Resources for ME & CFS
What is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) are complex conditions affecting energy metabolism and impacting every system in the body.
- They share many symptoms, such as unrefreshing sleep, problems thinking clearly, and bodily pain.
- ME is generally considered to be a more severe form of the disease with severe energy impairment, muscle weakness, and neurological symptoms.
- Shockingly, a quarter of ME patients are confined to their homes or beds due to its debilitating nature. These are the forgotten 25%.
- Both ME and CFS are most often triggered by a viral infection, underscoring the significant role of the immune system.
- The emergence of ME-like symptoms in millions of individuals post-Sars CoV-2 infection, known as long COVID, has catalyzed medical research efforts toward a deeper understanding of ME.Â
 - Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is the most distinguishing feature of both ME and CFS.
- PEMÂ refers to the prolonged worsening of multiple symptoms with minimal physical, mental, or emotional exertion.
- The worsening lasts days to weeks and is not relieved by rest or sleep.
- The onset of PEM can be delayed by hours to days, making it difficult to notice the connection between activity and symptoms (e.g., unrefreshing sleep, troubling thinking clearly).
As someone who knows these conditions, I am dedicated to providing practical and compassionate education, resources, and hope to those affected by ME, CFS, and PEM.
Online Courses
Membership to Live Sessions
Live! with Dr. Stein
Evidence-based presentations and Q&A with Dr. Stein. Credible, science-based, and cutting edge information about how to live longer and healthier.
More DetailsSelf-Study Course
Pathways to Improvement
Learn to take charge of your health to help you feel and live better with ME, CFS. Self-management works!
More DetailsSelf-Study Course
Pathway 3: Sleep
Better sleep means less pain and more comfort. Wake more refreshed and have more energy to enjoy life by learning proven self-management strategies for more effective sleep.
More DetailsWebinars (recordings)
Imagine Sleeping Soundly Without Even TryingÂ
Dr. Daniel Erichsen discusses how insomnia differs from sleep disorders and sleep disturbances, each of which has different solutions and how trying to fall asleep worsens insomnia. He shares surprising solutions to insomnia that work for a lifetime.
More DetailsPacing for ME/CFS and Long COVID
Boost Energy and Avoid Crashes
Dr. Alison Bested discusses what pacing is, why pacing is important to prevent worsening of illness and tried and tested pacing strategies to stop crashing and gain energy.
More DetailsSleep Testing & Treatment
in Complex Chronic ConditionsÂ
Dr. Charles Samuels explores the types of sleep studies available, what can be learned from them, the typical sleep study findings in people with ME, FM and long COVID, the pros and cons of sleep medications and what treatments are most helpful.
More DetailsSimilar Symptoms &Â Abnormalities in ME, CFS and Long COVID
Dr. Anthony Komaroff shares evidence that long COVID is real, there are biological similarities between ME/CFS and long COVID, and his theory for what underlies all post-infectious diseases.
More DetailsUnderstanding Complex Chronic Illness Through The Lens of Cell Danger Response
Dr. Eric Gordon discusses the three phases of Cell Danger Response and the signs of being stuck in a phase. He highlights CDR's importance with ME/CFS and other post-viral conditions linked to long-term inflammation.Â
More DetailsDeep Pacing
Dr. Stein explains DEEP pacing—providing strategies for attending holistically to the mind and body, to stabilize your energy, make your life and health more predictable, and give you more control.Â
More DetailsCauses & Treatment
Dr. Neil Nathan explains how to solve underlying causes of ME, CFS, FM and ES. Learn strategies to recover from mold and infections that make people sensitive and reactive.
More DetailsBooks
Let Your Light Shine Through, Second Edition
In this manual, Dr. Stein shares the strategies she has found to be the most successful for patients in her 35-year medical practice working with ME, CFS, FM, ES, chronic pain and long COVID. Readers are guided through a 286-page, 4-month program specific to these conditions. Let Your Light Shine Through is filled with practical, no-to-low-cost management suggestions, tools and resources.Â
The second edition has updated disease definitions, research updates, online resources, peer-reviewed references, and a bonus chapter, New and Future Directions, with new strategies to leverage the body's innate ability to heal.
Formats available: downloadable PDF, Amazon Kindle, Amazon paperback, Kobo eBook, and paperback from your local bookstore.Â
More DetailsÂ
More Light
Building upon Let Your Let Shine Through, More Light contains up-to-date, science-based information, clinical approaches, and affordable interventions that you can do on your own. Currently, only individual chapters are available at affordable prices. Choose the subjects tailored specifically to your health needs. Current topics are Self-management, Diagnosis, Biology of Change, Sleep, and Energy and Activity.
More DetailsRecommended Free VideosÂ
Part 1:Â What is ME/CFS?
In this video, Dr. Stein describes ME/CFS. It includes a 5-minute video of the same name from the Bateman Horne Centre (used with permission). Each of the criteria suggested in the 2015 IOM/NAM report is explained. The Bateman Horne video is a cartoon and easily accessible to all viewers.
Part 2:Â Diagnosis
In this recording, Dr. Stein describes the questions a healthcare practitioner could ask a patient to confirm whether they meet the criteria for ME/CFS. She also describes some of the conditions that frequently accompany ME. If you are a patient, consider what your answers are to these questions. Dr. Stein has included audio clips from real patients answering these questions to give a feel of the lived experience of ME/CFS.
Part 3:Â Management
In this recording, Dr. Stein introduces the most helpful management strategies for each of the common symptoms of ME/CFS, those included in the SEID criteria, the Canadian Consensus Criteria, and the conditions that often accompany ME. She includes audio clips from real patients to help give you an idea of what these symptoms are like and how people have improved over time. There is hope.
Podcast with Dr. Courtney Craig
In this episode, Dr. Courtney Craig and I discuss our shared experience of how a diagnosis of ME/CFS led us, professionally, to help others manage the condition. I describe how self-management strategies can impact biology and therefore improve patients' lives.
Spoonie Radio is a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia Podcast highlighting effective treatment strategies as well as insight from clinicians, researchers, and advocates. This show is brought to you by Dr. Courtney Craig, recovered CFS patient and clinician.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Treating ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia
In this presentation, learn about repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and its applications in complex chronic diseases.
We discuss what rTMS is in plain language, how effective rTMS is in depression and fibromyalgia, and the not yet published study results of rTMS in ME/CFS.
Articles and Peer-Reviewed Publications
Assessment and Treatment of Patients with ME/CFS: Treatment Guidelines for Psychiatrists
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Overcoming the Attitudinal Impass
Cardiovascular Function and Exercise in ME/CFS
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