The ME/CFS Society of NSW Inc.

Dr Stephen Graves, Director of Hunter Area Pathology and the Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory spoke with me about the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Conference held in Cambridge in July 2008. What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? What are the causes, and what is it like to be struck down by the illness? Why is it still the invisible illness so many years after its

The interview was broadcast on Diffusion Science Radio on 2SER on the 4th of August 2008 You can download the whole show here

-by Ros Vallings

Scepticism has been a problem for people with ME for a very long time. In this article, Dr Rosamund Vallings takes a look at scepticism and disbelief in ME from a medical practitioner’s point of view.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a relatively common disorder defined as a status of severe persistent disabling fatigue and subjective unwellness. While the biological basis of the pathology of this disease has recently been confirmed, its pathophysiology remains to be elucidated. Moreover,
since the causes of CFS have not been identified, treatment programs are directed at symptom relief, with the ultimate goal of the patient regaining some level of pre-existing function and well-being.

Clinical Guidelines and Brochures available for download. These documents requires 'Adobe Acrobat Reader', which can be downloaded for free by clicking here.

ME/CFS Guidelines - Management Guidelines for General Practitioners "The South Australian Guidelines"

Canadian Consensus Document for ME/CFS "The Canadian Guidelines"

by Jana Fleming

How easy it is to listen but how hard it is to hear.

How often do we miss hearing what we need to, just because we don’t know how to listen? I know I have, often. Much of my illness has been about learning how to listen. Listen to my body, my mind, my spirit and most of all myself. How often did you miss hearing what ‘you’ were actually saying because the noise around you was so much louder? That noise might be family, friends, doctors, all with valid things to say but if all you hear is them then what about you? What about your voice?

Youth is no shield against ME/CFS, and the condition can create special problems for children and teenagers. It's rarely found in under-fives but young teenagers seem particularly vulnerable. According to American paediatrician Dr David Bell, in the 5 to 12-year age group, onset is often slow - but in adolescents, it can be acute and linked with a flu-like illness. Many of the clinical symptoms are the same as for adults, but in children and teenagers the central nervous system disturbances can result in poor school performance.