Acupuncture and other traditional Chinese medicine news and discussion thread

In 2000 I did manage to find a doctor, a neurologist in private practice with a special interest in ME, who said I would not recover and would not work again, though this was six years into my ME when I was looking to take ill health retirement which required I had a condition that was such that I would never work again. Now twenty four years later, when I am less than a year from retirement age, this has turned out to be accurate.

However I agree it would still be unlikely for many UK doctors to say this, most would anticipate recovery but not commit to a time scale, however it is almost inconceivable that a doctor would say a woman with ME could never have children especially given that for most, all other things being equal, this would be patently untrue.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752283031744708655


ME Association @MEAssociation
@TheBAcC
:Statement on ear seeds for CFS/ME – Dragon’s Den "At present, we are unaware of any clinical research that has evaluated ear seeds alone for CFS/ME. From a traditional acupuncture perspective, the ear seeds need to be located precisely on specific points. Therefore, it is not possible to self-administer the ear seeds." Read the statement in full here: https://acupuncture.org.uk/news/statement-on-ear-seeds-for-cfs-me-dragons-den/ #pwME #MECFS #MyalgicE #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #BBC #DragonsDen #EarSeeds #AcuSeeds #Acupuncture #BritishAcupunctureCounci

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https://acupuncture.org.uk/news/statement-on-ear-seeds-for-cfs-me-dragons-den/

Statement on ear seeds for CFS/ME – Dragon’s Den

Back to all news|29 January 2024|

Following the recent episode of Dragon’s Den in which a contestant presented a proposal for an ear seed business the BAcC has received inquiries about this form of therapy and acupuncture for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

The current evidence-base: acupuncture ME/CFS

In the last 20 years a considerable amount of research has been conducted into acupuncture. However, the majority of the high-quality clinical trials have investigated chronic pain conditions such as: low back pain, headache, osteoarthritis of the knee and shoulder pain. These have been compiled in individual patient data meta-analysis that indicates acupuncture is effective for these chronic pain conditions, the benefits last for at least a year and is not purely placebo effects (Vickers et al, 2018).

Unfortunately, chronic fatigue syndrome has not been investigated to the same degree. The studies that have been conducted are often of low quality. The vast majority of studies have been conducted in China. This creates an extra layer of difficulty in assessing the relevance of this evidence to people in the UK. The number and frequency of treatments given in Chinese studies is often higher than typically given in the UK. As many people must access acupuncture privately the expense can limit the number of treatments. The recent systematic reviews suggest that acupuncture may be beneficial for those with chronic fatigue syndrome (Factsheet). However, these reviews also note that until high-quality clinical trials are conducted, it is not possible to be confident in these results.

CFS and traditional acupuncture

CFS/ME is a complicated condition. The BAcC represents practitioners fully trained in the traditional theories. This is a holistic practice. A traditional acupuncturist does not base treatment on the diagnosis of ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’ or ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis’. They will take a full case history and arrive at a diagnosis using the traditional theory. This diagnosis is called 证 zhèng. Zhèng is usually translated as pattern. Even for conditions where the signs and symptoms are fairly consistent, such as osteoarthritis of the knee, patients can be diagnosed with different zhèng-patterns. This means that patients with osteoarthritis of the knee we will get slightly different treatments depending on their overall signs and symptoms.

CFS is far more complicated, beside the tiredness there may be other significant symptoms such as pain, headaches, insomnia, flu-like symptoms. A standard Chinese medicine textbook may list 20 zhèng – patterns associated with tiredness, 17 with headaches, and 9 associated with insomnia. Therefore, people with CFS/ME will often receive different treatments. Whilst there is some overlap, different acupuncture points will be selected depending on the pattern. In addition, some of these patterns may require the use of moxibustion not just needles. This is a complicated issue and probably can only be fully understood through studying the traditional theories. However, hopefully, the central point is clear: there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome.

The evidence from China suggests that combinations of acupuncture and moxibustion plus Chinese herbal medicine may lead to the best outcomes. It may well be that an integrated approach, where individuals select the modalities that they find most useful, is the best way forward. However, this level of complexity does not readily fit with the current gold standard research of randomised controlled trials.

