A Northumberland patient describes in the BMJ her battle to get her symptoms taken seriously by clinicians  - until she finally received support from Newcastle medics.

In “A patient’s journey: Fatigue in primary biliary cirrhosis” printed in the British Medical Journal today, Matilda Hale explains how a series of clinicians appeared reluctant to recognise the severity of her fatigue and how she finally received support.

Matilda describes the debilitating fatigue that accompanies her primary biliary cirrhosis, a symptom that she describes as "hidden".

The team who were able to help her, Professor Julia Newton and Professor Dave Jones describe how they have begun to change the perception of fatigue in this chronic disease. In the article they write; “We continue to be surprised by the lack of appreciation of those both inside and outside our field as to the enormity of the implication that fatigue has for individuals who experience it.”

The article can be read in the online version of the BMJ.

published on: 17 April 2013