MEDICAL MATTERS
- Medical Matters features questions asked by Members of the ME Association on health-related topics.
- Dr Charles Shepherd and the ME Association's other advisers answer these questions by sharing their expert knowledge.
- Medical Matters is based on the popular ‘Ask the Doctor’ series in ME Essential magazine.
- It is a free resource that supplements the detailed information contained in the full range of literature that can be found in the website shop.
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Questions in the Category: Balance
Symptoms: Balance
I developed ME a few years ago and have all of the main symptoms including occasional problems with balance or unsteadiness, especially when I’m tired. Over the past few months my balance/ unsteadiness has become more persistent. I’ve also had a couple of episodes when I’ve come off an escalator (which I no longer do) and nearly fallen over. My GP has checked me over (nothing abnormal was found) and prescribed a drug called Stugeron/ cinnarizine, which hasn’t really helped.
What else can I do? Just put up with it?
Hypermobility & Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
My daughter, who is now in her early twenties, has had ME/CFS since being a teenager. We have always felt that her joints are more flexible than normal. She often has strains and sprains and has dislocated her knee in the past. Her doctor is now querying whether she may now have a hypermobile joint condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Are there any links between hypermobile joints and ME/CFS? Or is this just a coincidence?
Symptom: Temperature Regulation (2)
I’ve always enjoyed a long soak in a hot bath, especially at the end of the day – and still do. But since developing ME/CFS I’ve found that I feel completely wiped out afterwards – as well as feeling more lightheaded and faint than usual. Is this something that could be related to ME/CFS, because it doesn’t appear to be listed as a symptom?
New Symptoms
I know that in addition to all the well-known symptoms associated with ME/CFS there are a considerable number of other symptoms that can sometimes occur. But when should I go and see my doctor if I develop a new symptom? Or when an existing symptom isn’t quite the same as it used to be? In my case I’ve always had a problem with balance and I know you have described this as ‘walking on rubber’ – which is exactly how it feels at times! However, I’m now having what are best described as occasional dizzy spells where I feel very “off balance”. I also suspect that my hearing isn’t quite as sharp as it used to be. I’ve mentioned this problem to my new GP, who checked my blood pressure, looked inside my ears and said it was probably caused by ME/CFS – but come back if things don’t improve! I don’t want to be seen as a hypochondriac, turning up at the doctors every time I don’t feel well. But at the same time, I don’t want to find that something important, or treatable, is being missed.
Symptom: Dizziness
I often feel light-headed and unsteady on my feet, and have done so since my ME started about five years ago after a nasty infection. But I’ve recently been having ‘dizzy spells’ where I feel faint, sickly and much more unbalanced. These attacks come on without warning and then settle down. Is this part of ME?
Dr Charles Shepherd
Dr Shepherd has been Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association for more than 40 years. He is integral to the charity's activities and provides information and support based on his professional knowledge, personal experience as a doctor with ME/CFS, and the understanding gained from helping many thousands of people with the condition. He was a member of the comittee responsible for the 2021 NICE Clinical Guideline and is a recognised expert on ME/CFS in the UK. His knowledge extends to Post-Viral Fatigue Syndromes (PVFS), Myalgic Encephalopathy/Encephalomyelitis (ME), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) or Long Covid.
If you have questions about ME/CFS or Long Covid, you can:
- Review the free information in the What is ME/CFS? section of the website, and the free Covid-19 and Long Covid information in the website shop.
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Medical Matters is based on the popular ‘Ask the Doctor‘ series featured in the highly-regarded member’s magazine, ME Essential, and in the healthcare professional magazine, ME Medical. Both are produced by the ME Association and published as hard-copy magazines every 3 months and sent to members and healthcare professionals by post to home or business addresses.
If you are an HCP you can sign-up here to receive ME Medical magazine (people with ME/CFS can also nominate their HCP by completing the sign-up form).
