Mary Dimmock

Source: healthrising.org

Mary Dimmock worked in the pharmaceutical industry until becoming a patient advocate after her son, Matthew Lazell-Fairman developed ME/CFS in 2010. Her advocacy work includes: authoring papers on the history, the disease burden, and common data elements for research of ME/CFS; participating in government committees; and public speaking.

Thirty Years of Disdain

In 2015, Dimmock wrote an extensively referenced advocacy paper with her son, Matthew Lazell-Fairman, titled Thirty Years of Disdain: How HHS and A Group of Psychiatrists Buried Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, which documents the history and the politics of ME since the 1980s, with a particular focus on how the US Health and Human Services (HHS) and a group of British psychiatrists led by Simon Wessely have mishandled the disease.

Studies and articles

• 2016, Estimating the disease burden of ME/CFS in the United States and its relation to research funding (Full Text)
• 2017, Public Review - Draft of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Common Data Elements (CDE); Fatigue Subgroup Materials - (Full Text)
• 2018, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: What Every Family Physician Needs to Know (Full text)
• 2021, Caring for the Patient with Severe or Very Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Full text)

Committees

• 2017-2018 - Co-chair of Post-Exertional Malaise Working Group and a member of the Fatigue Working Group, the Neuroendocrine Working Group, and the Immune Working Group of the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Common Data Element (CDE) Project sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• 2018 - served on the Clinical Trials and Treatment Working Group of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC), sponsored by the US Health and Human Services (HHS) Department.

Talks and interviews

• Jan 2014, Public Comment 3 Mary Dimmock Comments to Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee.
• 2015, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Disease Looking for Doctors and Researchers - WHC 7044 (Full Episode) Llewellyn King interviews Mary Dimmock.
• 2016, Episode 78 - Mary Dimmock via ME/CFS Alert.

HHS/CFSAC Testimony

• CFSAC Public Testimony at Nov 2011 CFSAC Meeting
• CFSAC Public Testimony at May 2013 CFSAC Meeting
• CFSAC Public Testimony at Dec 2013 CFSAC Meeting
• CFSAC Public Testimony at Jun 2014 CFSAC Meeting
• CFSAC Public Testimony at Dec 2014 CFSAC Meeting
• CFSAC Public Testimony at May 2016 CFSAC Meeting

Online presence

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

Learn more

• 2016, Is chronic fatigue syndrome finally being taken seriously?

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a U.S. government agency dedicated to epidemiology and public health. It operates under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) - (sometimes pronounced SIF-SACK) A US government advisory council that met twice per year, covering current topics related to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Meetings usually lasted for two days and the results were presented to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). After 15 years, on September 5, 2018, CFSAC's charter was not renewed by the Department of HHS, effectively dissolving the committee without notice or warning.

National Academy of Medicine (NAM) - An American non-profit, non-governmental organization which provides expert advice to governmental agencies on issues relating to biomedical science, medicine and health. Formerly known as the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

National Institutes of Health (NIH) - A set of biomedical research institutes operated by the U.S. government, under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.