UK: Harrogate and District NHS: Living with Pain and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Service

Sly Saint · Sep 20, 2023

The Living with Pain and CFS/ME Service is a well-established service for people with long-standing (chronic) pain and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME. We provide outpatient help to understand these difficult conditions, to minimise pain, fatigue and associated symptoms where possible, and maximise quality of life. We are a multi-disciplinary service made up of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and psychologists.
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Service
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME is a long term condition characterised primarily by severe fatigue which affects the ability to do everyday tasks. CFS/ME is usually diagnosed when fatigue is clinically unexplainable and cannot be attributed to another clinical condition, severe obesity, drug/alcohol dependence or a severe mental health condition. People with CFS/ME usually have a range of other symptoms associated with fatigue including problems with sleep, thinking or memory (sometimes called ‘brain fog’), pain throughout the body or in one specific area and flu-like symptoms.

Managing symptoms
People who have had pain and fatigue for a long time often find it affects their lives in many different ways. Some common difficulties are:

Not being able to continue with hobbies and sport

Feeling stiffer and weaker or generally out of condition

Finding it difficult to manage work

Not being able to make or keep plans at work or home

Not being able to take part in social activities

Finding it difficult to deal with increases in pain or fatigue and flare-ups

Finding it difficult to sleep or sleeping too much

Worrying about pain or fatigue and the future

Loss of self-confidence and feeling low

Not being able to explain pain or fatigue to others or feeling they don’t understand

In the past, health services were largely focused on the biological (the structure of the body and its systems) aspects of ill health. But over the years there has been an increasing understanding of the relationship with psychological and social factors like those above. In fact, all three areas are important in the overall experience of pain or fatigue, and this is referred to as the Biopsychosocial Model. Modern management of symptoms uses this model as its base.

This means that the Living with Pain and CFS/ME Service works to improve your quality of life by looking at all aspects of your pain or fatigue and how to manage it.
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Living with Pain and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Service - Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (hdft.nhs.uk)

Hutan · Sep 20, 2023

It's interesting to read that @Sly Saint. I mean, of course there are things that could be improved, the focus on fatigue, the 'CFS/ME', the suggestion that the diagnosis is based on having otherwise unexplained fatigue, the complete lack of a mention of PEM. It really is remarkable that a specialist service seems to understand the illness so poorly.

But the framing 'Living (as well as possible) with ME/CFS' is good.

It's interesting how a service composed only of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and psychologists can, at least in appearances, adapt to be compliant with the NICE Guideline and, more importantly, potentially offer a useful support service to people with incurable chronic conditions.

I haven't clicked through to the link, so I don't know what they actually do in practice. I suspect I would disagree with at least some of it, not least because I don't get a sense from this that the staff understand the disease. But, I found this potential rehabilitation of the BPS model interesting.

MEMarge · Sep 21, 2023

The introductory video on the link is not very encouraging.

BPS, goals to work towards, boom and bust .....

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UK: Harrogate and District NHS: Living with Pain and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Service

Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Hutan Moderator Staff Member

MEMarge Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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UK: Harrogate and District NHS: Living with Pain and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Service

Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Hutan Moderator Staff Member

MEMarge Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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