HOLLY TOMAS had tears in her eyes when her teenage son Séimí told her she’s the best mum he could have.

For 27 years her life was blighted by the debilitating condition ME, which left her in great pain and wheelchair-bound.

She feared she’d missed out on being a proper mum to her son.

Now she’s free of the symptoms, she has had another child – Fearne, now four – and has decided to help others beat the condition by training as a Mickel ­therapist, the technique that saved her.

ME – Myalgic Encephalopathy, or chronic fatigue syndrome – is an ­often-misunderstood condition thought to affect about 250,000 people in the UK.

Holly, 48, who lives with partner David Summersgill, 50, a sign-language ­interpreter, near Dunbar, East Lothian, said the condition robbed her of her health, affecting her ability to care for her son and blighting her promising singing career.

But she turned her life around after undergoing Mickel Therapy in 2004 and felt compelled to help others.

Now she tries not to dwell on the years she lost.

“There were times I couldn’t play ­football with Séimí, go for a walk with him or play in the garden. That was the greatest grief for me,” she said.

“I worry that I wasn’t there as much as I would like to have been. But he’s a very confident young man and very warm and loving and quite charming.

“I was always a positive, proactive person so I don’t want to spend time grieving and I feel so fortunate to be well.

“Now I live each day to the full.”

Holly’s health problems, which included irritable bowel syndrome and depression, began when she was 14.

She was bullied at school and was unhappy at home. She was struck down by viral meningitis and afterwards suffered fatigue and anxiety.

She had periods when her life was back on track and her career as a singer was taking off – only to have health ­problems again.

“It was a desperate time. I became ­bed-bound. Trying to get the correct ­diagnosis took eight years, by which time I had been roundly abused by the medical profession, with some GPs saying I was a malingerer and some saying I needed psychiatric help. Only a few offered real support – even though they couldn’t offer any curative treatment.

“I experienced unimaginable migraines, muscle pain and weakness. At my worst I couldn’t feed myself. I used to bear only half an hour of TV a day on better days with the contrast turned down and sunglasses on. I had to be carried to the bathroom – or I crawled. I couldn’t lift my own arms, let alone a kettle or knife and fork. It was a miserable existence, and I don’t know how I came through it.”

She moved to Skye and gave birth to her son Séimí but she still suffered.

Later she went back into singing, winning a songwriter’s award, performing on Radio Scotland and running shows for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

She was spotted playing the piano at a friend’s wedding by Runrig manager Chris Harley. She met their lead singer Donnie Munro and was asked to be his support act and backing singer. But she suffered a relapse in 2000.

She said: “I was due to go to Germany with Donnie on tour but ended up having to cancel and was bed-bound and a ­wheelchair user once more.”

Holly tried every kind of treatment – psychotherapy, magnesium ­injections and even Holy water.

She was sceptical when a friend suggested Mickel Therapy in 2004.

She said: “I had promised myself never to try anything else. I had come to the conclusion that this was my lot and I had to just make the best of it.”

But she decided to give it a go, saying: “I had my first session in the March and by August I was ­symptom-free.

“My life was literally transformed. I had lived a life riddled with anxiety and doubt, by pain and uncertainty and suddenly I was given an ‘emotional toolkit’. I trained immediately as a Mickel therapist so I could help others.”

The treatment is based on a one-to-one talking programme, to overcome ­problems with the hypothalamus – the part of the brain responsible for sending messages around the body.

She said: “I am now working hard on reclaiming a lot of things lost during my illness, including my music and I am back recording another album with my partner David.

“Now the problem isn’t whether I am well enough to find some energy to sing – it is time, as my life is so full with ­ childcare and my Mickel Therapy work.

“I will be eternally grateful to Dr David Mickel, as he has not only given me my life back – but has given me the freedom to fulfil my ­potential as a mother, as a partner, as a musician and as a person.”

● Holly will feature in a documentary raising awareness about ME and Mickel Therapy, pioneered by Elgin-based Dr David Mickel, that has helped more than 5000 people recover from the condition. It will be shown on BBC Alba on Monday.

