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 cannot thank all of you enough for your support