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What the patient can do

Ms. Comerford stressed that it was a good idea for the patient to keep a daily log of the medications he or she takes and the activities he or she engages in. It may well be the best documentation the patient has. It could show that upon short activities, such as taking a shower, the patient has to get back into bed for an hour or so to recover from that activity.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a patient to be unable to keep such logs because it becomes just one more thing that “has to be done.” However, it is an important thing to do. As good as a patient may physically look, the log shows the instability of functionality for the patient.

The biggest take away from this speaker was the unsustainability of activity for CFS patients and how that helps with attaining disability status.

If the patient and doctor can show (through doctor’s notes or patient logs) that the patient can not sustain normal activity, and has some medical testing showing abnormalities, it helps the CFS patient gain disability status. Ms. Comerford closed by saying that it all begins and ends with the medical documentation.