22nd September 2005

A great deal of interest has been created in a “revolutionary treatment for ME”. Two therapies have evolved from an original joint collaborative, Dr David Mickel’s “Mickel Therapy” and Dr John Eaton’s “Reverse Therapy”. Both claim high success rates and base the treatment on a malfunction of the hypothalmus. (you can find out more by visiting their websites:www.mickelreversetherapy.com and Dr Eaton’s www.reverse-therapy.com)

Dr Mickel gave a presentation on his form of treatment in Chester le Street on Thursday 22nd September. Also speaking were Dr Derek Proudlove (Consultant Psychiatrist) and Mrs Joy Gregory a local practitioner of Mickel Therapy. Around 70 people attended and all were interested to hear Dr Mickel’s talk. Unfortunately we had one distressing intervention early on in the session, this not only put Dr Mickel off his stride for a short while, but more importantly it upset a number of people attending who were distressed by the episode. An evaluation of the session showed clearly the majority of people enjoyed the talk and wanted to know more, that the presentation was very good, and that they also wished to hear of Dr Eaton’s treatment “Reverse Therapy”.

We have a number of contacts who are seeing Dr Mickel (or one of his therapists) but know there are more of you out there. We have received varied feedback on the success/failure of the treatment and wish to prepare a profile of cases to assess the outcomes. Any information you could send us would be greatly appreciated. Simply give us a call or send an e-mail to [email protected]

Many of our members will remember Elizabeth Grande who sent us the following letter. Elizabeth was a founder member of the volunteer group who first set up the ME North East regional group (over 20 years ago).

Dr Mickel’s Talk/My experience of the treatment
by Elizabeth Grande

I find it difficult to answer your questionnaire as I have in fact experienced the treatment myself. I feel it could be helpful for me to relate my experience of Mickel Reverse Therapy. I first heard of Dr Mickel’s work in March 2003 when a relative sent me a copy of an article that appeared in the Inverness local paper. Immediately on reading this I knew that it was important for me to meet this doctor and see what he could do to help me. By that time I had suffered from ME for almost 25 years. The first 15 years had been severe with long periods of being housebound. Then followed a slow and intermittent improvement but at the time I contacted Dr Mickel I was still subject to frequent relapses with long periods spent mainly in bed. My active day when ’well’ was from 11-30pm - 8pm.

My first appointment was at Elgin, which I only managed by taking 4 days to do the trip. There followed some difficult weeks with ups and downs, much reflection, and many occasions on which I questioned the validity of taking on this treatment. However, although my general health was not obviously improving, I became aware by the third session that my ‘day’ was extending. Soon I was ready to get up with a clear head at 8am. This was very encouraging. By the fifth appointment I was feeling bright and looking positively into the future. However I was astonished when at the end of that session Dr Mickel declared that I was ready to go it alone.

It was wonderful to observe continuing improvements to my health and general fitness, both physical and mental, which are going on until the present. Within four months of finishing the treatment I had decided to move from the North East to be nearer my family. I packed up the family home and embarked on learning how to get around London and feel confident in that environment. Now I happily cross the Atlantic to the west coast of US to see my granddaughters and am now planning a visit to India in January.

I find it very interesting to see how Dr Mickel’s theories are slowly gaining ground as his understanding of the mechanisms behind what had been his intuitive theories continues to grow. This man is, like other dedicated doctors that some of us have known, determined to ‘crack’ the mystery of ME and not for his own esteem. He is a very caring doctor and I believe he deserves to be taken seriously by his profession and by the organisations working for people with ME. Thank you ME North East for giving him a platform.