The last Blogging for ME/CFS Awareness was May 2010.
Use your voice online to raise awareness.
- May is the month for ME/CFS Awareness.
- 12 May is International ME/CFS Awareness Day
- 11-17 May is ME/CFS Awareness Week
We compiled a list of blogs for ME/CFS Awareness during the month of May each year 2008-2010.
Joining many online voices together to raise awareness of ME/CFS.
WHAT IS ME/CFS?
“ME/CFS is the acronym for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Myalgic Encephalopathy / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a condition that has never been properly named. The disease has had many names, including: post-viral fatigue syndrome, low natural killer cell disease, chronic Epstein-Barr virus syndrome, chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), and the insulting Yuppie flu. (To learn more about this history, read “A Disease in Search of a Name: The History of CFS and the Efforts to Change Its Name” )
None of these names captures the diverse symptoms that people who suffer from this complex disorder experience. Yes, people with ME/CFS experience fatigue, but they are also prone to memory loss, cognitive functioning problems, sleep disturbances, headaches, depression, muscle and joint pains, low-grade fever and a multitude of other symptoms. Even the word fatigue does not accurately capture the debilitating nature of the exhaustion these people experience. Their fatigue is severe enough to significantly limit their ability to work, go to school, participate in social activities and take care of their personal needs – and is not relieved by bed rest or sleep.
While all diagnosed ME/CFS patients are “functionally impaired by definition,” according to the Centers for Disease Control, the CDC studies indicate the illness can be as disabling as multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or end-stage (terminal) renal failure.”
Continues at prohealth.com/mecfs
See also:
- ME Association – What is ME/CFS?
- CIFIDS Association of America – About CFIDS
- Fibromylagia Network – Fibromylagia FAQ’s
- ME Research UK – What is ME (Why do some people use the term ME/CFS?)
LANGUAGE AMNESTY:
The naming and defining of ME/CFS is fraught with difficulty. All persons diagnosed with ME or CFS or any of the conditions listed below all need better understanding, care and research.
We didn’t choose the name for this campaign but for the purposes of raising awareness to a wider audience we feel the name is less important than getting the message across.
Although the the name ME/CFS is used here we welcome raising awareness of:
- ME – Mylagic Encephalomyelitis or Mylagic Encephalopathy
- CFS – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- CFIDS – Chronic Fatigue and Immune Deficiency Syndrome
- MCS/MCSS – Multiple Chemical Sensitivity / Syndrome
- PVFS – Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome
- Gulf War Syndrome
- Fibromylagia / FM / FMS / Fibro
Working together to raise awareness.
WHO IS BEHIND THIS BLOG?
This blog was started by RachelCreative, a blogger with ME, after hosting a Blogging For ME/CFS Awareness event on her own blog in 2008.
As a sufferer of ME herself she felt frustrated at not being able to do very much for ME Awareness Day/Month or being able to find an official web site with badges and banners. A frustration which was shared by online friends. So she encouraged them to blog for awareness and provided some badges for their web sites.
She collated all those individual bloggers in a list and this showed they were not in this alone. Many more people also used the badges (on their Facebook, MySpace and so on) even if they couldn’t blog.
The ME Aware blog was started as a central place to list the blogging and online efforts of individuals in raising awareness of ME/CFS for 2009.
During 2009 many more awareness campaigns began through Twitter, Facebook and web sites so in 2010 the primary focus became once again encouraging individuals to blog for ME/CFS Awareness during the month of May and to provide a central list of these posts.
Following the success of other groups in rallying support for ME/CFS and FM Awareness this blog was closed in January 2011 encouraging people to support the now flourishing awareness groups.
You can email Rachel at rachelcreative@yahoo.co.uk
The header of this blog is designed by RachelCreative with the background taken from a photo by purplekey
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