 Trade In this Item for up to £3.00
Trade in Fighting Fatigue: Managing the Symptoms of CFS/ME for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £3.00, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Product Description
Chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalitis, (CFS/ME) affects approximately 180,000 people in the UK. In addition to persistent and abnormal tiredness, sufferers commonly experience muscle pain, headaches, sleep disturbance and loss of concentration as well as a huge range of other symptoms. At its worst it can be completely disabling and yet it is still poorly understood and often regarded as purely psychological. This makes it doubly difficult for sufferers and their carers to cope with. This practical manual comes from a nationally recognized centre for the condition and is jointly written by health professionals and their patients. They give straightforward and specific expert advice, accompanied by real life stories, on managing different aspects of everyday life that can affect energy and they show how to put this advice into practice. They understand the way fatigue affects concentration and therefore break their guidance into easy-to-follow steps that can be worked through at the reader's own pace. Unlike other available books, this does not cover causes, symptoms or the controversy around whether the condition is 'real'. It is purely about how to get better. It is for patients who have been diagnosed with CFS/ME and for their carers. It is also highly relevant to health professionals wanting to provide their patients with self-help strategies that are compatible with the current evidence base. Anyone suffering ongoing, abnormal fatigue will likewise find it a 'must read'.
About the Author
Sue Pemberton is a qualified occupational therapist who was involved in setting up the Leeds based CFS/ME service in 1990, one of the first NHS clinics specifically for the condition. She wrote the original therapy programme and has worked clinically with the service throughout its history. Sue is currently the Clinical Champion for the condition for the North, East and West Yorkshire area and contributes to collaborative work nationally in this field. She is the only Consultant Occupational Therapist working in CFS/ME in the country, speaking regularly at national conferences on the condition and contributing to the national training of health professionals. Catherine Berry suffered with CFS/ME for 9 years. Over that time she followed many different treatment options in the hope that they would improve her health. She researched the condition on the internet and read several books which claim to offer advice which will improve the health of sufferers. Nothing seemed to offer practical solutions to the problem. She attended the Leeds and West Yorkshire CFS/ME Service in 2006 and while completing the programme her health significantly improved. She is keen for the information to be available to all those sufferers who are not able to attend the Service personally. Janine Spencer has been the Clinical Team Manager for the Leeds based CFS/ME service since 2005. She is responsible for the management and leadership of the team and service. Janine is also the Clinical Network Co-ordinator for the North East and West Yorkshire area and contributes to collaborative work nationally in this role.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Are you wondering whether this book is for you or not? If you are, it may help to ask yourself these simple questions:
1. Do I have a chronic illness with symptoms (any symptoms, not just fatigue) which are exacerbated by exertion? IF SO...
2. Do I feel ready to make lifestyle changes to ease those symptoms (and possibly improve my overall condition)? IF SO...
3. Should I buy this book?
If your answers to the first two questions are yes, this indicates that your answer to the third should probably be yes as well! Whilst this book focuses on the fatigue that some patients experience with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (or ME), the techniques described work for all the other symptoms of ME and also for those experienced with many other chronic illnesses. The book is essentially a guide to using self-help strategies to minimise symptoms, maximise ability and encourage overall improvement; it does not explore CFS/ME (or chronic fatigue) as a whole and it does not discuss any treatment options aside from those management tools which patients can apply themselves. Patients seeking to find information on medical symptom relief, for example, will have to look elsewhere, but for those who are ready to commit to a self-help regime for managing their condition as a whole the book is invaluable. It provides an excellent tool kit of techniques and approaches, covering the management of daily activity and energy, rest, sleep, diet, stress and relaxation, thoughts and feelings, memory and concentration, dealing with others, physical activity and exercise, relapse and setbacks and carers.
For the book to be of use, you will need to be prepared to make an honest appraisal of your current management and to try to adhere as closely as possible to the advice given. Throughout the book, chapters are divided into brief sections to allow for rest breaks, which also allows the reader time to absorb the information. This is vital even for those veterans among us who have been using similar pacing techniques for more than a decade! There is a significant amount of work involved with establishing the good management recommended in the book, but I have found that the effort certainly pays off and it becomes easier over time.
What I, and many readers, do not like is the emphasis on "energy", "fatigue" and mild to moderate ME. The book simply does not give an accurate picture of the illness (this is particularly noticeable in the chapter for carers). However, if readers feel able to look beyond this, I have found that it is certainly possible to apply the advice to severe ME and that it is effective for more than fatigue (I have not needed to take so much morphine, for example, since following the guidance). One other area of weakness was the chapter on physical activity. The information was certainly useful, but further exploration of the subject was needed to make it suitable for all patients.
All in all it is an excellent book for what it is- it's a shame about the misleading title!
1. Do I have a chronic illness with symptoms (any symptoms, not just fatigue) which are exacerbated by exertion? IF SO...
2. Do I feel ready to make lifestyle changes to ease those symptoms (and possibly improve my overall condition)? IF SO...
3. Should I buy this book?
If your answers to the first two questions are yes, this indicates that your answer to the third should probably be yes as well! Whilst this book focuses on the fatigue that some patients experience with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (or ME), the techniques described work for all the other symptoms of ME and also for those experienced with many other chronic illnesses. The book is essentially a guide to using self-help strategies to minimise symptoms, maximise ability and encourage overall improvement; it does not explore CFS/ME (or chronic fatigue) as a whole and it does not discuss any treatment options aside from those management tools which patients can apply themselves. Patients seeking to find information on medical symptom relief, for example, will have to look elsewhere, but for those who are ready to commit to a self-help regime for managing their condition as a whole the book is invaluable. It provides an excellent tool kit of techniques and approaches, covering the management of daily activity and energy, rest, sleep, diet, stress and relaxation, thoughts and feelings, memory and concentration, dealing with others, physical activity and exercise, relapse and setbacks and carers.