Ear seeds and ear-acupuncture

At present, we are unaware of any clinical research that has evaluated ear seeds alone for CFS/ME. The clinical research conducted in China uses body acupuncture as the first line treatment which is often combined with moxibustion. Ear seeds may be used as an adjunct to the acupuncture treatment. From a traditional acupuncture perspective the ear seeds need to be located precisely on specific points. Therefore, it is not possible to self-administer the ear seeds. The advantage of ear seeds is that they are held in place by tape and can remain in the ear for days. Once in place, people can stimulate the points themselves by pressing the seeds.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, due to the lack of high-quality clinical trials it is currently not possible to draw firm conclusions about the benefits of acupuncture for chronic fatigue syndrome. However, the evidence that does exist indicates that acupuncture and moxibustion may have positive benefits.

For those with chronic fatigue syndrome, who are interested in trying acupuncture, we recommend finding a BAcC practitioner who will be able to tailor the treatment to address your ‘zhèng-pattern’. An initial course of four to six treatments should enable you to gauge whether acupuncture is beneficial for you.

To assess the benefits of acupuncture in the UK setting, it is essential that high quality clinical research is undertaken. This will require funding. The British Acupuncture Council is willing to collaborate in research projects with universities, charities, government bodies.



British Acupuncture Council

The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) guarantees high standards of training, safe practice and professional conduct.

Look for the letters MBAcC after the name of your acupuncturist to be sure of:

• extensive training – minimum three years degree level – with relevant western medicine including anatomy and physiology
• adherence to the BAcC codes of safe practice and professional conduct
• compliance with current health and safety legislation
• full cover for medical malpractice and public/products liability
• mandatory continuing professional development to keep knowledge and skills up to date

The BAcC is an Accredited Register with the Professional Standards Authority for Health & Social Care (PSA). The PSA protects the public by overseeing the regulation and registration of healthcare professionals – including statutorily regulated professions, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and Accredited Registers like the BAcC. This offers a quality mark for high standards of training, safe practice, and professional conduct. Statutory regulated healthcare professionals, such as member of the General Medical Council, can use Accredited Register status as an assurance the safety and quality of care provided when making referrals.

 

Hat tip to Twitter/X's Katy B @KatyBruce108 for contacting the British Acupuncture Council for a statement.

 

This is a pretty bold statement. I don't think the audience understands that all. I'm pretty sure Dragon's Den has invested in medical devices and treatments before (hopefully with sound evidence) and customers' decision to buy these things or services is at least in part based on the approval of a trusted source - the BBC.

I think there is the concept of "the reasonable person" in law and that here "the reasonable person" would infer that the "the healing journey" is being claimed to have caused the recovery. We know that lots of family and friends of pwME took it that way and contacted the pwME, including @Andy. Some of them were excited about this new "cure" for ME & when the pwME tried to put them right they accused the pwME of not wanting to get well.

Even if the BBC thinks there is enough blurring of the message to comply with advertising standards legislation, it has a duty not to mislead, even unwittingly. People were being misled, and it could be argued deliberately.

Without the implied medical claims this product is nothing but overpriced temporary jewellery.

 

Yes, that's when a few Dragons got teary eyed.

 

The British Acupuncture Council's statement has been posted on Steven Bartlett's Twitter/X account. Others have shared the statement on his Linkedin account, his Instagram account and on the 'AcuSeeds' Instagram account.

 

Even if they do, the BBC seems to be wilfully ignoring the fact that (a) sick people are very vulnerable to exploitation, and (b) people with poorly understood conditions are often gaslit by everyone from their own family to their doctor, so it's profoundly unhelpful to suggest recovery is easy and within their grasp.

The show's producers have a duty to understand this, and frankly I don't believe they don't. When programmes feature something affecting a particularly vulnerable group, their interests should be defended. It's not even hard to do; someone could have challenged the story about recovery, mentioned the absence of evidence for the treatment, talked about N=1 experiences, etc. If the BBC neglects this, they're not maintaining balance.


[Edited after posting, with further wording added after gaslighting.]

 

https://twitter.com/actionforme/status/1752342501124448278

Action for M.E.

@actionforme

Action for M.E. was very concerned to see that the quote provided in the Daily Mail attributed to our medical adviser Professor David Strain, who has since confirmed he was misquoted. David has asked us to issue a statement, which you can read here: https://ow.ly/pWbu50QvSpp #pwME

2:46 PM · Jan 30, 2024

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https://www.actionforme.org.uk/news/response-to-quotes-provided-by-professor-david-strain/

Response to quotes provided by Professor David Strain
January 30, 2024

Action for M.E. was very concerned to see the quote provided in the Daily Mail attributed to our medical adviser, Professor David Strain.

