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: Antivirals
Treatments: Ampligen
I know that you have answered questions about the failure of people in the UK to have access to Ampligen – a drug that has immunomodulatory actions and is used to treat ME/CFS by some doctors in the USA. However, I’ve been told that the drug regulatory authority in America (the FDA) has now approved its use in treating Long Covid. So does this mean that doctors in the UK can now start prescribing Ampligen?
Covid-19: Treatments
I'm looking for some guidance on possible treatments for Covid. I care for my partner who is bedbound with severe ME/CFS. He hasn’t been able to get vaccinated due to also having multiple allergies and the possible anaphylaxis risk. Vaccination would therefore have do be done in hospital and he isn't well enough to go to hospital.
We are still shielding as a household – although the rest of us are triple-jabbed – to avoid the risk of bringing in Covid and infecting him. However I'm becoming increasingly concerned that this virus isn't going to go away and that it's going to be harder to be able to protect him. So I'd like to have a possible treatment plan agreed in advance with the GP, in case he catches Covid-19. However, the NHS list for those available for antiviral drug treatment doesn't specify ME/CFS. Any thoughts or advice welcomed!
The 2021 NICE Guideline ME/CFS: Drug Treatments
Comparing some of the recommendations on the use of specific drugs in the new NICE guideline to those in the previous 2007 NICE guideline, I see that melatonin is no longer given a possible recommendation for sleep disturbance in the 2021 guideline and the “do not use” instruction in the 2007 guideline no longer applies to antiviral drugs, fludrocortisone, steroids and thyroxine.
Does this mean that doctors can no longer prescribe melatonin but that they can now prescribe amphetamines, antiviral drugs, steroids, etc for people with 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:
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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).