Elgin medic’s talking therapy offers hope to ME sufferers

ME affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK alone. Symptoms can include extreme exhaustion, muscle pain, brain fog, nausea and depression.

Mickel Therapy is a talking therapy to treat the different symptoms of conditions such as fibromyalgia, ME and irritable bowel syndrome. The theory is the conditions all relate back to the brain’s hypothalamus gland.

If it isn’t working properly, it can’t understand the feedback from the body and starts to send out its own messages – symptoms that can affect both the nervous and immune systems.

Dr Mickel’s theory was to tackle the body and mind problem by working out a one-to-one programme.

Dr Mickel said: “We believe the problems with this condition stem from the hypothalamus gland – mid-brain region, which becomes overactive.

“This creates a huge range of symptoms. We work with emotions which arise without thought. This is the source of the symptoms.

“We are not saying that changing your thinking will stop your symptoms – this is a misconception, as is the belief the illness is created by a virus, which we believe to be untrue.”

www.mickeltherapy.com

Stornoway Gazette - Published on Friday 20 January 2012 12:15

Allison MacColl, a nurse and mother from the Isle of Lewis who suffers from ME and features on the new BBC ALBA documentary.

To watch part 1 click here

To watch part 2 click here

The chronic condition M.E (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, often referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome) is the subject of a new two part BBC ALBA documentary airing on 23rd and 30th January at 9pm. This aims to raise awareness about the challenges people face with this debilitating condition.

M.E is a worldwide epidemic, affecting an estimated 250,000 people in the UK alone. Symptoms can range from extreme exhaustion, muscle pain, anxiety, brain fog, nausea, dizziness, depression and food intolerances to many more.

Up until now, the general consensus has been that there are no known reasons for this condition, most recently with wide-spread press coverage about research on the XMRV virus being withdrawn.

While the documentary aims to raise awareness of the condition and look at it from all perspectives, it also looks at a specialised treatment for it. The program follows Dr David Mickel, a GP from Elgin and creator of the revolutionary treatment ‘Mickel Therapy’, which he has been pioneering for the past 12 years.

The BBC ALBA documentary focuses on a typical day in the life of this busy Scottish doctor, including working with clients, and shows how this talking therapy can resolve the severe symptoms clients usually present with.

As Dr Mickel explains: “We believe the problems with this condition stem from the Hypothalamus gland / mid-brain region which become overactive. This creates a huge range of symptoms.” He continues: “We work with emotions which arise without thought. This is the source of the symptoms.”

“We want to be absolutely clear though, that we are not saying that changing your thinking will stop your symptoms: this is a misconception, as is the belief the illness is created by a virus, which we believe to be untrue.”

Mickel Therapy has proven otherwise, and is estimated to have already helped over 5,000 people in the UK and worldwide to return to full health.

One such person, featured in the documentary, is Holly Tomas who suffered with M.E for 27 years before making a full recovery using Mickel Therapy. The documentary shows her journey, including how she now offers Mickel Therapy to other clients also suffering with M.E.

In Holly’s words, “I am so thankful to be free of symptoms. Mickel Therapy has given me my life back and I’m so fortunate to be able to share this with others.”

The documentary airs on BBC ALBA on January 23rd and 30th at 9pm.
Mickel Therapy receives greater focus in the episode on the 30th January.

For more information about the BBC Documentary or Mickel Therapy, contact Julia McNeil info@mickeltherapy.com or on 01343 831013 (answerphone service).

By Leah Seator

Following a ten-year battle with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Evie’s Pamela Scott is bed-bound no more, after finding a “miracle cure” she says has given her a second chance at life.

Pamela spent six months in Elgin receiving a new treatment called Mickel Therapy, and made a full recovery.  She now hopes to help other Orcadians who suffer from ME and other somatic conditions, and has taken training so that she can offer the same treatment in Orkney, and in Caithness for the first time.

Primary teacher Pamela, now 33, first began to suffer from ME in 1992, when she was just 21, and experienced symptoms for about six years.  She began to recover in 1998, but in 2002, the condition struck with a vengeance.
She explained: “When I was struck down with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for the second time, my whole world crumbled.  I was unable to look after my, then ten-month old toddler and my husband, Allan.  I had to give up my job as a primary teacher, and I looked on forlornly as my social life and hobbies ground to a halt.

