“Some people with CFS/ME say certain foods make them worse. But there is no good evidence that food intolerance
triggers or maintains CFS/ME” (it is notable that anything “physical” such as infection or food intolerance is
dismissed due to an alleged lack of good evidence, but behavioural aspects, for example, “boom and bust”
behaviour, which also lack good evidence, are stated as though they were proven fact. This is a very biased
assumption).
“Other possible factors
“Many other things are said to be linked to CFS/ME, and some get a lot of publicity – even though nobody has proved
they are factors in CFS/ME. These include magnesium deficiency, overgrowth of the yeast Candida in the bowel, and
low blood sugar” (these have all been empirically shown to occur in ME/CFS; again, the dismissal of these
physical factors by the implicit slur that they “get a lot of publicity” is notable).
“How soon will I get better?
“Most people with CFS/ME improve over time with treatment” (there is no evidence to support such an assertion:
the Chief Medical Officer’s Working Group Report on “CFS/ME” states that there is no cure (CMO’s
Working Group Report: January 2002: 4.4.2.2:48) and the Department for Work and Pensions’ own Disability
Handbook, May 2007, Chapter 16, entitled “The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” states: “There is no cure” (16:
Management: 16).