In the News
Keep up to date with the latest news articles from around the world.
Articles represent the views of their authors and not ME/CFS SA. Always seek advice from a registered health practitioner before changing your care plan.
11 August, 2024
Cannabis-Infused Tea Mitigates Fibromyalgia Pain In Italian Patients
Researchers in Italy recently conducted a clinical trial involving cannabis and fibromyalgia patients. Patients reported decreases in pain after consuming cannabis-infused tea.
11 August, 2024
New Study Highlights Impact Of Long COVID
Researchers from the Universities of Arizona, Oxford, and Leeds have conducted a comprehensive review of numerous studies on long COVID, aiming to understand its prevalence, underlying mechanisms, symptoms, and potential treatments. Long COVID, or post-COVID-19 condition, is characterized by symptoms lasting three months or longer following an acute COVID-19 infection. This illness can affect multiple organ systems, leading to symptoms such as fatigue, cognitive impairment (‘brain fog’), breathing difficulties, and various forms of discomfort. The study reveals that long COVID can impact individuals of all ages, including children. It is notably more common among females and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, though the reasons for these disparities remain under investigation. While some individuals gradually recover, others may experience persistent symptoms for years. Notably, many who contracted long COVID before vaccines became available continue to suffer.
10 August, 2024
Kirsty Young Says Doctor ‘Snorted’ At Her Self-Diagnosis Of Chronic Pain
BBC presenter was told fibromyalgia was ‘not a thing’ by medic, before being diagnosed with condition.
10 August, 2024
Breaking Barriers: A Chronic Pain Journey From Research To Warrior
Josie Timmons is using her research on women living with chronic pain to fuel an ongoing personal mission as a Fibromyalgia Warrior, as she lives with the condition while advocating to break the stigma and uplift the voices and experiences of others who remain doubted or unseen. Josie’s journey exemplifies resilience and the power of shared experiences to educate society about the reality of living with chronic pain, which often feels invisible. Despite the profound impact on her life and relationships, exacerbated by a lack of awareness and lack of support, Josie persevered through dark periods marked by intense pain and thoughts of self-harm and suicidal ideation. Her determination led her to share her story and support others with conditions like fibromyalgia through her research and work in the community. She continues to seek current information and best practices to manage her condition and help others in similar situations.
10 August, 2024
Long COVID Just As Common After Other Illness
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome is no more prevalent in people recovering from covid than after other acute illnesses, a US study suggests. With a rate of around 4%, however, that still leaves a large burden of morbidity and medical care following the pandemic, say the authors of the study, published in JAMA Network Open.
09 August, 2024
A Little Private Horror: Kirsty Young's Life With Chronic Pain
Broadcaster Kirsty Young has revealed the loneliness of living with chronic pain, describing it as "very isolating". The former Desert Island Discs presenter stepped back from the programme in 2018 after she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday, Young said she was "hollowed out by it". She also said she felt a sense of "failure and shame", as well as a reluctance to talk about it to other people.
09 August, 2024
Patient Communication And Fibromyalgia Diagnosis
Key elements for discussion with patients around their fibromyalgia diagnosis are highlighted by a medical expert.
09 August, 2024
Why Maeve’s Death Must Bring Change
Naomi Whittingham writes: "Maeve Boothby O’Neill was a young woman with great hope for the future and a wish, in her own words, “to advance the cause of human flourishing.” She was a gifted writer working on her first novel, and a treasured daughter and sister. It is her family’s wish that she should be remembered primarily for the light that she brought to the world; for her warmth, her intelligence and her determination. She was brimming with potential."
08 August, 2024
‘Comedy Is The Backbone Of My Life – It Helps Me Cope’: Nina Gilligan On Living With Fibromyalgia And Chronic Migraines
Nina Gilligan is used to people not taking her seriously, especially when talking about the chronic pain she’s endured for a decade. Now, she wants that to change. The hard-working comedian has lived with an invisible chronic illness for over a decade, but never expected the gaslighting she often experienced in medical settings to extend to her comedy gigs. “At one of my previews, a GP actually shouted out ‘it’s not real’ when I was talking about my fibromyalgia!” said Nina, who was diagnosed with the condition 10 years ago. “Fibromyalgia seems to be the in-joke of the medical world. Many GPs either don’t believe in it or don’t know what it is. There’s the same lack of understanding that we had with menopause about 10 years ago. It seems shrouded in bloody mystery!”
07 August, 2024
ME: We Need More Funding And More Research
People with myalgic encephalomyelitis and their carers are calling for a reversal of decades of underfunding.
