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.
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Questions in the Category: General Medical Council
Treatments: Informed consent
The new NICE guideline on ME/CFS contains some very helpful information and recommendations on the way in which doctors should listen to and believe their patients who have ME/CFS (as well as parents of children with ME) and the way in which ME should be managed. But this is only guidance.
Is there anything from the General Medical Council that would be relevant to situations where treatment decisions are being discussed and where there are potential risks as well as benefits?
I ask from the point of view of personal experience: My GP wanted me to try a course of antidepressants- even though I am not suffering from depression. It was a well-meaning encounter but he wasn’t really happy when I explained that there wasn’t any evidence to show that ME can be treated with antidepressants.
Medical Disclosure
I have quite severe ME/CFS and am currently unable to work. However, my wife has a well-paid job and we are probably going to have to move house to another part of the country later in the year. As this may involve taking out some new insurance cover can I check what the position is regarding the disclosure of my medical information to an insurance company? Whilst I can understand why an insurance company would find it helpful to know about someone’s state of health, I am concerned about the accuracy of the information that my GP may be asked to provide – as he takes a rather sceptical view of ME/CFS and I very rarely see him.
Treatments: Unproven Claims
Looking around the internet I was surprised and disappointed to find a whole range of companies and therapists selling treatments and ‘recovery programmes' that they claim can successfully be used to treat or even cure ME/CFS. Some of these companies are clearly making a lot of money out of desperate people who are willing to try anything that is claimed to help. What can be done to stop these scams?
Treatments: Prescribed Drugs and Informed Consent
In addition to ME/CFS I have developed both arthritis and osteoporosis and now require drug treatment for these two conditions. I was recently prescribed a new and fairly powerful drug that soon exacerbated a number of my ME/ CFS symptoms. However, I received no warning that this was something that could happen. As a result, the drug had to be stopped and changed to another one that I was able to tolerate. This upset might have been avoided if my doctor had also considered the potential side-effects a bit more carefully, and discussed them with me, before writing the prescription. Why doesn’t this happen?
Medical Consent
I am becoming increasingly concerned about my wife, who has had ME for many years. Her condition is getting worse and I believe she has also crossed the boundary from feeling fed up to being quite badly depressed. She no longer has any contact with her GP because he cannot offer any useful form of management advice and she does not want to ‘bother the doctor’. As we both have the same doctor, I asked the surgery receptionist if I could have an appointment to talk to the GP about my wife. I was told that this would not be possible because doctors have to follow very strict rules on medical confidentiality. This means they cannot discuss one person’s health with someone else, even a close relative. Is this correct? And, if so, what can I do to get some professional medical input?
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.
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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).
