BBC Newsbeat: M.E. And Me - documentary available from Tuesday 8th May, 6am

Andy

Andy

Retired committee member
I don't think there is an existing thread for this yet? There are various posts about it in other threads but thought it might be useful to have its own thread.

Presenter Emma Donohoe was diagnosed with M.E. when she was 19, an illness which many doctors don’t understand and people still talk about as “yuppy flu” - thinking sufferers are being lazy or too depressed to get out of bed.

Now at 24, Emma has been able to reduce some of her symptoms and wants to find out in a new BBC Newsbeat documentary if anything has improved since she first got sick and what life is like now for other young sufferers who are living with severe M.E.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2018/19/me-and-me

Now available to view at https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p065b4lp/newsbeat-documentaries-me-and-me
Probably only available to view by UK residents at the moment.

ETA: Add link to program.
 
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Dr Carrot said:
Presenter says she got better through yoga, diet, and a positive attitude, but despite the potential pitfalls of such a statement this looks like it could be very good.
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Hmm, OK, well hopefully she will accept that there are lots of people who do exactly the same and don't recover. And even if she doesn't, hopefully the other influences in the program will present a more realistic view.
 
Andy said:
Hmm, OK, well hopefully she will accept that there are lots of people who do exactly the same and don't recover. And even if she doesn't, hopefully the other influences in the program will present a more realistic view.
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I was careful to phrase my initial comment but perhaps not careful enough - I am really happy that this has been done and all the levels of participation from various groups (Biobank, severely ill patients) gives me encouragement that this will be very good!
 
The Liverpool Echo is giving the documentary a mention

A young mum from Liverpool will feature in a BBC documentary about ME - a disease she describes as being like a "living death".

The debilitating brain condition means Sophie Cooklynn, 21, from Bootle, can only see her young son Lucas for a few minutes every day.
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https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/bootle-mum-who-can-only-14622794


They originally covered her story on mother's day (along with the Daily Mirror)
Mentioned in this thread here:

https://www.s4me.info/threads/daily...-her-son-a-few-minutes-a-day.2897/#post-51784
 
it says bbc I player from 6 am is it really going to be broadcast to so few viewers . I am probably missing something no surprise there.
 
alktipping said:
it says bbc I player from 6 am is it really going to be broadcast to so few viewers . I am probably missing something no surprise there.
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As far as I'm aware, it won't actually be broadcast in the traditional sense - it will be available to stream from 6am, and there will be publicity within the BBC as a whole that will link to it.
 
does anyone think it strange to spend taxpayers money on a documentary type programme and then only put it out on an online platform . for those who do not know the bbc is funded by taxation through licensing.
 
alktipping said:
does anyone think it strange to spend taxpayers money on a documentary type programme and then only put it out on an online platform . for those who do not know the bbc is funded by taxation through licensing.
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To quote myself from another thread
Andy said:
I understand that it's because it's being produced by BBC Newsbeat, which focuses on content for 18-24 year olds, and they, BBC Newsbeat, focus on releasing their output via iPlayer.
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They do this apparently so as to increase the viewing figures of their content, due to the youth of today viewing less live TV and more on-demand programmes.
 
alktipping said:
does anyone think it strange to spend taxpayers money on a documentary type programme and then only put it out on an online platform . for those who do not know the bbc is funded by taxation through licensing.
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The BBC took a whole channel, BBC3, off air and onto online only a year or so ago. They said it was because it was largely aimed at a young adult audience, and that group mostly watch TV through iplayer at a time to suit them rather than at a specific broadcast time. But it was also largely to save money.

I'm old, and I mostly watch with iPlayer - but I find out what's available through the Channel listings, so would miss programs like this.
 
A common treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome should be scrapped immediately, according to one of the UK's leading experts in the illness.

Dr Charles Shepherd says graded exercise therapy (GET) can actually be harmful to some people.

He argues the idea of getting patients to do increasing amounts of exercise can lead to serious relapses.

Other health experts disagree and say GET is both proven and a safe method of treatment.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-44004882

Link to the documentary itself (it's embedded in the above article as well),
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p065b4lp/newsbeat-documentaries-me-and-me
 
Just watched it. I would put it in the pretty good category. There will always be things that we would prefer were different but the overall messages were good: psychologisation of ME is extremely unhelpful and quite possibly dangerous, more biomedical research is needed, and it does shine a light on how serious ME can be for some people.
 
Pretty good, yeah. For those who are thinking of diving in:

Visits with two severely ill patients, a brief insight into mild ME, a visit to the U.K. biobank.

I’m pleased to see severe ME further represented in media. One of my bugbears is the 25% statistic that’s used to show representation of severe ME among people with ME. It’s anecodtal and somewhat self selecting but given the amount of people I speak to online with this condition I feel like that percentage should be far higher, so representation in media like this is always good.
 
Another article on ME from BBC Newsbeat today, this time with a less than desirable headline.
Chronic fatigue: I was 'held hostage by ME'

Hi, my name is Lizzie and I'm known in my town as the girl who got ill.

You see, I was given that label when I was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) aged 16.

I'd gone from a bright, bubbly girl to being exhausted and having my personality sucked out of me.

For those of you who don't know (and I'm guessing you don't, I certainly didn't) it's a horrible illness that makes you feel tired in a really extreme, abnormal way.

It's so much more than that too because you get digestive problems, headaches, nausea, muscle pains, spasms and you become sensitive to light and noise.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-43824503
 
I'd like to see this statement in full:

A statement to Newsbeat from some of the country's leading ME researchers and clinicians says: "These therapies help many people with CFS/ME by reducing symptoms, increasing what they can do, and improving their quality of life."

It goes on to say that using GET "is based on good evidence from multiple studies and randomised controlled trials showing that these treatments are safe and useful for some patients.

"Right now there are no alternatives for patients, so it is vital that they are not deterred from accessing therapies that can help them."
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