A week ago I voluntarily admitted myself to the hospital to get help bc I am losing weight as a result of increased food intolerances, secondary to my very severe #MECFS. A psychiatrist here decided that im mentally ill, 1/

purely on the basis that the medical workup was unable to explain my food intolerance. My psych eval only found mild anxiety and depression. 2/
They have put me on a 72hr psych hold while they work to get the county courts to commit me to a psych ward. This is a nightmare. They have taken away most of my belongings, put me in a new uniform, and are keeping me under 24/7 video surveillance. 3/
In the middle of the night last night when I sat up to use the urinal loud alarms sounded, as though I was trying to escape. I can’t even walk and hadn’t even left my bed. 4/
If they succeed in having me fully committed I will lose ability to communicate with the outside world except for an occasional phone call. I will lose all agency, and will very likely have treatments forced upon me. 5/
I am very fragile. I can barely speak. And it is very easy to make me unbearably worse. 6/
They consider me a harm to myself because I am not getting in enough calories to sustain my weight. Unless I resolve my current food intolerances my health prognosis admittedly isn’t good. I have become quite thin. But being forced into a psych ward will only be harmful to me. 7/
And the science is on my side. A lot has been learned about MECFS in the past several years. For example: 8/
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine), arguably the highest medical authority in the U.S, was asked by several federal agencies to convene an expert committee to examine the evidence base for MECFS. They published their report in 2015. 9/
The findings include:"This disease is characterized by profound fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sleep abnormalities, autonomic manifestations, pain, and other symptoms that are made worse by exertion of any sort." and "is a medical-not a psychiatric or psychological - illness"10/
Here is a screen shot from the CDC's #MECFS web page where they explicitly state that “MECFS a biological illness, not a psychological disorder. Patients with MECFS are neither malingering nor seeking secondary gain. 11/
These doctors are not current with medical research and are treating me according to decades old prejudices. 12/
I have reached out to several members of the MECFS advocacy, and patient community and I believe there will be some effort to advocate for me. If you would like to help, please wait for their lead. In the meantime, please spread the word about what is happening to me. 13/end
@davidtuller1 @OpenMedF @jspotila @jenbrea @MEActNet @PlzSolveCFS @MinnesotaMECFS @exceedhergrasp1 @JanetDafoe @cazzachr @r_prior @edyong209 @MBVanElzakker @microbeminded2 @DafoeWhitney
I am in Minnesota, USA
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I think @SamAdlerBell in his quest to be the contrarian on Fauci gets several things wrong here. 1/


First, the failure last year actually was driven by the White House, the #Trump inner circle. Watch what's happening now, the US' scientific and public health infrastructure is creaking back to life. 2/

I think Sam underestimates the decimation of many of our health agencies over the past four years and the establishment of ideological control over them during the pandemic. 3/

I also am puzzled why Tony gets the blame for not speaking up, etc. Robert Redfield, Brett Giroir, Deb Birx, Jerome Adams, Alex Azar all could have done the same. 4/

Several of these people Bob Redfield, Brett Giroir, Alex Azar were led by craven ambition, Jerome Adams by cowardice, but I do think Deb Birx and Tony tried as institutionalists, insiders to make a difference. 5/
I applaud the #EUCancerPlan *BUT* caution: putting #meat 🥩 (a nourishing, evolutionary food) in the same box as 🚬 to solve a contemporary health challenge, would be basing policy on assumptions rather than robust data.

#FollowTheScience yes, but not just part of it!
THREAD👇


1/ Granted, some studies have pointed to ASSOCIATIONS of HIGH intake of red & processed meats with (slightly!) increased colorectal cancer incidence. Also, @WHO/IARC is often mentioned in support (usually hyperbolically so).

But, let’s have a closer look at all this! 🔍


2/ First, meat being “associated” with cancer is very different from stating that meat CAUSES cancer.

Unwarranted use of causal language is widespread in nutritional sciences, posing a systemic problem & undermining credibility.

3/ That’s because observational data are CONFOUNDED (even after statistical adjustment).

Healthy user bias is a major problem. Healthy middle classes are TOLD to eat less red meat (due to historical rather than rational reasons, cf link). So, they

4/ What’s captured here is sociology, not physiology.

Health-focused Westerners eat less red meat, whereas those who don’t adhere to dietary advice tend to have unhealthier lifestyles.

That tells us very little about meat AS SUCH being responsible for disease.

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