Fibro/CFS/ME Foothold
Terri Dorothy’s Fatigue Scale
This scale is Copyright © Terri Dorothy <tdorothy@mddc.com> 1997 and is used with permission. Thanks to the people who helped me track Terri down so I could ask her! This scale was developed by Terri Dorothy and was originally posted on the alt.meds.cfs newsgroup. 1 I feel well-rested, even energetic. Life is good. 2 I’m [...]
Shanon West Pain Definitions
Shannon West posted this in the Fibromyalgia community on LiveJournal. It is used with her full permission and acknowledging her full copyright of the work. Hmm, this feels funny. Huh. Oh well. Hmm, this kinda hurts a bit. Oh well. Hmm, this is kinda hurts. Ow. Oh well. Ow. Time for a regular strength Tylenol. [...]
Jill Moss’s CFS Ability Scale
The excerpts used here remain copyright © Jill I Moss 1995, All rights reserved. This is the ability scale from the book ‘Somebody Help ME’ by Jill Moss. It has been specially adapted for young people from the ‘Disability Scale’ sent out by the UK M.E. Organizations in 1994. Their scale is somewhat more complicated [...]
Karnofsky Rating Scale
This is the Karnofsky Rating Scale. It is not specific to CFS although it may be marginally useful. This scale was developed in the 1940s by David Karnofsky and Joseph Burchenal as an attempt to measure the more ‘subjective’ side of the outcome of cancer treatment. 100 Normal, no complaints, no evidence of disease. Able [...]
David Bell’s CFS Severity Scale
This scale is from ‘The Doctor’s Guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’, by David S Bell, pages 122-123. Copyright in the following excerpts remains with David S Bell, MD. The attempt is to document as accurately as possible the severity of symptoms, the degree of activity impairment with both activity and rest, and the functional ability [...]
Describing Fibromyalgia and CFS
Describing Fibromyalgia and CFS to those who haven’t experienced chronic pain and illness can be, at mildest, a challenge! Here are some example descriptions, from people who’ve tried to put it into their own words: From Jenn Vesperman: Think about how you feel when you get a flu, all sniffly and sneezy and with a [...]
Reunions
This article was written by Jenn Vesperman. Used with permission. I avoided my high school reunion. I don’t like social occasions much anyway. I hate getting tired so quickly, I hate having to avoid smoke. I hate all the ‘good advice’ about CFS, if I explain why. I hate the weird looks if I don’t. [...]
Experiences In A Rehab Hospital: The Followup
Please also read the previous article Exercise and CFS: Experiences in a rehab hospital, for the complete picture. 9:00 am Wake up 9:30 am Breakfast, get dressed 10:00 am Gymnasium Doesn’t sound much like a typical morning for somebody with severe CFS and fibromyalgia? It’s mine, four mornings every week. … Or at least, it [...]
Exercise & CFS: Experiences In A Rehabilitation Hospital
I spent a month last year in a rehabilitation hospital – Cedar Court. Following this stay I returned for three mornings a week as an outpatient. I also spent a further week there last December for a ‘top up’. I’m usually called Ricky, I’m 24, and I’ve had CFS and fibromyalgia for four years now.
Fishing Without A Hook
This article written by Emma Corcoran. Used with permission. It took four years for me to be given a diagnosis of CFS. This is a piece I wrote a few years ago describing what it felt like to live with an undiagnosed condition. I cried a lot last week. I cried on the tram. At [...]
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