Chapter 10: When living with ME/CFS, it may be tempting to let your mind fixate on what caused the illness or a crash. You may even feel yourself slipping into a state of self-blame. Simply put, this is not helpful to your crash recovery and is not supportive when living with the disease.
Chapter 9: Activities of daily living, known as ADLs, are tasks that involve self-care. Common ADLs include personal hygiene, bathing, toileting, dressing, eating, sleeping, and moving around in our environments. These tasks are often carried out without awareness of the energy demand that can be placed on our bodies while performing the task.
Chapter 8: The following are examples of quick, easy, nutrient-rich foods and hydration options that can be integrated into everyday living with ME/CFS, orthostatic intolerance, and during a crash. In living with ME/CFS you may experience fluctuating motility, stomach and body sensitivities, nausea, etc. Be careful when introducing any new items into your system. Start slow, work with your medical care team while being mindful of any known intolerances or mast cell triggering substances.
Chapter 7: Brain fog can make it easy to forget your medication routine when you are experiencing PEM or moving into a crash. Delayed or missed medications can exacerbate a crash and/or slow your crash recovery.
Chapter 6: There are many environmental triggers and stimuli that can precipitate and/or prolong crash recovery. Try to minimize all energy demands, sensory and physical stimuli, and allow your body the space to restore and recharge.
Chapter 5: Communication – Meeting Your Critical Needs. During a crash, it can be difficult to communicate with others. This section references downloadable and printable communication cards to help you communicate your needs. Consider keeping these in your bedside Crash Care Kit or on your electronic device to point/show your caregiver, loved one, or support services.
This blog post covers the fourth 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....
This blog post covers the third 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....
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...
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...
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.