Sharpe and Wessely state, on a reference to Fulcher and White: "the
evidence indicates that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome can
exercise under controlled conditions without risk of damage or relapse".
Fulcher and White state: "Only two patients (one in each group) rated
themselves worse after treatment; both had developed a major depressive
illness." I would state that developing a "major depressive illness" is
damage, and that a 3% risk is a risk - none of us would drive down the
wrong side of the road if we knew there was only a 1% risk of a car coming
the other way.
Fulcher and White use a relatively healthy selection of ME sufferers who
do not suffer from sleep difficulty and are able to make a significant
journey outside the home. These are only expected at the outset to walk
for five minutes. This would be so small as to be irrelevant to someone
more ill.
Many people with ME suffer from a sudden onset and have the symptoms
before undergoing rest, so it is not convincing (except to those who want
to believe) to suggest that it is rest which causes those symptoms.
Rapid Response:
Real Risk of Damage
Sharpe and Wessely state, on a reference to Fulcher and White: "the
evidence indicates that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome can
exercise under controlled conditions without risk of damage or relapse".
Fulcher and White state: "Only two patients (one in each group) rated
themselves worse after treatment; both had developed a major depressive
illness." I would state that developing a "major depressive illness" is
damage, and that a 3% risk is a risk - none of us would drive down the
wrong side of the road if we knew there was only a 1% risk of a car coming
the other way.
Fulcher and White use a relatively healthy selection of ME sufferers who
do not suffer from sleep difficulty and are able to make a significant
journey outside the home. These are only expected at the outset to walk
for five minutes. This would be so small as to be irrelevant to someone
more ill.
Many people with ME suffer from a sudden onset and have the symptoms
before undergoing rest, so it is not convincing (except to those who want
to believe) to suggest that it is rest which causes those symptoms.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests