PBS Show to Air on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

[Cort]

From Solve ME/CFS

Mark your calendars! The “Second Opinion” TV show on ME/CFS will start airing on PBS stations around the country Oct. 12. The show also will be posted online at http://secondopinion-tv.org/ on that date. The show features Danielle Warner, sister of SMCI board member Aaron Paas, and her husband, Tyrone.

 

[Snookum96]

I don't know if we get this here in Canada but I'm going to check it out for sure.

I just went to their website they have some great topics on there.

Thanks Cort, I didn't know this show existed!

 

[Cort]

Cool I hope you get it. I'm travelling may not be able to see it; if you see it please let us know how it went.

I don't know if we get this here in Canada but I'm going to check it out for sure.

I just went to their website they have some great topics on there.

Thanks Cort, I didn't know this show existed!

 

[Diana Maus]

Ok, just watched the show and I am dismayed. What is with that ridiculous guy from Rochester? The Myth or medicine segment placed emphasis on psychiatric illness, saying that depression can prolong the symptoms. It says that getting CBT can help get over it. My experience would prove otherwise. I was in therapy for a long time and it does help manage the ramifications of CFS. It did not change the progression of my illness. It can help manage stress, which seems to cause flares, but it didn't change the course of CFS for me.

I sit here 25 years after suddenly becoming ill, the postural and the cognitive problems, PEM, sleep disorder, and pain have cycled on and off for 15 years at the same magnitude. The first ten years was a steady stream of symptoms. I had to use a calculator just now to decide how many years I have been ill because I can't do the math in my head always. Sometimes it's there, other times I can't do it at all. It's like a switch turns on and off with math, and I was always good at math.

That one segment, myth or medicine, seemed to contradict everything the doctor on the show was stating, that it is a real illness. The myth segment also said that chronic fatigue syndrome is caused by a variety of things. After reading the boards for years, I see the same symptoms and complaints over and over, just like mine and I don't see how we can all be experiencing the same disturbance from different causes. It's not like there's one symptom in common, there are dozens.

Very unhappy with this show in general, seems like whoever produced it is way behind the times regarding our illness.

 

[Tina]

Ok, just watched the show and I am dismayed. What is with that ridiculous guy from Rochester? The Myth or medicine segment placed emphasis on psychiatric illness, saying that depression can prolong the symptoms. It says that getting CBT can help get over it. My experience would prove otherwise. I was in therapy for a long time and it does help manage the ramifications of CFS. It did not change the progression of my illness. It can help manage stress, which seems to cause flares, but it didn't change the course of CFS for me.

I sit here 25 years after suddenly becoming ill, the postural and the cognitive problems, PEM, sleep disorder, and pain have cycled on and off for 15 years at the same magnitude. The first ten years was a steady stream of symptoms. I had to use a calculator just now to decide how many years I have been ill because I can't do the math in my head always. Sometimes it's there, other times I can't do it at all. It's like a switch turns on and off with math, and I was always good at math.

That one segment, myth or medicine, seemed to contradict everything the doctor on the show was stating, that it is a real illness. The myth segment also said that chronic fatigue syndrome is caused by a variety of things. After reading the boards for years, I see the same symptoms and complaints over and over, just like mine and I don't see how we can all be experiencing the same disturbance from different causes. It's not like there's one symptom in common, there are dozens.

Very unhappy with this show in general, seems like whoever produced it is way behind the times regarding our illness.

I agree with your sentiment regarding the Myth segment, but I thought the rest was on balance a plus.

 

[Tina]

Just watched the show and as @Diana Maus said, the Myth segment almost completely invalidated what the medical doctors were saying. The medical portion made it very clear that this was not a mental issue in any way except when it shows up secondarily. On balance, I thought it was a positive.

 

[Cort]

Ok, just watched the show and I am dismayed. What is with that ridiculous guy from Rochester? The Myth or medicine segment placed emphasis on psychiatric illness, saying that depression can prolong the symptoms. It says that getting CBT can help get over it. My experience would prove otherwise. I was in therapy for a long time and it does help manage the ramifications of CFS. It did not change the progression of my illness. It can help manage stress, which seems to cause flares, but it didn't change the course of CFS for me.

I sit here 25 years after suddenly becoming ill, the postural and the cognitive problems, PEM, sleep disorder, and pain have cycled on and off for 15 years at the same magnitude. The first ten years was a steady stream of symptoms. I had to use a calculator just now to decide how many years I have been ill because I can't do the math in my head always. Sometimes it's there, other times I can't do it at all. It's like a switch turns on and off with math, and I was always good at math.

That one segment, myth or medicine, seemed to contradict everything the doctor on the show was stating, that it is a real illness. The myth segment also said that chronic fatigue syndrome is caused by a variety of things. After reading the boards for years, I see the same symptoms and complaints over and over, just like mine and I don't see how we can all be experiencing the same disturbance from different causes. It's not like there's one symptom in common, there are dozens.

Very unhappy with this show in general, seems like whoever produced it is way behind the times regarding our illness.

Darn! I guess I didn't miss much...I hope they didn't say that CBT can help cure ME/CFS? But that it might help manage symptoms? Sounds like they dropped the ball on getting the seriousness of ME/CFS across?

 

[Cort]

Just watched the show and as @Diana Maus said, the Myth segment almost completely invalidated what the medical doctors were saying. The medical portion made it very clear that this was not a mental issue in any way except when it shows up secondarily. On balance, I thought it was a positive.

Glad to hear that! I would be surprised if PBS wasn't pretty balanced - even if they did mess up on one part..