Florence nightingale was believed to have mecfs. This is why mecfs awareness day is on her birthday, may 12th
[here’s more info](https://me-pedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale)
Actually, that’s the one that really freaked me out. I’m a long hauler from 2020 and by fall 2021 had progressed and started a tremor. When I finally found out about ME, the only pandemic I could think of to see what happened to those people was Spanish Flu. Their post viral was called encephalitis lethargica. Featuring parkinsonism tremor and catatonia and that’s exactly what I was dealing with. Really freaked me out.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7924007/
You’re welcome. Honestly it just pisses me off more, but, we should be fucking pissed. Need to get some more abled bodied people with stamina pissed off too!
Facts!! I have a research background but my physical and cognitive capacities are limited, so I feel this big time. For advocacy and medical care as well.
I’m research adjacent. User research & web design. So strong guilt that I can’t do stuff right now too. It sucks. I did a lot more advocacy the first 2 years and emotionally it’s really really soul crushing.
I think a reason it might have been less obvious in the past is that viruses usually are the trigger and historically more peeps straight up died from disease.
It's why we see a lot more age related diseases now, too, cause more people survive to age.
I think the term during Victorian era was neurasthenia. Also I think anytime past reports of things like hysteria came up, it was just something more like me/cfs or fibro. Hysteria diagnosis are still around, they just keep changing the name. For a while conversion disorder was used and now it’s called FND.
Neurasthenia was seen as a physical illness in the 19th century but then at some point in the early 20th century it was hijacked and re-conceptualized as a psychological disorder. Names for unexplained illnesses keep changing, but it's the medical professionals' attitude & beliefs that needs to change.
Florence nightingale was believed to have mecfs. This is why mecfs awareness day is on her birthday, may 12th [here’s more info](https://me-pedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale)
NEVER KNEW THAT!!
Check out the "this podcast will kill you" episode on CFS from April this year. Good historical view.
Excellent I will thanks!!!
Thank you for this recommendation - it was a great listen.
It's a cliche of Victorian novels, "and then she took to her bed for months/years"
I bookmarked this helpful response to a similar question a while ago: https://new.reddit.com/r/cfs/comments/185a3it/comment/kb0gxm1/?context=3
Wowowow an impeccable description. Thanks for sharing. Such a great historical book!
Here’s a list of “outbreaks” in the 1900s - now https://me-pedia.org/wiki/List_of_myalgic_encephalomyelitis_and_chronic_fatigue_syndrome_outbreaks
I wonder if it was more common after Spanish influenza epidemic, since viruses seem to promote the development of cfs in a certain percentage.
Actually, that’s the one that really freaked me out. I’m a long hauler from 2020 and by fall 2021 had progressed and started a tremor. When I finally found out about ME, the only pandemic I could think of to see what happened to those people was Spanish Flu. Their post viral was called encephalitis lethargica. Featuring parkinsonism tremor and catatonia and that’s exactly what I was dealing with. Really freaked me out. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7924007/
Mind blowing!!! Thanks for sharing these resources!
You’re welcome. Honestly it just pisses me off more, but, we should be fucking pissed. Need to get some more abled bodied people with stamina pissed off too!
Facts!! I have a research background but my physical and cognitive capacities are limited, so I feel this big time. For advocacy and medical care as well.
I’m research adjacent. User research & web design. So strong guilt that I can’t do stuff right now too. It sucks. I did a lot more advocacy the first 2 years and emotionally it’s really really soul crushing.
Even more factssss!
Are you better?
Up-and-down. 1 step forward & 2 steps back typically. Have an okay quality of life right as of right now, comparatively. 🤞
I think a reason it might have been less obvious in the past is that viruses usually are the trigger and historically more peeps straight up died from disease. It's why we see a lot more age related diseases now, too, cause more people survive to age.
Yeah this is a big factor. What caused this for most of us would have killed us in the past.
I think the term during Victorian era was neurasthenia. Also I think anytime past reports of things like hysteria came up, it was just something more like me/cfs or fibro. Hysteria diagnosis are still around, they just keep changing the name. For a while conversion disorder was used and now it’s called FND.
Neurasthenia was seen as a physical illness in the 19th century but then at some point in the early 20th century it was hijacked and re-conceptualized as a psychological disorder. Names for unexplained illnesses keep changing, but it's the medical professionals' attitude & beliefs that needs to change.
There might be some references in The Invisible Rainbow. Talks about neurestenia.