For the book to be of use, you will need to be prepared to make an honest appraisal of your current management and to try to adhere as closely as possible to the advice given. Throughout the book, chapters are divided into brief sections to allow for rest breaks, which also allows the reader time to absorb the information. This is vital even for those veterans among us who have been using similar pacing techniques for more than a decade! There is a significant amount of work involved with establishing the good management recommended in the book, but I have found that the effort certainly pays off and it becomes easier over time.
What I, and many readers, do not like is the emphasis on "energy", "fatigue" and mild to moderate ME. The book simply does not give an accurate picture of the illness (this is particularly noticeable in the chapter for carers). However, if readers feel able to look beyond this, I have found that it is certainly possible to apply the advice to severe ME and that it is effective for more than fatigue (I have not needed to take so much morphine, for example, since following the guidance). One other area of weakness was the chapter on physical activity. The information was certainly useful, but further exploration of the subject was needed to make it suitable for all patients.
All in all it is an excellent book for what it is- it's a shame about the misleading title!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have suffered from ME/CFS since 2001 and am currently bed-ridden. I have read a fair few ME books and find this by far the most sensible. It doesn't go into the reasons why we suffer from this horrid illness but it does give good guidelines on how to manage it.
It's easy to read and is broken down into reasonable sized chunks for foggy brains.
I've attended an ME clinic in my area and this book covers the same sort of day to day ME management.
My only problem with it is that, because I suffer from severe ME, it's a little too above my level of health. eg. it suggests breaking up all activity and rest into 15 minute periods. Well, I'm lucky if I can do 5 mins of activity.
Still, I would recommend it as being one of the best ME books about as I can see how it's advice can work.
It's easy to read and is broken down into reasonable sized chunks for foggy brains.
I've attended an ME clinic in my area and this book covers the same sort of day to day ME management.
My only problem with it is that, because I suffer from severe ME, it's a little too above my level of health. eg. it suggests breaking up all activity and rest into 15 minute periods. Well, I'm lucky if I can do 5 mins of activity.
Still, I would recommend it as being one of the best ME books about as I can see how it's advice can work.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you have CFS/ME and want to know how to manage it's symptoms including; grading your activity to increase activity levels, concentration, stress, diet etc this book has it all.
Easy to read, I have used these techniques since being diagnosed with CFS 6 years ago and have now work 30 hours per week, have a 4 year old daughter and manage to have a decent (yet different to how it was ) life. These techniques have helped me accomplaish this.
It's no cure - but helps manage the symptoms, but you will need to put the work in - PLEASE DO NOT JUST READ THE BOOK AND PUT IT DOWN - YOU MUST PUT THESE TECHNIQUES INTO PRACTICE DAILY.
The best CFS book I've read.
Easy to read, I have used these techniques since being diagnosed with CFS 6 years ago and have now work 30 hours per week, have a 4 year old daughter and manage to have a decent (yet different to how it was ) life. These techniques have helped me accomplaish this.
It's no cure - but helps manage the symptoms, but you will need to put the work in - PLEASE DO NOT JUST READ THE BOOK AND PUT IT DOWN - YOU MUST PUT THESE TECHNIQUES INTO PRACTICE DAILY.
The best CFS book I've read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Over optimistic?
To be honest I was disappointed. Promising reviews led me to believe this might hold some previously undiscovered insights. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Customer123
Great strategies to manage Cfs/me
Really focused and proven strategies to enable individuals to manage the symptoms of Cfs/me to enable an increase in activity levels over time
Published 5 months ago by Helen J
Fighting Fatigue
This is an excelent book for anyone suffering with CFS/ME.
very easy reading and easy to follow which is important when you have CFS/ME. Read more
very easy reading and easy to follow which is important when you have CFS/ME. Read more
Published 15 months ago by A. J. Smith
Fatigue Book
I found that this book was no help to me with my fatigue but if you suffer from it, it could be of use to someone else
Published 17 months ago by Debs
Fighting Fatigue Book: Managing the Symptoms of CFS M.E
I found this an excellent book for people already diagnosed with M.E /CFS. Unlike most books it does not spend half of the time exploring the symptoms but focuses on how best to... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Lucy
Fighting Fatigue
I found this book a great help in understanding ME/CFS and has really helped me on my way.
Published 20 months ago by D & J B
book review
Very good book. Well written and easy to understand. Makes you think about how you are treating yourself.
Published on 28 Dec 2009 by florence
Required reading for ME/CFS sufferers
How I wish this book had been available when I was first diagnosed with ME, 14 years ago. In my opinion it should be required reading for anyone diagnosed with, or caring for... Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2009 by Mrs. Jeanette C. Jerome
A narrow perspective on a complex illness
This is the latest self-help guide aimed at patients with CFS, where the latter is defined in terms of the 1994 CDC case definition. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2009 by Ellen Goudsmit
Managing fatigue
As someone working in the field of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I was eagerly awaiting the publication of this book, and I haven't been disappointed. Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2009 by S. Jones
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