“A year later I had succumbed to it, and spent all my time in bed.  At my worst, I only had energy for trips to the bathroom, and my husband had to wash, dry and dress me.  I felt as if something had sucked my life force away completely.  The constant tiredness, severe joint pains, persistent headaches, muscle pain and brain fog turned life into a nightmare.  Sometimes I felt it was too much effort even to breathe.”

“I had been ill previously in the 1990s, but it was nothing compared to this time around.  I now understand that it had never fully gone away during those four years when I had felt well.  It had been lurking around the corner, waiting for any opportunity to inflict itself again.”

But Pamela didn’t just bow down to her illness, trying every kind of treatment that she could get her hands on.  “In desperation, I tried any treatment which was going.  You name it, I tried it.  Reiki, reflexology, massage, supplements and even a man who called himself an ME specialist.”

It was after reading an article in a newspaper in April 2003, that Pamela began to see light at the end of the tunnel.

“By the time I came across an article in the Sunday Post, about a new treatment called Mickel Therapy (formerly called Reverse Therapy) in Elgin, I was at rock bottom.  I was barely fit to travel, but with support from my family, I got to Elgin for my first treatment in May.  After four treatments I began to notice a difference.  I began to do little day-to-day things which we could all take for granted; read a story to my son, lift the kettle, turn the shower on and actually stand in it!”

The treatment which Pamela undertook in Elgin involved her having one-hour consultations with the founder of the treatment, Dr David Mickel.  There were no drugs or supplements involved, or any change of diet.

Described as ‘talking treatment’, Mickel Therapy “gets to the root of the problem,” according to Pamela, unlike alternative therapies which may only help symptoms in the short term.
It is thought that the symptoms of CFS, ME and fibromyalgia are caused by a dysfunctional hypothalamus gland.

Pamela explained: “It has gone into overdrive, and this has a knock-on effect on the autonomic nervous, endocrine and immune systems – hence the diverse range of physical symptoms experienced by sufferers.
“It is important to understand that these symptoms are real and not all in the mind as sufferers are led to believe by doctors who cannot find any physical proof that anything is wrong.”

The therapists work with clients to stop the symptoms occurring.  The underpinning premise of the treatment is that all symptoms serve a purpose in the context within which they appear.

Pamela said: “If we are able to understand that purpose, then we are able to take action that enable the symptoms to go away.  This is a shift from the current medical model which views symptoms as uncomfortable and unhelpful, and works to eliminate them rather than understand them.”

Having improved after just four treatments, Pamela continued with the therapy, and soon grabbed life with both hands.  She felt she had fully recovered by Christmas, 2003.

She said: “I continued with regular trips to Elgin and each time came home a little better.  After eight months, I had returned to full health, and had to pinch myself.  Life is a gift and I was being given another chance.  I went back to teaching, started swimming regularly again, went to Body Balance classes at Picky, braved the gym for the first time, and even took up running last summer, all with no ill effects.”

“I believe now that this condition was a blessing in disguise.  The treatment has been so life-changing that I wanted to be involved in helping others get their lives back.
Having trained with Dr David Mickel, in Edinburgh, who developed this innovative treatment, I am now able to offer Mickel Therapy in Orkney and Caithness.”

“It is possible to effectively treat clients with a range of somatic symptoms, including chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome as well as the conditions of anxiety and depression.”
“There are now 20 or so Mickel Therapists offering treatment in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands, and following initial trials, the therapy has now treated over 250 sufferers.”

Pamela knows of other patients from Orkney who, until now, have travelled to Elgin for the treatment, as it was the nearest clinic.  She is currently looking for premises to set up her own clinic, and hopes to treat sufferers from Caithness.
Feeling optimistic about her new lease of life, Pamela said: “I am looking for premises in Kirkwall, and I’m hoping to set it all up properly in July.”

