ES - ME/CFS, FM & MCS: FREE BOOK IN SPANISH

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Advocacy & Awareness

Diagnose Support

Written by Clara Valverde

Saturday, 30 January 2010 00:00

The new communication manual in Spanish published for health professionals on ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia and MCS;

“New challenges in the doctor’s office: What to do with Fibromyalgia, ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. A communication manual” (Bilbao, Spain: ONEditorial 2009). (The version on paper is being distributed, by the company that paid the printing, to 10,000 primary care doctors in Spain. But we, the authors, have rights to the digital form).

We hope it will be of use to all of you who work with Spanish-speaking patients and that you will feel free to publish it on your websites and e-mail it to patients, doctors, etc.

Although this book is mainly on how to communicate efficiently with the patient and on the social impact of these illnesses, we have included a chapter on the medical/scientific aspects of each one of these illnesses.

Click the image to download the book, click 'READ MORE' for the table of contents in English.

The content of the book is the following:

Introduction

Chapter 1: What is happening to this patient? Central Sensibility Syndromes, What they have in common, Society facing CSS, The environment, Do no harm.

Chapter 2: An endless pain: Fibromyalgia. A real pain, Etiology, How can you know it is Fibromyalgia, Treatments and recommendations, Prognosis.

Chapter 3: A lot more than fatigue: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). How the illness develops, How to diagnose, Tests, Functional evaluation, Conclusion.

Chapter 4: Not only smells: Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). MCS, Treatments and Environmental Control, Information for hospital nurses (if you patient has MCS).

Chapter 5: Invisibility, not being believed, not being understood: the added suffering. “They don’t belive me”, Grieving, When “nothing” is wrong.

Chapter 6: The challenge of these illnesses. Not being taken seriously, The concept of “curing”, Fluctuations, Invisibility, The notion of time, Are health care professionals becoming “chronic”?, Always the same story, Satisfaction.

Chapter 7: Communication with patients with FM, ME/CFS and MCS. What are you thinking about the patient? The work with FM, ME/CFS and MCS, How to communicate, Sometimes it is hard to listen, Being there, Therapeutic communication, Empathy, Believing the patient.

Chapter 8: Helping and supporting the patient with his or her challenges.

What can I do? The patient’s emotions, Discouragement, Anxiety and fear, Anger, The importance of being neutral.

Chapter 9: How to be efficient in concrete situations. When the patient does not have a diagnosis yet, After the diagnosis, When the patient gets worse, Uncertainty and invisibility, The patient’s economic and work situation, Challenging the notion of living the illness “well”.

Chapter 10: A family member with FM, ME/CFS or MCS. Family dynamics when there is FM, ME/CFS or MCS, Emotions, Communication challenges between family members, Families with children with ME/CFS.

Chapter 11: The voices of doctors and patients (quotes).

Bibliography

Thank-you to my co-authors, Iñaki Markez MD PhD and Cristina Visiers MA, for their talent and their commitment to change and education.

Clara Valverde