At my December appt. I talked about my ME/CFS symptoms & gave him a copy "Diagnosis and Management of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" (link below)
At some point my doc said, "You must have a very severe case!" My response was no, severe cases are often bedbound, tube fed, etc
I can't work but I'm moderate. Doctors don't realize how severe ME/CFS can be
@ahimsa_pdx Physics Girl on Youtube has been bed-bound for almost a year now, and they put out update videos every once in a while. I mention that to folks who don't "get" what long covid can do.
@ahimsa_pdx I class myself as mild. I can only work three days a week now and only from home and that means I need to spend the next four days recovering. Even then, some weeks the challenge of work, both mentally and physically can become overwhelming and I can crash. I don't think most medical professionals are very well informed. I often get eye rolls if I mention I have been diagnosed with #mecfs
@CazimodoCreative
True, many doctors never learn about ME/CFS in medical school, don't take it seriously. With so many new cases from COVID we need better doctor training!
Most studies (surveys) have found that ME/CFS is underdiagnosed (doctors don't recognize it). Yet some patients, who report only fatigue, no other required symptoms (eg, post exertional malaise, unrefreshing sleep), get misdiagnosed with ME/CFS.
@ahimsa_pdx Years ago when I was searching for a diagnosis, a doctor told me I wasn't tired enough to have CFS/ME (back then people weren't talking about PEM). Reading this makes me realize he only recognized people at the severe end. I do wish this document included a description of mild the way it does for other levels.
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