David who has asked us to issue the following statement:

"I am very disappointed to see that I have been misquoted and to witness the harm and concern this has caused within the M.E. community. I was very explicit that there is no cure for M.E. and, even worse, that exercise is harmful and should not be prescribed as a treatment.

The intention of the interview was to highlight how difficult it is for people living with this disease to get the diagnosis. When a person with myalgic encephalomyelitis is listened to, however, and learns to avoid triggers such as physical or mental exertion or some high histamine foods, some people may experience a level of improvement in symptoms.

My quote implied that people may be cured with lifestyle and dietary changes. This is not what I said and is contrary to the fact that there is no scientifically proven cure or treatments for M.E., and even those who achieve remission are prone to relapses."

 

Canada's Dragon Den 2018

'This is snake oil': Scientists don't buy balance-boosting clips featured on Dragons' Den

• UPDATE: Health Canada informed Marketplace today that it has required NeuroReset to stop selling three more of its products (Neuro Connect One, Neuro Connect Lifestyle, Neuro Connect Golf) because the company doesn't have the necessary medical device licences. NeuroReset's Mark Metus told Marketplace his company is working with Health Canada to ensure the full compliance of all its products.

The deal fell through after the taping, when the dragons do their due diligence, but the company said it has sold more than $100,000 worth of product since the episode aired — four times more than before the company's national television debut.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/quantum-wellness-clips-marketplace-1.4513382

 

'Moral responsibility'

Joe Mimran, founder of Joe Fresh and Club Monaco and one of the dragons who went in on the deal, admits it's easy to get caught up in the moment when the cameras are on.

 

Wait so the assertion of the acupuncturists association is basically the same as the "GET has to be done with the supervision of a GET specialist", even though there's actually no evidence that it makes a difference. In fact that any type of exercise, or even activity, makes any difference. Heh, that's funny.

Although that's not quite fair, there's at least one, maybe two, studies that show that GET specialists actually have worse outcomes since they push to ignore PEM, which is the main problem.

Hey it's clearly not a genuine Moon healing stone if it hasn't been blessed by a certified Lunatic shaman, with a fully paid license of course, in a properly conducted Moon ritual performed under a full Moon. What's so hard to understand about that?!

 

Exactly. Due diligence done afterwards, not before; and even then, not by the broadcaster.

They think it's fine to light the blue touch paper and stand well back.*

Spoiler

* Well-known phrase that used to be printed on fireworks sold in Britain

 

'The Dragon's Den debacle shows we urgently need more research into ME/CFS'

'The Dragon's Den debacle shows we urgently need more research into ME/CFS' (msn.com)

 

As this new article on MSN suggests toward the end, if nothing else, Dragon’s Den has driven awareness of ME, and, prompted articles such as this - which, I hail as the best article I’ve ever read regarding ME (surpassing the Mirror piece last week) in my relatively short time with this blasted illness - would otherwise never have been written.

Edited: duplicate posting of the link, but, my comments still stand.

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/my-daughters-severe-killed-dragons-31989464

EXCLUSIVE:

'My daughter's ME was so severe it killed her - Dragons' Den ear seed scandal is a disgrace'

The BBC's decision to reinstate a Dragons' Den episode with controversial, unfounded medical claims has sparked fresh outrage from the ME community. Clare Norton is disgusted by the decision after tragically losing her daughter Merryn to the disease in 2017

By Ellie Fry Deputy Online Features Editor

• 12:10, 31 Jan 2024

A grieving mother has blasted Dragons' Den after they allowed an entrepreneur to peddle an 'ear seed' product that she claimed helped her recover from ME.

Clare Norton is the mother of Merryn Crofts, 21, who became the second person in the UK to have myalgic encephalomyelitis listed on their death certificate after passing away in 2017. The fun-loving drama student spent the last three years of her life bed-bound and weighed just five stone when she died, just days after her birthday.

