Author Archives: Jennie Spotila

Protesting Per Fink

#MEAction New York is holding a protest at Columbia University on Saturday, October 20, 2018 against the misinformation about ME that Dr. Per Fink is spreading to New York medical providers at the 4th Columbia Psychosomatics Conference. Who is Per … Continue reading

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“It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.”

It’s been twenty-four years. Twenty-four years since the morning I woke up with a sore throat, went to work, and got so sick I could barely walk home. Twenty-four years since I became incurable. And this year, I hardly noticed. … Continue reading

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How To Be Sick . . . Again!

Toni Bernhard has just published a second edition of her classic How To Be Sick, or as I like to call it: The Book That Will Make You A Better Human. I have relied on How To Be Sick since … Continue reading

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Taking Care of Your Self

Self-care is one of those internet buzzwords that people casually throw around, as if a coloring book or a kitty will solve all your problems. I’m not knocking coloring books and kitties, but generally I think that kind of advice … Continue reading

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Rest In Power, CFSAC

The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) is dead. Both the website and the email listserv made the announcement on September 6th: “The charter for the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee expired on September 5, 2018.” A sudden death under … Continue reading

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After The Afflicted Freak Show

Many people in the chronic disease community were anticipating Afflicted, the Netflix series about seven people with poorly understood illnesses. In light of Jamison Hill‘s appearance in the show, the ME community hoped to build on the success of Unrest … Continue reading

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In Healthcare, Be Squeaky

As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. This is particularly true in healthcare, where you are dealing with big systems that don’t always talk to each other. Today, I will tell you the story of how I … Continue reading

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How Much Will NIH Spend in 2018?

Fiscal year 2018 is almost over, and I have calculated how much NIH is likely to spend on ME research this year. The short answer? Based on current numbers, I project a 17.6% decrease in NIH spending on ME/CFS research … Continue reading

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NIH 2017 Funding Fact-Check

Today, we need to revisit and reconcile NIH’s funding numbers for FY 2017. NIH is reporting that it spent $15 million dollars on ME/CFS research last year, but this includes several non-ME/CFS studies. The truth is that NIH actually spent … Continue reading

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How To Represent

Last month, I had my first chance to serve on an FDA Advisory Committee as a Patient Representative. I had a lot to learn about the drug under consideration, but I also learned how to use my individual perspective to … Continue reading

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