We are pleased to introduce a four-part series focusing on post-exertional malaise created by Patient-Led Research Collaborative and #MEAction. Each video is an interview with an expert in the field and is conducted by Chimére L. Sweeney*, a Long COVID author, speaker, filmmaker, and writer. We will be sharing a new video each Monday in September and they will be tagged #MedEdMonday.
Our first episode focuses on understanding post-exertional malaise and features an excellent presentation with Dr. Brayden Yellman** from Bateman Horne Center with a follow-up question from Chimére L. Sweeney. Dr Yellman is a board-certified physician in internal medicine and rheumatology at Bateman Horne Center and also serves on the Scientific and Medical Board for #MEAction. This presentation focuses on the importance of pacing and PEM (post-exertional malaise). Pacing is a crucial intervention for ME and Long COVID.
PEM is a flare of symptoms and/or the appearance of new symptoms after exertion, often presenting 24 hours after the triggering event. Physical activity, cognitive overexertion and sensory overload can all trigger PEM. Post-exertional malaise is a unique symptom, incongruent with experiences of fatigue after overexertion in healthy individuals. It is not the same as being more tired than normal after activity.
Resources referred to at the end of the video can be found here:
- ME/CFS Crash Survival Guide: https://batemanhornecenter.org/education/mecfs-guidebook/
- Project ECHO: https://batemanhornecenter.org/providers/medical-education/project-echo/
Other resources:
- #MEAction Pacing guides. Clinician guide created with Patient-led Research Collaborative and Pediatric guide in collaboration with Long Covid Families. https://www.meaction.net/resource/pacing-and-management-guide/
*Since 2020, Chimére L. Sweeney has championed the inclusion of Black women with Long COVID into conversations and opportunities that support their unique storytelling, as vehicles to share their management of their condition(s) along with treatment, and invite them as authentic stakeholders in advocacy and research.
**Dr. Yellman completed a BS in biology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a Doctor of Medicine at University of Texas in Houston. He completed a residency at Exempla Saint Joseph in Denver, CO, and a fellowship in rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Dr. Yellman joined BHC in January 2019. Prior to BHC, Dr. Yellman practiced at Intermountain Healthcare diagnosing and managing complex health issues and illnesses in an outpatient clinic and consulting with network providers. He developed and implemented a patient referral triage system to expeditiously identify particularly ill patients and provide them with rapid access, with a focus on the underserved population suffering prolonged waiting periods. Dr. Yellman helped create a curriculum to educate primary care providers in recognizing, diagnosing, and managing rheumatological diseases.
#pwME #MECFS #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #LongCovid #PEM #MedEd
Video description: Dr. Yellman (white man with short dark hair wearing a tie and sweater) appears on camera and then it switches to slides. At the end it briefly show Dr. Yellman again then Chimére L. Sweeney (a Black woman with short hair wearing glasses and a blue sweater) appears on screen to ask a question. Transcript available via YouTube. Captions are added by us.