Robert, who is 37 was unable to leave his home as the symptoms of the debilitating illness slowly began to grip.
The constant tiredness, lack of concentration, loss of memory and persistent headaches has turned Robert’s life into a living nightmare. He said, ‘When I was diagnosed it was a massive shock but I had known for some time that something was wrong. My life had changed completely as I was simply unable to do most of the things I had taken for granted. It’s very difficult having to watch your kids grow up in front of your eyes and not be able to take more of an active role. Ross was only five at the time and Katie was only two so my wife Helen practically had to look after them on her own. I hadn’t given up hope of getting my life back but certainly wasn’t looking good.’

By 2004 Robert was a shadow of his former self and despite trying various treatments, his symptoms kept recurring. In the space of two years he went from being a happy family man who enjoyed coaching his local football team, to a father whose illness prevented him from enjoying even the simplest pleasures. Robert had reached his darkest hour and was in desperate need of help – thankfully it was on hand. A family friend spotted a newspaper article about a new treatment called Mickel Reverse Therapy being pioneered by Dr David Mickel. With nothing to lose, Robert decided to try the treatment, a decision which kick started his journey to recovery.

‘When I first heard about Mickel Reverse Therapy I was sceptical because there are so many treatments,’ Robert said. ‘But then I thought to myself that I couldn’t get any worse so decided to go for it. I had to travel to Dundee and then Edinburgh for the treatment and the travelling in itself was extremely daunting and physically draining. I had five one-hour sessions, the last one being about seven months ago. Since then I have not had any symptoms of ME and am back fitter and healthier than I’ve ever been.

It’s been a miraculous recovery and people I meet can’t believe the difference. I’ve been given another chance at life and I plan on making the most of it. This is the first time my daughter has seen her daddy well and for me that is the best thing – being able to take an active role again with my family.

When I was diagnosed with the illness it was one of my lowest points, but in a way it has been the best thing to happen as my life has turned around.’

Robert has now come full circle and he is a qualified Mickel Reverse therapist, practicing from his home in the Murray. His client base is gradually growing and Robert firmly believes the therapy that cured him can work for everyone. He hopes his story will inspire others. He said: ‘After what I went through I can see no better profession than helping others recover also. I know people will doubt MRT but all I can say to them is that it has worked for me and hundreds of others as well. I believe in it because it gave me my life back.’
East Kilbride News, 2nd March 2005

His book has been written to help sufferers, their families and professionals and is selling throughout the world.
Dr Mickel, 36, is setting up a trial of his work in the hope of persuading the Government to make the treatment available on the NHS.

Thousands of people every year are diagnosed with ME – also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) – and the closely-related condition known as fibromyalgia.

But the cause and methods of treatment have divided medical opinion for many years, with many doctors regarding ME as a depressive condition and referring patients to a psychiatrist.

Dr Mickel was a GP in Elgin but resigned two years ago to develop his interest in the condition and find an effective treatment. During his time as a family doctor he was struck by the increasing number of people who came to his surgery complaining of flu-like symptoms.

Although treatments were available to ease the symptoms, there was no cure as such.
Over the past four years Dr Mickel, who lives at Duffus, near Elgin has worked privately to design a completely innovative treatment for ME/CFS and fibromyalgia.

The therapy requires no medication, no dietary changes or supplements and consists of a series of face-to-face one-hour consultations.

Dr Mickel believes that ME and fibromyalgia are caused by a dysfunction of the hypothalamus, the body’s master gland located in the brain, and the therapy is designed as a body-mind healing process.

He claims his therapy has already cured around 250 patients and is generating interest around the world.
He has already trained 26 therapists – some of them former patients – to carry out treatments. Two of them will be starting work shortly in Aberdeen and Inverness. Later this year he will be going to the US, Canada and Australia to provide training for therapists.

Dr Mickel now hopes to persuade the NHS to adopt his therapy by staging a trial.
‘For the first time there is a cure for people suffering from ME,’ he said.

RAYMOND SHEWAN
This Is North Scotland
09:00 – 29 January 2005

As I had trained in Hypnotherapy and psychotherapy and had a small private clinic, I started to employ these skills to cases of Fibromyalgia. Again this was fruitless and I was getting nowhere. This is of course not surprising since these techniques were designed to treat ‘psychological’ illness – which Fibromyalgia is not.

