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.
Search all questions
Choose a letter to see our categories
- Show all
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Y
- 5
- ME Connect
- ME/CFS
- ME/CFS Biobank
- MMR
- MNA
- MRI
- MS
- MUST
- Macrocytosis
- Magnesium
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Mainstream Media
- Malnutrition
- Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool
- Management
- Manchester Brain Bank
- Mast Cell Disease
- Mast Cells
- Media
- Medical Condition
- Medical Consent
- Medical Disclosure
- Medical Records
- Medical Research
- Medical assessment
- Medications
- Melatonin
- Memory
- Memory Problems
- Menieres’s Disease
- Meningitis
- Menopause
- Menstruation
- Mental Function Assessment
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Act 1983
- Mepivacaine
- Mestinon
- Metabolism
- Metabolites
- Metabolomics
- Methylprednisolone
- Metoclopramide
- Micro Clots
- Microbiome
- Microbiota
- Migraine
- Minerals
- Mini Nutritional Assessment
- Mirtazapine
- Mitochondria
- Mobility
- Modafinil
- Molnupiravir
- Mononeuropathy
- Motor Neuropathy
- Mouth Ulcers
- Multidisciplinary
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Muscle
- Muscle Cramps
- Muscle Pain
- Muscle Relaxants
- Muscle Spasm
- Muscle Wasting
- Muscle Weakness
- Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
- Myalgic Encephalopathy
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Myelin Sheath
- Myoclonic jerks
- Myoclonus
- Myopathy
- Myositis
Questions in the Category: Media
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?
The News Media
I appreciate all the work that you are doing in getting stories about ME (and Long COVID) into the media. But please could you do something about the headlines and photographs that are used to accompany these items, and some of ’the facts’ about ME that are often boxed into these items. For example, the BBC news item that I’ve just been watching on the overlap with Long COVID has a slide covering common ME symptoms – the top one being ‘extreme tiredness’. This is not helping to educate the public about 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.
- Review the largest range of literature covering all aspects of living with ME/CFS. Download detailed information about symptoms, diagnosis, management, co-mordities, employment, education, related health conditions, The 2021 NICE Clinical Guideline, welfare benefits etc.
- Join the ME Association as a member and you'll receive the highly-rated ME Essential magazine, and you can ask questions of the charity’s expert advisers including Dr Shepherd.
- Contact us via the ME Connect Telephone Helpline (open 365 days a year) and speak to one of the national team of fully-trained volunteers who waiting to provide information and support.
- Contact us via email or social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn.
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).
