Darla Nagel
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Lightening the Shadow

Boiling down What ME/CFS Is

7/22/2019

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I do not know the cause of ME, but I read research abstracts when I can. It’s uncertain how each organ system goes awry and in what sequence. Organ systems are interrelated and affect each oth­er. ME/CFS impairs mainly the immune, neurological, and en­docrine systems.
  1. The immune system reacts abnormally to a viral, bacterial, fungal, or environmental trigger and becomes less effective.
  2. Problems with the interworking among the brain’s hypothalamus and pituitary gland and the adrenaline-secreting adrenal glands damage the endocrine system and brain, causing symptoms that vary.
  3. Genetic abnormalities and depletion of the most powerful antioxidant, glutathione, hinder toxin removal and impede cellular energy generation.
These processes make up how I’ve come to understand ME/CFS, and yes, this is oversimplified. Thanks to all the researchers out there who are working to better understand and to their funders. Learn more about ME in the book Lightening the Shadow: Diagnosing and Living with an Invisible Chronic Illness.
What causes ME
What causes ME? Source: Liza, Flickr Creative Commons
Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to encourage patients and educate health care professionals. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel {a} gmail.com.
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Reviews of Books for Patients with Chronic Illnesses

7/1/2019

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As a patient with a chronic illness and a biomedical copyeditor, I often read books including medical conditions or research at my leisure (off the clock). Here are two book reviews (cross-posted to Barnes & Noble and Goodreads).

The Day I Forgot - But Will Always Remember by Dr. Brenda Brown
Dr. Brown shows the frightful nature of sudden cardiac arrest and the invisible yet disabling aftereffects that can occur. Her words as well as photos will resonate with many readers. She has written this account as part of her recovery, yet this book isn’t just about her: Appendices contain other survivors’ stories and resources that every person should know about. After all, sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone. Disclosure: I copyedited a substantial portion of this book.

An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System by Matt Richtel
Richtel’s book manages quite a feat: binding storytelling with science. By naming, describing, and assigning images (e.g., first responders, scouts, police officers) to different cell types, he makes the immune system science readable and applicable not only to the four patients profiled but also to any patient or physician. Have you wondered what advantages immunotherapy holds over chemo? Have you wondered why autoimmune disorders are so tough to treat and they continue to become more common? Is it really so bad to skip handwashing and antibiotics now and then? Top scientists and medical doctors offer their insight on these questions and more. Readers will be fascinated at how many mechanisms our immune system has to control.
 
As a biomedical copyeditor who still has many concepts to learn, this book has been immensely valuable for not reading like a textbook. The one personal drawback of this book is that as an agnostic, Richtel can’t see that the overwhelming complexity of human immunity had to have been divinely created, not evolved, and that human “diversity” alone won’t be enough to solve the medical problems humanity has gotten itself into.  


Words and books
Pierre Metivier, Flickr Creative Commons

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to encourage patients and educate health care professionals. To receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel {a} gmail.com.
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    Author:
    ​Darla Nagel

    Darla copyedits biomedical research and writes natural health magazine articles while living with an invisible chronic illness. She has a big appetite for chocolate despite being a health nut.

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