I began to notice many similarities between Fibromyalgia syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/M.E, which suggested a common pathology. It is not uncommon in Medicine for there to be quite a wide spectrum of symptoms associated with any physical illness. As I began to look more closely into these conditions I became more convinced that the problem was arising in the Hypothalamus gland. Over the coming 3 years I started to base my treatment on this assumption and I began to develop what has become Mickel Reverse Therapy. This therapy was unlike anything that had been described before and was basically a talking treatment that was able to treat physical conditions such as Fibromyalgia. This declaration is still one that generates a great deal of scepticism amongst my fellow professional and laymen alike. But then this does not surprise me. If I had been told during my early medical career that someone could treat such devastating physical conditions merely by talking then I would not have believed them.

So what is Mickel Reverse Therapy? This is the most common question that I am asked and still one that I struggle to answer coherently. I think in my defence that this is because it so unlike any other treatments that there are no comparisons to refer to. It is not a psychological treatment, nor hypnosis, nor a form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. So again what is it?

Well the simplest way to describe it is that it is a treatment that returns a dysfunctional Hypothalamus gland and all the effects of this back to normal. The explanation of this is complicated and it is for this reason that I have written a book on the subject. However the underlying process means that employing the Mickel Reverse Therapy allows us to interpret and translate the chemical, cellular changes that are occurring in the condition as a message from the body’s unconscious. By responding to the energetic content of this message we are able to stop the cellular dysfunction and return the individual to full asymptomatic health.

Now, doesn’t that sound like a load of ‘New Age’ rubbish? It would have to me but I know that this effectively what we do. As I discuss in my book on the subject, we have to be able to look at symptoms of any condition in humans as a form of communication. For example common symptoms such as hunger, although physiological, have a clear inherent message behind them of ‘eat something now’. Applying this same understanding to symptoms of physical conditions means that they then become treatable by Mickel Reverse Therapy.

My experience of reactions to this simplified explanation has taught me that it sounds too good to be true. Indeed one of the first talks I ever did was at small Fibromyalgia Support Group of 12 people. Following my talk, scepticism and disbelief were such that only 3 of the group came to me for treatment. I am glad to say that all three were very soon cured of their Fibromyalgia. In fact it was following one of these cases being successfully treated that I made my decision to leave General Practice and focus solely on Fibromyalgia and CFS/M.E treatment.

Much water has passed under the bridge since then and I know spend most of my time training new Mickel Reverse Therapists in the art and supervising their work, as well as seeing sufferers in my own clinics. We now have treatment centres all over the UK and Ireland and one in Canada. This number will almost double by early next year and will soon involve other European countries. I am delighted to say that the results are still very exciting. But with a declared success rate of at least 86% we are even more vulnerable to scepticism and disbelief. It is for this reason that I am currently trying to set up a proper randomised controlled trial of Mickel Reverse Therapy so that as well as proving its worth we can then persuade Government to make it an NHS service. It is has always been a frustration of mine that the treatment has to be private and expensive, but I am hopeful to change this in the coming 18 months. Details will be available on our website www.mickelreversetherapy.com

Dr David Mickel MBChB MRCGP Founder/Director of Mickel Reverse Therapy

His wife Helen had to shoulder the brunt of looking after the family as Robert struggled with ill health and spent so much time in bed.

‘The constant tiredness, lack of concentration, loss of memory and persistent headaches turned my life into a living nightmare,’ he said.

‘When I was diagnosed it was a massive shock but I had known for some time that something was wrong. It’s difficult watching your kids grow up and not be able to take an active role.’

By 2004, Robert was a shadow of his former self and despite trying various treatments, his symptoms continued.
Then a friend gave him an article on Mickel therapy.

He said: ‘With nothing to lose I decided to try the treatment, a decision which kick-started my journey to recovery.’
After five sessions Robert’s symptoms had gone.

He says with ME it’s like emotions and feelings are blocked because of a dysfunctional gland in the brain which puts the body out of balance. Part of the therapy is said to help sufferers express their emotions and get back in balance.
‘The tiredness and persistent headaches turned my life into a living nightmare’