Members of the ME Association receive a quarterly magazine called ME Essential. It covers our research news, and keeps members up-to-date with medical and scientific developments.
It is vitally important that you and others are kept informed of the latest research and development findings so that you can develop the ability to manage your symptoms effectively and improve your quality of life.
If you would like to refer to an article in a back issue, please refer to the ME Essential magazine index below.
Copies of the Medical Management Files by Dr Charles Shepherd are available at £1 each, inc p&p. You can order these and many other items direct from The ME Association (click on ‘MEA Order Form’ in the Quick Links section on the left). Back numbers of ME Essential, where available, cost £5.00 each. We have no more copies left of our January 2008 issue,
The reprint of Dr Melvin Ramsay’s book about the outbreak of ‘Royal Free disease’ in 1955, and the current edition of ‘ME/CFS/PVFS: an exploration of the key clinical issues’ by Drs Shepherd and Chaudhuri are separately priced on the order form.
If you are interested in seeing photocopies of any of the other articles, please phone the office on 01280 818968 and make arrangements for them to be posted to you. A service charge may be incurred.
To become a member of The ME Association and be entitled to receive the magazine regularly, please click on the ‘Becoming a Member’ buttton in the left hand navigation bar and follow the directions there.
INDEX OF RECENT MEDICAL MANAGEMENT FILES FROM ME ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE
Employment and ME/CFS (Spring 2011)
Restless Legs Syndrome (Spring 2011)
XMRV, MLVs and ME/CFS: the current position (Winter 2010)
Fatigue in ME/CFS (Autumn 2010)
Orthostatic Intolerance (Summer 2010)
New and Experimental Treatments (Spring 2010)
Cognitive Dysfunction (also known as ‘Brain Fog’) (Winter 2009)
Muscle Energy Supplements (Autumn 2009)
Stress and How to Handle It (Summer 2009)
Permanent Health Insurance Policies (Spring 2009)
Depression and Antidepressants (November 2008)
Vitamin D Deficiency (July 2008)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) (April 2008)
INDEX OF FAQs – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – FROM ME ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE
UPDATED: March 2011
Activity management – gym based programme (Autumn 2009)
Addisons disease (Winter 2009)
Alcohol intolerance (October 2007)
Amitriptyline (Summer 2010, p9)
Amitriptyline for headaches (Spring 2011)
Anaemia – iron deficiency (Autumn 2009)
Animal testing (Winter 2009)
Antibiotics – are they safe for people with ME/CFS? (April 2008)
BENEFITS
Benefit medical examinations at home (Spring 05)
ESA appeals (Winter 2010, p11)
Industrial Injury Benefit (Winter 2010, p13)
Sickness certificates from a GP (Spring 2011)
Beta blockers (April 2007)
Biobank – donations of blood samples (Spring 2011)
Blood donation and ME/CFS – can I give blood? (April 2008)
Blue Badge problems (April 2008)
Body piercing – hazards of (Winter 2010, p12)
Car driving – can I still drive? (February 2009)
Changing a GP (Summer 2010, p8)
Chocolate (January 08)
Coeliac disease (April 06)
Coeliac disease – home testing kits (January 08)
CD and wheat intolerance (Winter 2010, p13)
Cold fingers and toes (Spring 2010)
Contagious – is ME/CFS? Can it be passed to other family members (July 2008)
Cortisol – investigating low levels (November 2008)
Creatine kinase blood test (Winter 2010, p14)
Critical Illness Insurance (Autumn 2009)
Creatine supplements (April 06)
Dental anaesthetics (Spring 2010)
Diagnosis – is it correct? (July 2008)
Disabled students allowance (Winter 2009)
Dry eyes (autumn 2009)
DLA care component: cooking test (January 08)
Disability Discrimination Act (April 07)
Drugs, including statins, that can cause muscle problems (November 2008)
EMPLOYMENT
Employment problems (Autumn 05)
Employment: gradual return to work (Winter 2009)
