Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Frank Twisk

Quote by Frank Twisk

“ME/CFS has a greater negative impact on functional status and well-being than other chronic diseases, e.g., cancer or lung diseases[8], and is associated with a drastic decrement in physical functioning[9]. In a comparison study[10] ME/CFS patients scored significantly lower than patients with hypertension, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and multiple sclerosis (MS), on all of the eight Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)[11] subscales. As compared to patients with depression, ME/CFS patients scored significantly lower on all the scales, except for scales measuring mental health and role disability due to emotional problems, on which they scored significantly higher.”

Quote by Frank Twisk

Author

Frank Twisk

Browse famous quotes and profile details for Frank Twisk. more

You May Also Like

“The people in whom CFS often takes a hold are those driven, workaholic, goal driven, perfectionist, 'never say die' characters. This is because these people ignore the normal cues that make us stop striving - they continue despite symptoms of fatigue and pain in order to achieve. The achievement is at the expense of their health. Furthermore, these personalities are more likely to turn to addictions to mask symptoms in order that they can keep going.”

“Everything I thought I understood about disease research, drug development, and the delivery of clinical care has been turned on its head. This isn’t science or medicine as I had come to know them but rather a parade of psychogenic bias, neglect, bad science, flawed public policy, and the political agendas of powerful people and institutions that have sentenced ME patients to the medical equivalent of the most squalid slum in the poorest country on earth. The political decisions taken over the last thirty years have polluted research, perverted clinical care, and shipwrecked ME patients with a life-threatening dose of stigma, disbelief and medically induced harm.”

“Characteristics of CFS/ME include persistent mental and physical fatigue accompanied by a range of neurological, autonomic, neuroendocrine, immune and sleep difficulties (Carruthers et al., 2003). In turn, these manifestations produce a range of functional limitations including severe cognitive impairments (e.g. problems with attention, problem-solving, concentration, memory and verbal communication) and debilitating physical difficulties such as problems with general mobility and self-care, shopping, food-preparation and housekeeping (Taylor & Kielhofner, 2005). These impairments are often acute and enduring, impacting upon an individual’s personal, occupational and social lives.”

“The diagnostic criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) define two distinct clinical entities. Cognitive impairment and post-exertional “malaise” (a long-lasting aggravation of typical symptoms, e.g., muscle weakness and cognitive “brain fog”, after minor exertion) are obligatory for the diagnosis ME, while chronic fatigue is the only mandatory symptom for the diagnosis CFS.”

“Many people confuse “chronic fatigue” (which is a symptom of many chronic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, or lupus) or “general tiredness” (which is lifestyle-related), with the specific illness “chronic fatigue syndrome” (ME/CFS). To clarify the differences, here are some of the major symptoms of ME/CFS: - unexplained physical and mental fatigue for an extended period of time - post-exertional malaise (meaning an inappropriate loss of physical and mental stamina and a worsening of symptoms after any effort) - sleep dysfunction - pain - neurological/cognitive manifestations - autonomic manifestations, such as orthostatic intolerance - neuroendocrine symptoms, such as subnormal body temperature - immune system changes, such as recurrent flu-like symptoms.”