But last week, the BBC allowed businesswoman Giselle Boxer on hit-show Dragons Den to promote an 'ear seed' product that she claimed helped her recover from ME. Ms Boxer had previously claimed that ME sufferers are "stuck in a negative mindset" and are "bogged down with their condition. In 2017, a coroner ruled that ME triggered gastrointestinal failure in Miss Crofts, who effectively starved to death. The landmark inquest concluded that her cause of death was starvation caused by a withdrawal of supportive nutrition, caused by ME...

...Charities immediately warned after the Dragons' Den episode aired that they have 'serious' concerns that Ms Boxer's Acu Seeds pitch was showcased as a 'cure' for ME. Currently, there is no cure for the disease, nor any medical evidence to support ear seeds - a form of needle-free acupuncture - as a viable treatment.

As outrage over the episode grew, the Mirror revealed that Ms Boxer was personally invited onto the programme by producers, despite having previously claimed that ME sufferers are "stuck in a negative mindset" and are "bogged down with their condition".

The BBC then pulled the episode from iPlayer last week after the ME Association reported Acu Seeds to watchdog the Advertising Standards Agency. But the broadcaster now claims to have "addressed concerns" with an edited version of the episode. A new on-screen disclaimer appears in white text, which many argue isn't accessible over the white hue of Ms Boxer's outfit. It reads: "Acu Seeds are not intended as a cure for any medical condition and advice should always be sought from a qualified healthcare provider about any health concerns."...

...Many in the ME community are furious at the BBC's move, as they believe the adaptation does not go far enough to protect vulnerable people, desperate for relief, from purchasing a product with no medical backing. They also say that Ms Boxer's claims entrench a 'baked-in' stigma around the heavily misunderstood and chronically underfunded disease. The broadcaster has been hit with nearly 500 Ofcrom complaints.

...Clare says that she was disgusted by the Dragons' Den episode, warning it perpetuates the "damaging" idea that ME isn't a serious illness and can be cured by alternative treatments. She believes Ms Boxer's claims play into the same stigmas that her daughter faced right up until her untimely death, as Merryn's severe ME was never taken seriously by doctors.

Slamming the Dragons' Den pitch, which saw all six investors offer up cash without pressing for medical evidence...

..."Just putting a disclaimer on the episode is disgraceful because nobody invests £50,000 into something that isn't going to sell. They don't care whether it's going to work or not, but they think it's going to sell. And that's so wrong."

[This is a very long article]

 

The point I'm making isn't about ME and children particularly - it is about how people find that the idea of not being able to have children (which people understandably wouldn't ask the reason for) is something others are in that situation for and others really would claim to be sympathetic for

It happens to be another area where there is sometimes lots of 'advice', and I don't know the regs on that.

So she managed to roll together a lot of excuses/sidesteps but I'm curious the BBC didn't pick up on the 'and now I can have children' bit because whatever they think of ME, there are implicit claims being made regarding the children claim too. And that is a highly sensitive topic others could have read all sorts into (again nothing to do with ME)

 

Moved post

Merryn Croft's mother, Clare Norton, has spoken at length to Ellie Fry of The Mirror. A very powerful and sad article.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752667046049956227



"Merryn Crofts’ life was cruelly robbed by severe ME. Now her incredible mum is calling for the BBC to take further action on the Dragons’ Den ear seed scandal"




The Mirror - 31/1/2024:

'My daughter's ME was so severe it killed her - Dragons' Den ear seed scandal is a disgrace'

'The BBC's decision to reinstate a Dragons' Den episode with controversial, unfounded medical claims has sparked fresh outrage from the ME community. Clare Norton is disgusted by the decision after tragically losing her daughter Merryn to the disease in 2017'

https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/my-daughters-severe-killed-dragons-31989464

.

 

Very good and important article.

I'll first note that I looked up the author Ellie Fry and that she wrote the opinion piece on this on 26th Jan ( 'Dragons' Den scandal has caused untold damage to vulnerable viewers - pulling episode is not enough' - Ellie Fry - Mirror Online ) which was very good, seriously 'gets' the real issue re: how damaging this is (and isn't just about some silly ear seeds). I'm impressed.


That 26th Jan article included the important lines:

"Myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME, is a long-term, multi-system illness that impacts a person's functional ability and quality of life. There is currently no cure, and the path towards finding one has been blocked for years thanks to chronic underfunding and a reluctance to give up bad science that harms patients. This isn't some casual cock-up from the BBC - Giselle's claims have entrenched the very stereotypes that charities, patients and experts have been desperately warning against for years.

