UK media articles about Esther Rantzen (TV journalist) self-isolating with daughter who has ME

[Sly Saint]

Daily Mail article

She's a broadcasting legend and a doting mother of three.

And, Esther Rantzen, 79, has revealed she is self-isolating at her home in New Forest, with her eldest daughter Emily, 42, who has ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), because 'it's the sensible thing to do' amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Childline founder - who has no symptoms - appeared on This Morning via Skype on Monday and explained that she made 'a dawn raid' on her local grocers to stock up on supplies for the next two weeks.

What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
Also known as ME - or myalgic encephalomyelitis - CFS can affect anyone, but is most common in women in their mid 20s to mid 40s.

The most noticeable symptom is extreme tiredness, but others include problems sleeping, joint or muscle pain, headaches, flu-like symptoms, and a fast or irregular heartbeat.

Treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), specific exercises, or medication to target nausea, pain or issues with sleeping.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowb...ating-daughter-amid-coronavirus-pandemic.html

(so her daughter is still sick despite her 'miraculous recovery' after LP!)

eta: she is currently being interviewed by Jeremy Vine on Radio 2

 

[John Mac]

I thought it had been found out that her daughter had Crohn's disease all along.

Edit: It was Coeliac disease not Crohn's

 

[Invisible Woman]

I was sure she had recovered after LP and was then rediagnosed too.

I certainly remember reading the LP reports with puffs of steam coming out of my ears.

 

[Cinders66]

I think that this Article shows the DM never learns,

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowb...ating-daughter-amid-coronavirus-pandemic.html

(so her daughter is still sick despite her 'miraculous recovery' after LP!)

eta: she is currently being interviewed by Jeremy Vine on Radio 2

I find that DM treatment summary objectionable. It probably is just a copy of nhs stuff but in this corona time, which really makes me acutely aware of how debilitating and viral-like ME is, having the treatment written as CBT and exercise just accentuates the problems around framing it like that.i F Esthers daughter is still ill, since a teen , clearly it’s an illness that needs more. I’ve always said most people need good management advice , like diabetes, not CBT.

 

[Invisible Woman]

Cut and pasting cr@p is so much easier than actual fact checking and journalism.

Also I noticed in the comments one delightful individual renamed ME as MU (as in Made Up). Probably the sort of individual who has filled their food cupboards with loo roll for the coming months.

 

[wdb]

It is a bit odd that she was cured by CBT in 2001 then cured again by LP in 2011 whilst also discovering it was actually Coeliac all along, but now she still has ME.

 

[JemPD]

It is a bit odd that she was cured by CBT in 2001 then cured again by LP in 2011 whilst also discovering it was actually Coeliac all along, but now she still has ME.

indeed it is odd. It makes me wonder how many other 'success stories' are now discovering it was just a remission or...??

But I wish them both well & hope they stay safe from corona

 

[Invisible Woman]

It makes me wonder how many other 'success stories' are now discovering it was just a remission or...??

Me too.

Of course if you've gone into remission while having LP or Perrin then others have a vested interest in getting your story out there. Especially if you're high profile.

If you want to retract later....they won't be so keen to out your comments on their websites and in their testimonials.

Also, I guess some people may feel a bit depressed, disillusioned and, maybe, even silly or gullible when it turns out to be a remission rather than a cure. Possibly scared of unkindness from fellow sufferers* or ridicule from the ME-deniers.

It's a shame as, once again, circumstances combine to stack against the truth coming out.

* Though I have to say I haven't seen evidence of any of that type of unkindness here. I think we understand how easy it is to confuse remission for recovery and how desperation can drive us in directions we otherwise wouldn't have taken.

 

[adambeyoncelowe]

Me too.

Of course if you've gone into remission while having LP or Perrin then others have a vested interest in getting your story out there. Especially if you're high profile.

If you want to retract later....they won't be so keen to out your comments on their websites and in their testimonials.

Also, I guess some people may feel a bit depressed, disillusioned and, maybe, even silly or gullible when it turns out to be a remission rather than a cure. Possibly scared of unkindness from fellow sufferers* or ridicule from the ME-deniers.

It's a shame as, once again, circumstances combine to stack against the truth coming out.

* Though I have to say I haven't seen evidence of any of that type of unkindness here. I think we understand how easy it is to confuse remission for recovery and how desperation can drive us in directions we otherwise wouldn't have taken.

I feel almost recovered several times a year. It only lasts a few hours, tops.

 

[Invisible Woman]

I feel almost recovered several times a year. It only lasts a few hours, tops.

Yep. There's the odd occasion when bingo! I feel "normal".

It always seems to occur at about 11pm and I feel fantastic just when I'm supposed to be going to sleep.

 

[adambeyoncelowe]

Yep. There's the odd occasion when bingo! I feel "normal".

It always seems to occur at about 11pm and I feel fantastic just when I'm supposed to be going to sleep.

I always feel better at night. To prove a point: my temperature has now risen to 36C and I feel much better. Less stiff, fewer twinges, warm extremities.

I may track it over the course of a day to see if there's any pattern (there's something that shows up on HRV too, so if they correlate that'll be very interesting).

 

[Sly Saint]

Merged thread

Guardian Article

"
A while into my Zoom interview with Esther Rantzen, her phone rings. She apologises, says she must switch it off, answers it. “Hello,” she says. “Ah… Ah!” And she breaks into a big, familiar, toothy smile; a smile that, if you are of a certain age, will have been part of your television experience growing up. “Are you my second jab?”

The voice on the other end confirms that, yes, this is indeed her second jab. Next week, same place as the first, Milford on Sea. Fabulous news. Esther tells me she’ll take her daughter Miriam along with her in case they have any spare vaccine at the end of the day, she’s heard people have done this. Miriam who’s in her 40s (Esther forgets exactly how far into them) has myalgic encephalomyelitis, ME, but hasn’t been vaccinated. “It’s not considered an underlying health issue in spite of the fact that we know every time she gets a virus of any kind it produces a very serious relapse.”

They hope that Covid – in particular long Covid, with its similarities and links to ME, which is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome – might lead to the condition getting the attention and funding it does in America."
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-...rantzen-80-interview-thats-after-life-podcast