National ME/FM Action Network (Canada) submission to DSM-5 third draft

National ME/FM Action Network (Canada) submission to DSM-5 third draft

Post #180 Shortlink: http://wp.me/pKrrB-2eK

Submitted by the National ME/FM Action Network (Canada) to the APA, June 11, 2012

For the attention of the Somatic Symptom Disorders Work Group :

The National ME/FM Action Network, the association representing Canadians with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia, wrote to you a year ago asking you to refrain from including Complex Somatic Syndrome Disorder (CSSD) in the proposed DSM-5. A copy of our previous letter is attached below.

We note that, in the new version of DSM-5, CSSD has been rolled into the category Somatic Symptom Disorders (SSD). This does absolutely nothing to allay our concerns.

ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia are not psychiatric illnesses. They should be handled like other chronic physical diseases. If the symptoms cause patients to become worried or discouraged, the appropriate response would be to try to reduce the stresses experienced by patients or to increase the support they receive. As for all chronic diseases, treatment for anxiety or depression may be helpful in some cases. This is already possible under the DSM. The SSD category adds no new services for patients.

Patients with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia feel especially vulnerable under the SSD category because these illnesses are frequently discounted or under-appreciated and, as a result, appropriate expressions of concern by patients can be perceived as excessive. Labelling the patient as over-reacting makes it easy for the health and social service systems to blame the patients for their situation and to discount their legitimate concerns. The potential for misuse and abuse of patients through the new SSD category is enormous.

We asked in the strongest possible terms that SSD be dropped from DSM-5.

Margaret Parlor
President
NATIONAL ME/FM ACTION NETWORK
www.mefmaction.com

June 2011

For the attention of the Somatic Symptom Disorders Work Group :

The National ME/FM Action Network works on behalf of Canadians with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. Our organization was founded in 1993 and has many accomplishments to its credit. A leading accomplishment was spearheading the development of the Canadian Consensus diagnostic and treatment protocols for ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia. These criteria are receiving strong international support. Another major accomplishment was publishing statistics on these conditions. Our analysis, based on a major Statistics Canada survey, showed that there were 628,500 Canadians diagnosed with one or both of these conditions in 2005 and that they experienced high degrees of disability, disadvantage and unmet needs in comparison with other chronic illness cohorts.

Diagnostic criteria are very important. DSM-5 will be used to determine who qualify for psychiatric services. Criteria are problematic if they result in false negatives (people who do not qualify for services but who would benefit from them) or false positives (people who qualify for services do not benefit from them). We are concerned the proposed new category for Chronic Somatic Syndrome Disorder (CSSD) will result in an unacceptable number of false positives in the ME/FM community.

A fundamental question is how psychiatry can help patients with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia.

Some psychiatrists have proposed Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as a treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A recent UK study examined the benefits of CBT for patients with CFS. Patient groups have pointed out numerous issues around the study design and how study population was selected and would reject the study as badly flawed. However, even taking the study at face value, the study showed that CBT was of minor benefit to patients, akin to the benefits of CBT for other chronic illnesses. CBT does not get to the heart of the illness. ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia are not psychiatric disorders.

Our position on the role of psychiatry is simple and clear. We think that psychiatry should play the same role for ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia patients as it does for patients with other chronic physical illnesses like cancer, diabetes or arthritis. Those patients receive psychiatric support if and only if psychiatric issues are apparent after medical and social supports in place. We would like to refer you to a document entitled “Assessment and Treatment of Patients with ME/CFS; Clinical Guidelines for Psychiatrists” by Dr. Eleanor Stein, a Canadian psychiatrist. This document describes an appropriate role for psychiatrists in assessing and treating ME/CFS, respecting the reality of the illness.

Over the years, we have heard many stories from patients with ME/CFS or Fibromyalgia who went to a doctor for help only to be fobbed off to a psychiatrist because the family doctor did not believe their symptoms or did not know how to help, rather than because the patient needs psychiatric services. This situation does not help patients – it denies their experiences, it undercuts their credibility and it distracts from their real issues. This situation does not help psychiatry either as it is called upon to solve problems that it cannot solve.

The new Complex Somatic Syndrome Disorder category could compound this situation. A patient with ME/CFS or Fibromyalgia would get a diagnosis of CSSD if a doctor believes the patient is overreacting to the illness, even if the patient is actually behaving very rationally. The patient would be labelled with a undeserved, unhelpful and misleading psychiatric label which would make dealing with the core health issues even more difficult than they already are.

The CSSD category could be very harmful to patients with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia. We ask you to refrain from including CSSD in DSM-5 in the absence of protections to ensure that patients with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia do not receive false positive diagnoses.

Margaret Parlor
President
NATIONAL ME/FM ACTION NETWORK