Yea, that talking thing should help you have a lot more energy and pep. Good grief.

The information out there to treat chronic pain and fatigue is ridiculous. Its sad that that kind of information comes from Holland. I believed they might have had a good system when it came to treating all health issues.

I definitely know the feeling of worry when it comes to travel. My fiance and i are going to take a 10 hr drive to visit family and friends back in my home state. Im really worried what tole this will have on me as my fibro seems to have got worse in recent months.

However, thanks for giving me the idea about preparation,

I use a wheelchair both to and from the gates. It works out really well for several reasons. You save energy, getting through security is less of a challenge because you are not standing and waiting, and if the gate changes at the last minute you are not running through the airport trying to get there. The porters carry walky talkies and can keep up to date with what is going on. They can also notify the gate that they have a wheelchair if there is a sudden change.

I had an unexpected gate change taking me from one end of the airport to the other. It was at that point, I decided to start using a wheelchair. Best decision ever.

Don't be embarrassed. It is a tool that is very helpful to those of us with fatigue and orthopedic problems. You'll be a lot less stressed out in the long run. Have fun on your trip! Holland is lovely.

A wheel chair is a great decision. Don't be embarrased, no one knows what your issues are and you will never see them again anyways. You need to take care of yourself.

I figured that they would just treat everything with cannibis. It's legal there, right?

I hope you have a wonderful time. You don't have to explain yourself to anyone.

Look, we're sick people. I always ask for a wheelchair, the airports are miles of walking on hard stone! I cannot do it anymore. Also, we get on first and there's a wheel chair when we get off, just after leaving the plane.

Do what's good for you. Send your sister some reading material. It's a hard disease to understand. Even our Drs. don't.

Good luck, and a good trip, Abby

Thanks for the replies. The airport is miles and miles long in Amsterdam, so a ride in a wheelchair is what I need.

Yes, Cannabis is legal in Holland, Basketballmom! I've never tried it myself though...I didn't inhale, I swear!

It's surprising that such a forward thinking country has a terrible policy on treatment of CFS/ME. How many sufferers have been told that " It's all in your head"? I have my hopes up for a more definitve test to diagnose CFS/ME. An ongoing trial in Norway treats CFS patients with Rituximab, a new kind of cancer drug. If this trial is positive, the payoff will be that it will give us a CFS/ME diagnostic tool at the same time.

Another recent trial found brain changes on MRI scans in CFS/ME patients. I think the only reason that MRI's are not ordered for CFS patients is the cost. With a more defined path to CFS/ME diagnosis, perhaps a stronger voice for patient care can be attained.

Hey, Scootermom,

I'm natively Dutch, still living in the Netherlands (Holland is starting to refer to itself internationally only as the Netherlands, since only two provinces can technically be considered Holland).

With regards to aid at Schiphol airport: I've gotten off flights incredibly sick and weak and they were very helpful. So hopefully it shouldn't be too big of a problem.

With regards to the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as (big) part of a lot of treatments for chronic pain and fatigue disorders: the prevailing attitude here is that a chronic condition is chronic. A doctor will help you the best they can, get your medication worked out, try to put you in physical therapy so that you can learn the exercises that you have to do to take proper care of yourself. It's perhaps the culture here, but health professionals are not going to bounce you from treatment to treatment for something they have no cure for. The best possible balance is looked for, and if you need more then, you do things like CBT and Mindfulness.

If they don't have treatments that can make a difference to your body, the only thing left is to have the patient accept that life is the way it is. The depression needs to be treated and the boundaries of the disease have to be acknowledged, however frustrating and painful that is. The CBT is also there to help you accept that medical science hasn't gotten to the point of alleviating your condition fully, and you need to focus on being as happy as possible, rather than sinking money and time into treatments that have no scientific promise of success.

My partner is an American who came to the Netherlands 2,5 years ago and has worked with several hospitals through her degree as scientific researcher. She has made comments in the past that she sometimes experiences the Dutch medical world as different, since they can very brusquely tell you that certain discomforts or inconveniences are just going to be part of life.

I'm sorry for my rambling, but I just wanted to point out that things like CBT are not there because they somehow think repressed emotions or whatever cause medical disorders. Nor do I believe the Netherlands has a greater number of doctors that "disbelief" things like FM or CF. The US and all other countries have those problems as well, unfortunately. *sighs*

I hope you'll have a lovely visit with your sister, and that the notoriously uncooperative Dutch weather won't get in the way too much. :)

If you have any other questions about my experience with health care in the Netherlands, feel free to ask.