Campaigners fought for decades to break free from the long-held misconception that ME is a psychiatric illness rather than a physical disease. Thankfully it is now widely recognised that ME is far from purely psychological, but the consequences of these views are sometimes fatal. Take Sophia Mirza, who died of complications due to severe ME and faced abusive treatment just before her death. She was forced under the Mental Health Act to undergo psychiatric treatment at a mental hospital after doctors dismissed her physical symptoms. Sophia deteriorated significantly and died shortly after being released. An autopsy found that her spine contained a massive infection. Merryn Crofts also tragically died just 10 days after her 21st birthday, after suffering from severe ME for six years and weighing less than six stone. Charities say she was only 'vindicated' in death after doctors dismissed her symptoms for years.

The battle against psychologization isn't the only fight that the ME community has had to endure. For years doctors clung to the notion that graded exercise would help ease symptoms, and it's caused irrevocable damage. One government-funded 2011 trial reported that all patients needed to do to overcome the disease was "think positively" and exercise."


For this article I wanted to pull out the following which I think are the very important points in individual stories vs the 'what's harmful about saying think positive/bogged down' (fake innocent face) that need to be being driven home around ME:

"As Merryn's health deteriorated, Clare fought tirelessly for answers from doctors, paying for a private ME diagnosis before finding a "brilliant" NHS doctor who specialised in the disease. After finally finding someone who took ME seriously, Clare's hopes were dashed, as Merryn's NHS hospital team would "never listen" to the ME specialist because he wasn't in-house or local to their area.

Clare, 55, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, told the Mirror that her daughter faced failings in her medical care at every turn. When Merryn couldn't breathe properly at the beginning of her diagnosis, doctors repeatedly told Clare her daughter was just experiencing panic attacks. Merryn was also wrongly diagnosed with conditional disorder and dysfunctional disorder which, as Clare puts it, insinuated that her daughter's illness was "all in her head".

Medical professionals also pursued the idea of an eating disorder, despite Merryn tragically "begging" doctors for a feeding tube because she wanted to eat, but couldn't physically swallow or hold down food. Clare explained that when her daughter requested a feeding tube, one doctor cruelly told her "You have one, it's right here" while pointing to his mouth.

Heartbroken Clare had to watch her daughter fade away as ME stole her bodily functions, all while doctors tried to insist that Merryn's symptoms were psychological - despite the World Health Organisation (WHO) deeming ME a neurological disease."


I have rarely seen someone manage to properly nail and hold accountable, even if just in a piece of writing, those who do this nasty 'psychologising' (but its just plain misogyny and hysterical woman and nothing to do with 'good intentions' or wanting to help) to the outcomes and consequences of what they have chosen to do.

Noone holding them accountable with a direct line from their 'it's just a game what's the harm' or 'ignore me if you don't like my suggestions' crap, to the permission and encouragement given to those around them to do the same in attitude, to the direct abuse (is there another word for the refusal to treat where it is needed and insistence on harmful behaviour towards where it obviously hurts collection of things that can happen to those with ME?) and harm done to patients by others. And to the outcomes.



I'm very glad that someone is beginning to thread these actions together and start trying to pin these personality types - and 'organisations' - to accountability and make people look at what their words or claims or decisions could be doing. To start to actually have to look at themselves rather than deflect or change what the issue is 'because it is fun to get away with it' or 'you don't want to be seen as being wrong' instead of seeing it as a chance to learn and grow (and that being better PR long term).

 

EDIT: I have split this bit off as it was a bit long

This is important because those dirties with these mindsets I have watched telling themselves (or writing in comments) that those who died didn't do so directly from these things - I think the term is 'bartering' when you try and muddy 'if it really was something else' or 'that straightforward' and does ME really kill and so on. Sometimes this becomes even worse after the consequences occur, as a way for them not to face 'could have done something differently' and rewriting history not even with the agenda to further the meanness but because they have to believe further in these delusions and make up more to not face what could have been different but has actually happened.

