ME agenda: update on status of this site

ME agenda: update on status of this site

This site was created in June 2007 for ME patients, carers and advocates and provided information, resources and commentary on the political issues affecting the lives of UK Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) patients.

In 2009, my primary advocacy focus shifted towards monitoring the development of DSM-5* (published May 2013) and ICD-11 (endorsed by the World Health Assembly in May 2019).

In 2010, I created Dx Revision Watch (originally called DSM-5 and ICD-11 Watch) specifically for monitoring the development of both classification systems.

ME agenda site will remain online for its post archives (Post Index to approximately 980 posts) and for occasional, important information relating specifically to ICD-11, DSM-5 and ICD-10-CM.

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I have a number of other WordPress.com sites:

http://suzychapman.wordpress.com/ status: extension site for Dx Revision Watch for occasional, selected material.

Twenty-six soldiers of lead status: extension site to ME agenda for occasional, selected material.

Read ME UK Events status: archived.

Read ME UK Events was created in March 2008 in response to the considerable concerns surrounding the April 2008 Royal Society of Medicine conference on “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” and to promote the various protests that were staged.

Suzy Chapman can be contacted via the Dx Revision Watch Contact page

Follow Dx Revision Watch on Twitter @dxrevisionwatch

*DSM; DSM-IV; DSM-IV-TR; DSM-IV-PC; DSM-V; DSM V; DSM-5; DSM 5 are registered trademarks of the American Psychiatric Association

US advocate’s Call to action – DSM-5 comments needed by June 15, 2012

US advocate’s Call to action – DSM-5 comments needed by June 15, 2012

Shortlink: http://wp.me/p5foE-3py

Patients, patient organizations and professional stakeholders have three weeks left in which to submit comments in the third and final stakeholder review of draft proposals for DSM-5 categories and criteria.

Comment period closes June 15.

US advocate, Mary Dimmock, has prepared a “Call to action”

Call to action – DSM-5 comments needed by June 15, 2012

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is used in the U.S. to categorize mental disorders for patient diagnosis, treatment and insurance. The new version, DSM-5, includes a proposal for Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) that will have profound implications for ME/CFS patients. Your input is needed by June 15, 2012 to ensure that the DSM-5 authors understand your concerns…

…SSD can be applied to patients regardless of whether the symptoms are considered to be medically unexplainable or not. Severity is rated by the count and frequency of somatic symptoms. The “Justification for Criteria – Somatic Symptoms”, issued in May 2011, states that CBT, focused on “the identification and modification of dysfunctional and maladaptive beliefs”, is one of the most promising treatments.

Why this matters to ME/CFS patients
A diagnosis of SSD can be “bolted” onto any patient’s diagnosis. All that is required is for the medical practitioner to decide that the patient is excessively concerned with their somatic symptoms and their health. This is done using highly subjective and difficult to measure criteria for which very few independent reliability studies have been undertaken.

For patients with diseases that are poorly understood and misdiagnosed by the medical community, like ME/CFS, this will be disastrous. Once diagnosed inappropriately with SSD, the implications for diagnosis, treatment, disability and insurance will be profound…

Download Mary’s Call to action document here:

Word .docx format DSM-5 Response 2012

Word .doc format DSM-5 Response 2012 (MS 2004)