Category Archives: Action for M.E.

Action for M.E. submission to third and final DSM-5 public review (closes June 15)

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Action for M.E. submission to third and final DSM-5 public review (May 2 – June 15 2012)

Page #179: Shortlink: http://wp.me/pKrrB-2eC

A reminder there are just 4 days left in which to submit feedback.

Comment period scheduled to close June 15.

Organizations, professionals, patients and advocates submitting comments in the third DSM-5 draft proposal review process are invited to provide me with copies of their submissions for publication. Submissions to the third and final DSM-5 public review are being collated on this page: http://wp.me/PKrrB-1Ol

Today, Action for M.E., has forwarded its response to the third draft:

Action for M.E.

DSM-5 Action for M.E. response

12 June 2012

Action for M.E. has formally commented on the latest draft of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), due to be published in May 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

We told the APA that:

“Action for M.E. notes the revised draft of DSM-5 and remains opposed to any attempt to classify CFS/M.E. as a somatic symptom disorder either explicitly or implicitly.

Comments made previously in the APA Work Group on somatoform disorders and in public by Dr Dimsdale, the SSD Work Group Chair, are far from reassuring in this respect.

Regrettably there are still General Practitioners in the UK who fail to take CFS/ME seriously and are ill informed about how to achieve a specific diagnosis. So there should be nothing in DSM-5 that will give any support to outdated views that are severely detrimental to patient care.

The presumption that ME/CFS is a somatic symptom disorder is not supported by the increasing body of research evidence pointing to the existence of underlying physical pathology. While not challenging the underlying structure of DSM-V, in our view ME/CFS would be appropriately classified in sections S03 or S04, mild or severe neurocognitive disorders secondary to underlying physical diseases, in particular neurodegenerative diseases.”

We have also responded to previous drafts.

Related content and posts:

Somatic Symptom Disorders, DSM-5 Development site

Call to action – DSM-5 comments needed by June 15, 2012:  http://wp.me/pKrrB-2bO

Somatic Symptom Disorder criteria could capture millions more under mental health diagnosis: http://wp.me/pKrrB-29B

DSM-5 Somatic Symptom Disorders: Differences between second and third draft for CSSD: http://wp.me/pKrrB-27y

DSM-5 Somatic Symptoms Work Group submissions 2012: Last chance to tell SSD Work Group why it needs to ditch unsafe and scientifically flawed proposals: http://wp.me/pKrrB-26q

Action for M.E. publish news item on DSM-5

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Action for M.E. publish news item on DSM-5

Post #87 Shortlink: http://wp.me/pKrrB-1a1

Yesterday, UK patient organization, Action for M.E., published an item around the DSM-5 proposals on its News pages and confirmed that it does intend submitting comment in the second DSM-5 public review exercise. Last year’s submissions from international organizations, professionals and patient advocates are collated on this page .

To the best of my knowledge, Action for M.E. is the only organization to have confirmed, so far, that it intends to submit comment in this second stakeholder review of draft criteria for the revision of DSM-IV.

The closing date for comments is June 15.

Register to submit feedback via the DSM-5 Development website: http://tinyurl.com/Somatic-Symptom-Disorders

More information on registration and submissions: http://tinyurl.com/DSM-5-register-to-comment

From the News pages of Action for M.E.

USA: complex somatic symptom disorder

01 June 2011

US patient organisations are lobbying against proposals to include a new psychiatric category, Complex Somatic Symptom Disorder (CSSD), in the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Version four of the manual (DSM-4) is under revision and version five (DSM-5) is due to be published May 2013.

The publication, which is produced by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), contains listings, definitions, and explanations of different psychiatric and psychological disorders.

In a letter last year, the CFIDS Association of America strongly urged the DSM-5 Task Force to abandon the proposed creation of CSSD saying:

The proposed DSM-5 revision correctly does not identify chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) as a condition within the domain of mental disorders and the DSM. However, past discussions of the Somatic Symptoms Disorder Work Group have included such physiological disorders as chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia as ‘somatic presentations of mental disorders.

…As drafted, the criteria for CSSD establish a ‘Catch-22’ paradox in which six months or more of a single or multiple somatic symptoms is classified as a mental disorder if the individual becomes ‘excessively’ concerned about his or her health.

The Massachusetts CFIDS/ME & FM Association says:

The way CSSD is defined makes it possible to either mistakenly or intentionally diagnose CFIDS/ME or Fibromyalgia in this psychiatric category. Moreover, the greater concern is whether this change could potentially lead to the reclassification of these illnesses as psychiatric conditions under CSSD.

The APA DSM-5 developmentsite says the draft is open for comment until 15 June.

UK campaigner Suzy Chapman has set up a website, Dx Revision Watch, which has further information.

Action for M.E. commented in response to the first consultation and will make a further representation in response to the second.

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