"I have sat through countless GP appointments where I have had to explain the basics of Post Exertional Malaise [PEM], the cardinal symptom of ME, before going on to discuss treatment."
I've had similar doctor visits.
It's frightening that so many doctors know so little about ME/CFS.
My newest article for the #Canadian#Healthcare Network/ the #Medical Post. Why too much #salt in your diet is really bad.
Sorry the site is password protected, but free for doctors and pharmacists.
Here are the first few paragraphs:
Too much of anything that’s good for you can be bad.
And if anything, Canadians consume far more sodium than is good for them. Indeed, in some cases, it’s killing them—which is why Health Canada announced that starting in early 2026, Canadians will see sodium warning labels on the front of packaged food.
The move is meant to help relieve the burden that excess sodium has on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality rates. About a third of hypertension cases are caused by excess dietary sodium, translating to about 2.5 million people in Canada.
Samples of what the warning labels will look like are on the Health Canada website.
Front-of-package nutrition labeling is widely recognized as an effective tool to help counteract rising rates of diet-related chronic disease, a Health Canada spokesperson told the Medical Post in an email. However, eating out can still consist of salt-filled meals.
“In general, most foods sold in restaurants and food service establishments, as well as foods ordered for take-out and delivery, are not considered to be prepackaged and are thus exempt from offering nutrition labels,” the email said. Some establishments provide nutrition information voluntarily.
The Global Burden of Disease study states that high blood pressure is the leading risk for death in the world, killing over 10 million people per year, according to Dr. Norman Campbell, professor emeritus of medicine, physiology and pharmacology at the University of Calgary. He has conducted multiple studies on sodium and health.
“Even if you throw COVID in there and all other infectious disease, high blood pressure kills more people and disables more than all the infectious diseases . . .. But if you look down the list, after high blood pressure, dietary risks are right there; and sodium is the top dietary risk,” he said.
An extreme example of too much salt was reported after a woman died after drinking a 1,000ml bottle of soy sauce—an intake of about 160 g of salt.
In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) produced a report showing that issues from consuming too much sodium is a global health problem. The agency also produced a sodium reduction score card ranking countries in terms of their efforts to reduce excessive sodium intake. Canada has a mix of voluntary reduction efforts with mandatory measures in the works, but could do better. There are also score cards for sugar and trans-fatty acids.
“The background of all this is reducing sodium in the diet is one of the most cost-effective things a government can do to improve the health of the population . . .. We saw the effects of COVID—how much it costs society to prevent COVID. The estimates are that reducing sodium in the diet saves the government $13 to $18 for every dollar it invests,” said Dr. Campbell.
Why is sodium so bad?
High sodium intake increases blood pressure, but over time it can damage blood vessels and lead to atherosclerosis, heart disease, strokes and kidney failure. Evidence also suggests excess sodium acts as an inflammatory agent and contributes to the severity of various inflammatory disorders, Dr. Campbell told the Medical Post in an interview....
"We are THRILLED to share the rolling successes of our 'Teach ME Treat ME' campaign with you, as we report back on the amazing medical education events that have taken place so far – with many more to come in the upcoming months!"
Article has lots more details along with reports of other Millions Missing events! 😁
Foreskin Morbidity in Uncircumcised Males
Sneppen and Thorup, Pediatrics 2016
"In our patient population, we found that 7.2% (95% CI 3.4–11.0) were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a concomitant disease (Table 3). A recent Danish study calculated the prevalence of ASD in Denmark to be 1.5% among boys."
Association found between ASD and childhood penile surgeries. This is reference 1, next toot has #2.
Two different research groups have now found a relationship between early childhood penile surgeries and autism spectrum disorder. The two different studies had different goals, different recruitment approaches, different study variables, and yet the relationship between ASD and circumcision remains quite striking!
For boys undegoing penile genital cutting before age five, the risk of ASD is even higher.
A review of data from 51 countries finds that adolescent girls and young women using hormonal contraception had lower odds of being anemic. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37978956/
Survey finds that people want more information from their primary care provider about fertility; they report having fertility concerns dismissed by healthcare providers; and feel that healthcare providers lack sensitivity in discussing fertility related issues.
You can also print the document (8 pages) to bring to your next appointment. I've given it to several doctors - and so has my husband, who does not have ME/CFS!
Sharing information about the Mayo ME/CFS document (Diagnosis and Management of ME/CFS) - and the associated CME (Continuing Medical Education) - is a great way to immediately improve patient care for people with ME/CFS.
Remember, roughly half of Long Covid patients meet the ME/CFS diagnostic criteria.
Need help crafting an email to send to your doctor? Here's a template:
In the final stage of his kidney disease, Rick Slayman did humanity a favor by testing the next generation treatment for kidney failure. May he rest in peace and the research data gleaned from his transplant helps others #MedMastodon
🔗Pig kidney ‘xenotransplant’ patient dies two months later
No indication that Richard ‘Rick’ Slayman’s receipt of genetically modified kidney caused his death, says Massachusetts transplant team
I’ve tried every level of government and they simply won’t help. Ask people in real life if they have somewhere for me to go. Is anybody an #advocate? I need help.
Is the #pharmaceutical industry behind a disinformation and #media campaign relating to national #pharmacare? This report, announced by The Council of Canadians, says yes.
You can also print the Mayo Proceedings document (8 pages) and bring it to your next doctor appointment. I gave a copy to my cardiologist. I know he read it because he referred to it in my chart notes! 😁
California has only 1 pediatric medical toxicologist for its 8.7 million children & 1 child abuse specialist for every 258,000 kids, Claudia Boyd-Barrett writes for California Health Report. Such shortages put children at risk, especially those needing specialty care.
"We are excited to announce the kick-off of #MillionsMissing 2024 – our ongoing campaign to Teach ME and Treat ME by educating medical providers across our nation’s hospital systems and medical schools about myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)."
If you can, tell your doctor(s) about the Mayo CME (continuing medical education) for ME/CFS. There's an email template available that has a link to the CME: