Filmmaker, Simon Cunich, has a documentary, ‘Fighting to be Believed‘ on CFS, has been on SBS and is now available on YouTube. It was the fact that so many of the subjects with CFS had sensitivity to fragrances, which what lead to Cunich doing The Feed story: ‘Chemical Sensitivity, the illness crippling millions yet dismissed by doctors’. The similarities and crossover between CFS/ME, CIRS and MCS need to be witnessed to be believed, which is a pity because if the Australian Government just listened to us people will not only be accessing care but more suicides can be avoided.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is an illness that affects a person’s nervous system (commonly called a ‘neurological illness’). It can occur at any age and can affect children as well as adults. At least 35,000 Victorians have ME/CFS.
The term ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis’ means pain in the muscles, and inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. ME/CFS is a complex illness and we do not know the cause. For some people, the condition may be triggered suddenly by a viral infection, toxic exposure, anaesthetic, immunisation, gastroenteritis or trauma. In other people, ME/CFS may develop slowly over months or years.
There are many subtypes within the spectrum of ME/CFS, which means that a management plan must be developed for each person with the condition. Applying a particular treatment for one subtype can be very damaging to another subtype. An individual management plan must be developed for each person with ME/CFS.
Around 25 per cent of people with ME/CFS will have a mild form and be able to get to school or work either part-time or fulltime, while reducing other activities. About 50 per cent will have a moderate to severe form of ME/CFS and not be able to get to school or work. Another 25 per cent will experience severe ME/CFS and have to stay at home or in bed.
‘Fighting to be Believed‘ is a documentary by filmmaker, Simon Cunich, shown on SBS, The Feed
Fighting Disbelief: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome The Feed
We used to think Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was imaginary. Now we know better. So why is it still so hard to get support from the NDIS?
From Science for ME:
For some context, the guy who talks about pwME/CFS experiencing prejudices, is the President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Dr Bastien Seidel. Dr Seidel has given supportive interviews before: http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/what-its-like-living-with-chronic-fatigue/9046886
However, RACGP continues to recommend GET (and draws on the PACE trial manual) on its website, and refuses to engage with the ME/CFS community to have this revised (though we continue to try to engage).
https://www.racgp.org.au/your-pract…xercise-therapy-for-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/
More
More research links on discussion of this documentary: Science for ME
Link to the video on the SBS website, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/fighting-disbelief-chronic-fatigue-syndrome
Link to the show on YouTube (leave a supportive comment if you will, please, we need more research and attention on this topic.): ‘Fighting to be Believed‘
Emerge Australia: Website
The Feed’s Story on MCS: Chemical Sensitivity, the illness crippling millions yet dismissed by doctors
Your thoughts?