Employment: ill health retirement criteria (Spring 2011)
Employment: should I tell my employer that I have ME/CFS (Spring 2011)
Employment: sickness certificates from a GP (Spring 2011)
Endometriosis (July 07)
Ahlers-Danlos syndrome (Spring 2011)
ESA Appeals – Winter 2010 (p11)
ESR blood test (Spring 2010)
Fertility (February 2009)
Gastric distress/motility problems (Winter 200()
GENERAL PRACTICE
GPs – unhelpful: what to do (Jan 2008)
GPs – changing to another one (Summer 2010, p8)
Good days and bad days (Summer 2009)
Headaches (Winter 2009, p15)
Headaches – use of amitriptyline (Spring 2011)
Haemochromatosis – misdiagnosis (July 2008)
Heat sensitivity (July 07)
HIV/AIDS – as part of the differential diagnosis (Spring 2011)
Hospital services (February 2009)
Hyperacusis/sensitivity to loud noise (November 2008)
Hypermobility syndromes (Spring 2011)
Hypothalamic function (Spring 05)
Ill health retirement (spring 2011)
Immunoglobulin treatment for chronic pain (Spring 2011)
Inherited – can ME/CFS be passed on to other family members? (October 07, p13)
Industrial Injury Benefit (Winter 2010, p13)
INSURANCE –
Critical illness cover (Autumn 2009)
PHI disputes (April 2008)
XMRV problems (Summer 2010, p8)
Isoprinosine/Imunovir (January 06)
Itching and fatigue (November 2008)
Joint pains (Autumn 2009)
Lightning Process (Summer 2010, p10) – and issue 105 (pages 40-41)
Liver function tests (July 06)
Lumbar puncture (October 07)
Lyrica/pregabalin (Spring 2010)
Magnesium (Spring 2010)
MEA
Paying for MEA literature (Winter 2010, p13)
Medical Research Council – why are they so reluctant to fund biomedical research into ME/CFS? (July 2008)
Melatonin (Spring 05)
Memory and concentration problems (Summer 2009)
Menopause, HRT etc (January 08, p13)
Menopause – vaginal dryness/pain (Spring 2010)
Methyphenidate/Ritalin (July 07)
Mouth ulcers (Summer 2009)
Muscle symptoms (Winter 2010 – p11)
Muscle: creatine kinase blood test (Winter 2010, p14)
Naltrexone (Autumn 2009)
NICE guidelines and doctors freedom to prescribe (Summer 2010, p11)
Nimodipine – is this drug a new treatment for ME/CFS? (April 2008)
Overseas medical treatment and problems with entitlement to NHS care (November 2008)
Oxygen therapy (Winter 2010, p12)
PAIN RELIEF:
See: Immunoglobulin, Pregabalin/Lyrica and TENS machine
Palpitations (Summer 2010, p11)
PHI/Permanent Health Insurance payment disputes (April 2008)
Pleconaril (Autumn 05)
POST-MORTEM RESEARCH
Post-mortem research – what to do if you want to leave your body to ME research (November 2008 and Spring 2010)
Still being able to donate other body parts (Spring 2011)
Post-viral fatigue syndrome – what is it (Spring 2011)
Pregabalin/Lyrica for pain relief (February 2010)
Research – volunteering for (Summer 2009)
Restless legs syndrome (Spring 2011)
Ribose – is it an effective supplement? (July 2008)
SERVICES
How to try and set an NHS clinic up post NICE (January 08)
Long NHS Waiting lists (Winter 2010, p12)
SLEEP
Restless legs syndrome (Spring 2011)
Sleepiness during the day (April 07)
Social care assessments (Spring 2011)
SPECT scans (Summer 2010, p9)
Statins and muscle problems (November 2008, p10)
Steroids (Summer 2009)
TENS machine (Winter 2009, p112)
Test for ME (February 2009, p12-13)
Throat and voice symptoms (Winter 2010, p12)
Thyroid function and ME (Spring 2009)
Tonsils removal (October 07)
Travel sickness (Summer 06)
Wheat intolerance (Winter 2010, p13)
Valganciclovir (October 07)
Vegetarians and anaemia (Autumn 2009)
Vitamin B12 injections (October 06, p18)
Vitamin C – high dose (Summer 2009)
Weight gain and how to lose weight (October 07)
XMRV and MLVs
XMRV – patient selection/criteria for research trials (February 2010)
XMRV – and insurance (Summer 2010, p8)
DRUG AND TESTING NOTES
Hydrogen sulphide urine test (August 2009)
Melatonin (as Circadin) becomes available on NHS prescription (July 2008)
Valganciclovir – meeting with Roche Pharmaceuticals (November 2008)