IT was with some alarm that I read of the ME sufferer who claims to have been cured by the Lightning Process.I have severe ME and know two fellow sufferers who have tried this extremely expensive process and who have both had major relapses in their condition as a result.

IT was with some alarm that I read of the ME sufferer who claims to have been cured by the Lightning Process.

I have severe ME and know two fellow sufferers who have tried this extremely expensive process and who have both had major relapses in their condition as a result. They have been left extremely ill.

To push ourselves to do more than we are able is probably the worst course of action that an person with ME can take, and yet this is exactly what the Lightning Process promotes.

ME is a serious, excruciatingly painful neurological illness that has been proven to be of both genetic and viral origin and to shorten life by an average of 25 years. Dr Paul Cheney has found that all his ME patients have a heart condition called idiopathic cardiomyopathy. People who have died of ME have been found to have viruses in their hearts, brains, muscles, spinal cords and guts.

Unfortunately, because there is no simple test for ME, people with mental conditions that cause fatigue (such as depression) are being misdiagnosed as having ME. These are the people claiming to be cured by treatments such as graded exercise, cognitive behaviour therapy and the Lightning Process. This does those of us with genuine ME no favours; we are still waiting in vain for the antivirals and heart treatments that will cure us.

Dr Jonathan Kerr is trying to develop simple blood test for ME so that genuine sufferers can be diagnosed and hopefully treated. He has been repeatedly turned down for Government funding, as a result his research is being seriously delayed. He has to rely on funding from charities such as ME Research UK.

H PATTEN

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