This blog post covers the second chapter of the ME/CFS Crash Survival Guide. The information provided can also apply to individuals with long COVID and other multi-system chronic complex illnesses that have a PEM component. Click here to download the entire guidebook....
What is ME/CFS and Understanding a Crash
Living with diseases like ME/CFS requires the affected individual to understand the defining characteristic of the disease, post-exertional malaise (PEM), and what it means when the body is pushed into a deep state of PEM, known as a crash. Awareness about how crashes occur, and how to meet the body’s critical needs during a crash, will afford the individual more control over their healing process and living with the disease.
In January 2016, I cut my hair and started wearing wild socks, vowing to do so until we had a biomarker. It must have worked [!] because in 2017 BHC was included in two of the three National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded ME/CFS Collaborative Centers grants...
The fatigue began at the top of my head and rolled down my body, as if I’d been standing under a cold shower. I felt flushed, chilled, achy, and unsteady on my feet. I had to lean against the display case of the cupcake shop, hoping my son wouldn’t notice. We were on...
Over the past 5 years, 285 of you have participated in an NIH-funded research study at Bateman Horne Center! This study was led by The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), one of the three ME/CFS Collaborative Research Centers funded by the NIH. BHC was the Clinical Core for JAX...
Before I got ME/CFS I was a women's health nurse practitioner working in a busy practice. I had spent years of education preparing for this dream job: two bachelor's degrees in biology and nursing and two master's degrees in philosophy of science and nursing. I loved...
I was only 11 years old when I got ME/CFS and my life changed forever. Before ME, I was a normal, happy kid. I loved going to school and got straight A’s. I was that crazy kid who couldn’t wait for school to restart after a break. I also loved music. I played the...
Prior to becoming sick, I worked a variety of jobs including an orthodontic receptionist, dental assistant, massage therapist, yoga instructor, answering service operator, waitress, cleaner, and costume jewelry designer and maker. I loved riding my ten-speed bicycle...
After high school, I attended and graduated from a class in machinist training through NASA. I worked for multiple machine shops throughout the years and ultimately became a journeyman machinist, CNC milling/CNC lathe programmer. In the late 1990s/early 2000s I...
As I think about the Bateman Horne Center (BHC) I am reminded of its mission of empowering patients, advancing research, and improving clinical care for all those impacted by ME/CFS, FM, post-viral syndromes and related conditions (msCCDs), as well as the vision of...
I Have Learned... My worth is not in what I can do, it is in who I am That people don’t really think about the fact you are in a wheelchair Except to be on the alert if they might be able to help you The grieving process is a circle I have hard days, but I had hard...
I am proud--and excited--to announce a new and important collaboration between BHC and OMF. We are jointly launching the Medical Education Resource Center (MERC) for multisystem chronic complex diseases (msCCD). Our two respected organizations will bring complementary...
Lucinda Bateman, MD, is a renowned clinician, researcher, and educator. Her Johns Hopkins University Medical School training instilled an approach to care that she has employed throughout her career - the patient comes first and the unknown or unexplained does not equate to a lack of proper and compassionate care. Since starting her own practice in 2000, she has served on six boards or committees, been the principal investigator for 45 studies, authored/coauthored 40 journal articles, served as adjunct instructor and adjunct assistant professor in the University of Utah Departments of Preventative Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Anesthesiology, and lectured around the world.