Opinion How to Understand the Overlap of Long COVID, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Fibromyalgia and IBS, 2024, Goldenberg

Don L Goldenberg,
How to Understand the Overlap of Long COVID, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Fibromyalgia and Irritable Bowel Syndromes,
Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism,
2024,
152455,
ISSN 0049-0172,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2024.152455

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0049017224000957


Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
Available online 7 May 2024, 152455


How to Understand the Overlap of Long COVID, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Fibromyalgia and Irritable Bowel Syndromes

Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Adjunct Faculty, Departments of Medicine and Nursing, Oregon Health Sciences University

Available online 7 May 2024.


https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2024.152455 Get rights and content

Abstract

Long COVID should be limited to patients with multiple, persistent symptoms not related to well-defined organ damage.

Once redefined, a focused review of long COVID demonstrates striking similarity to chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), fibromyalgia (FM) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Research in long COVID has revealed similar findings to those in noted in CFS/ME and FM, characterized by central nervous system organ dysfunction.

Long COVID, like CFS/ME, FM and IBS, is best understood as a bidirectional mind-body, neuroimmune illness.

 

How so? And what does "best understood" mean anyway? Based on what? The same old crap pseudoscience built of logical fallacies that has led this to be wholly misunderstood, misinterpreted and maligned?

I keep seeing this trend where MDs write stuff like "what do we now know about LC?" and, seemingly oblivious that it has been the case from the start, their suggestions are basically... the same old crap: CBT, mindfulness, exercise, and so on. The stuff that's been described as "basically set up to fail" and "nothing but gaslighting".

Are they not aware that this is exactly what's been pushed on patients from the start? Going on 4 years now? To widespread fury that it's all useless? All covered in articles, special reports, papers, surveys, hell even actual protests?! How can anyone who bothers to write about LC, or the issue of chronic illness, just miss out on literally all the relevant details?

You could write a chat bot for MDs dealing with chronic illness and it would have zero need of artificial intelligence, just have it randomly suggest yoga or any other mind-body woo, hell even a few Deepak Chopra quotes, and you basically have 99% of what MDs have to offer here.