But they did, they died and it was because someone went on TV and encouraged those who decisions that will affect their lives to think of them as certain stereotypes that were 'unworthy' and 'something strange', or wrote articles making sure the stigma didn't drop and so on. That is one of the few 'causal' things in the whole BPS. The whole group of people get away with choosing the wrong beliefs because when pulled up those around us 'don't see the issue' and stand by us to the obvious doesn't add up thinking 'because of all of these constant PRs'. They spoke over the very few proper experts who exist and enjoyed that voice that took away the existence of those others' truth. And the consequences weren't just visceral robbing of identity, or scamming out of a few quid, just people having their friends and supporters removed 'now they think they just aren't positive enough by virtue of being disabled' but physical life-long and life-threatening harm in some cases.

None of this rumour-spreading is accidental, innocent or for any purpose that is good. And if it isn't allowed for it to be spread as propaganda then even those without empathy would find others look at them strangely or correct them ie they wouldn't be so confident to say such plainly out of order myths. Otherwise such individuals would have the due care to have talked to those who genuinely had the condition for a long time to check a good time after anything was tried - anything else is callous indifference as to whatever the actual consequences are of their claims.

And when said individuals are trying to speak to warn and that same person tries to metaphorically put a hand over their mouth by spreading ideas that infer that they aren't to be listened to/their testimony doesn't count (for whatever reason) that is another offence, done in order to 'not hear' and is bigger than just callous indifference

 

This is fantastic.

I've copied the following:

"This interpretation of ME as a purely psychiatric illness by two men took the wind out of early research into the condition’s physical causes and gave energy to psychological treatments, with devastating consequences ever since. My mum graduated from medical school in 1984, the same year that ME was joined by a second name - chronic fatigue syndrome (or CFS).

Wider society was led to believe that sufferers were simply a bit tired from the stresses of modern life, with the media printing pieces about ‘yuppie flu’ - suggesting that ME/ CFS was becoming a fashionable diagnosis among young, educated high-achievers. Patients were disregarded, as Maya Dusenbery wrote in her book Doing Harm, framed sneeringly as ‘feminist “superwomen” trying to “have it all”’.

I’m so glad to have been raised by one such superwoman, who has never stopped striving to live her life to the full. My mum first fell ill in 2005. She went from a brilliant, unstoppable force - with a 20-plus year career as a doctor of sexual and reproductive health, passionate about horse riding and always there for her family and friends - to being relegated to bed for hours, days and weeks on end.

Over time, as the muscles on her slim frame wasted away, every hug became a tangible reminder of how much had changed. While there have been many moments of hope, she has not yet fully recovered.

In the two decades since, I’ve witnessed so much misunderstanding of ME/ CFS. This is fatigue far greater than the tiredness of a late deadline, party or intense gym session. It’s exhaustion that reverberates to the bone - that won’t necessarily fade after a night’s sleep, like an iPhone battery that never recharges above 20%.

Its severity varies greatly. While a quarter of sufferers are housebound or bedbound - possibly forced to use a wheelchair or live in the dark - others, like Cher, can attend the Oscars.

Symptoms can also ebb and flow in intensity, so you may unknowingly walk past someone battling the condition in the street because it’s a ‘good’ day or they’re using up their precious 20% ‘battery’ to shower and get some fresh air. A small proportion can recover to work on a business pitch for a TV show."


I feel so grateful that some of these longer articles are getting written and getting out there.

I selected the following because it includes:

- the important trail of how people have been sold a pup by those who were to put it bluntly misogynists with no good intentions but a load of deluded bluster (which has become today's modern day bluster) which has direct links to why the situation is what it is for pwme now. That responsibility and accountability reminder for anyone who quotes these things without stopping and thinking is vital.

- she has reminded human beings reading this of their duty as a human of basic respect to others. And has emphasised that these individuals are more than worthy of respect in accurate descriptions of who they are and what they do before ill and at varying stages of illness - they are individuals and people, not objects to have suggestions stuck on them as 'ill people' (and to me the nonsense of this 'positive looks like x' tosh hopefully being debunked as much as the idea people with cancer had to go around saying they are 'fighting' with a smile on their face for people to accept they are fighting every day and are optimists)

- she has remembered to square the circle about why we see this sort of thing happen. Which I hope will help with the issue the world will always have that a few individuals who are of the type who 'internally attribute when it is good/externally when bad' types (and others should know this from work and who takes credit for mistakes vs successes) will tend to end up believing their fortune - either in getting the support network who allowed sufficient rest, or just being 'one of the 5%' (or whatever it is) - can't help but mislead themselves it must be a sign of their own personal brilliance vs those who don't get better.