The Bury/Bolton ME/CFS Support Group is aimed at supporting carers
and sufferers from ME. There are an estimated 680 sufferers in Bolton and
460 in Bury, according to Action for ME national figures. Join our group
NICE Guidelines
Understanding the NICE Guidelines
Official High Court Final judgement on NICE judicial review
What You Need To Know About My condition (for hospital stays)
What You Need To Know About My condition (Notes)
Please note that there will be no yoga on the following dates:
23rd June, 30th June and 11th August.
Our main meetings are held at: Longsight Methodist Church Hall, Longsight Lane, Harwood, Bolton, BL2 3HX on the third Thursday of every month except April, August and December.
The church has a well-sized car park and the ramps at the entrance provide good wheelchair access.
The entrance fee is £1 (to pay to rent the church for the evening.) Refreshments are provided.
Thursday 18th June 7:30pm: Julie Shortland will talk on EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) and TAT (Tapas Acupressure Technique) which belong to the Meridian Energy Therapies and are based on new discoveries regarding the connection between your body's subtle energies, your emotions and your health.
This is often described as 'Emotional Acupuncture' (acupuncture without needles).
Thursday 16th July-Olivia Rigby taks about her yoga classes (6:45-7:20pm) then Social 7:30pm onwards.
Please see the "Future Meetings" page for directions.
Bolton Town Centre Socials: Bolton Socials - change of venue:
Our Social Group meets informally on the first Monday of each month,
our next meeting will be on Monday 6th July, 4pm at:
The Sparking Clog, Radcliffe Moor Road, Radcliffe, M26 3WY
We had previously been meeting at the Sweet Green Tavern but whilst it has ample
parking and is usually relatively quiet, it does not suit everyone and so we are looking for alternatives to try out.
It could be a pub, café, coffee shop or similar, ideally we are looking for somewhere that is quiet and comfortable,
in the Bolton area, with good accessibility and parking - if you have any suggestions, or concerns that can be addressed,
or need more information, please email me at dave@mesupportgroup.co.uk or phone 05601 335037.
Bury Socials: The Automatic, next to the Met theatre (it is across the street from Yates,
not the Met Café next to Yates), Derby Hall, Market Street, Bury, BL9 0BW.
http://themet.biz/location/find_the_met.pdf. It's not noisy and they have couches and sell snacks, soft drinks, etc.
If you need any more information, please phone Sheila on 0161 7970026 after 12noon(and she is happy to phone you back as she is on a free calling plan).
Membership Renewals: Please note that to save on costs we will no longer be issuing membership cards. For anyone who has not renewed their membership then next month's July flyer will be the last one you receive, and so to receive the August newsletter please return your completed membership form and payment. If anyone is not sure whether they have paid or not, you can email dave@mesupportgroup.co.uk.
Stress Management Clinic
There is a new stress management course for ME/CFS. It is designed to help you learn more effective ways to manage any symptoms associated with stress and anxiety, increase confidence and develop and greater sense of control. Topics include:
Information about the role, causes and effects of stress
the role of the autonomic nervous system in stress
techniques to manage stress (relaxation, activity management, and management of unhelpful thoughts
sleep management
how to manage set back
You can also learn from other peoples experiences and gain support from them.
The course is for people who feel their stress is affecting their daily management and recovery.
The course is 10 weeks, sessions are 2 hrs and includes a break and relaxation session. Carers and partners are welcome to attend the first session.
If you would like a referral., please speak to the CFS/ME Clinic. For more info on the course, speak to Gill Walsh on 0161 219 9420.
www.manchestercfsme.nhs.uk
Helpline: 0845 123 2390
Expert Patient Programme:
At our January meeting, Judith Smith from the Expert Patient Programme came to talk to us.
It is for people with long term neurological condition and aims to improve quality of life.
The course is 6 weeks and lasts about 2 hours, with about 10 patients attending at a time.
Topics covered include action plans, better breathing, dealing with difficult emotions, introducing exercise,
pain and fatigue management, communication skills problem solving, depression management and working with
your healthcare professional. At the meeting it was suggested that the course could be every fortnight
instead of weekly to give patients more time to recover. Judith has now got permission to do fortnightly
sessions, so anyone who wishes to attend, please call Pam on 01204 793 846.
Neuro Support 4 Salford Meeting:
This was set up by Greater Manchester Neurological Alliance to identify the people in Bury, patients and their carers, with long term neurological conditions, including ME. It will be used from time to time to seek the views of those people as to how service provision,
medical and social, can be improved.
See http://www.gmneuro.org.uk/localgroups.asp, email gmneuro@tiscali.co.uk or phone 0161 742 7485/7486
Bury Neuro Support:
- Bishop Ashton Room, Bury Parish Church Hall
- (Some parking available in Church grounds)
- With a guest speaker
How can we improve the self-management groups?
- Contacting Gill Walsh
- Attending CFS/ME Forum
- Contacting your Patient and Public Involvement Forum (PPI).
Bolton: 01204 394603
Bury: 0161 214 3901
There is no set date yet.
If you ask your doctor to refer you to the Bury or Bolton CFS/ME Clinics, please ask for a referral to:
CFS/ME Clinic
C/O Dr Andrew Wright
Neurological Rehabilitation Team
Lever Chambers
Ashburner St
BL1 1SQ
All correspondence will be from Lever Chambers, but you will go to the appointment at Breightmet Health Centre if in Bolton or the Prestwich Walk-In Centre if you live in Bury.
Interested in becoming a member?
Call our group contact, Pam Turner on 01204 793846 or visit the "Join" page to print an application form.
What about our meetings?:
Our meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month from 7.30pm until 9pm-ish, except in April, August and December, when there is no meeting but our newsletter goes out. The March meeting is our AGM and November is our bring and share buffet social.
These meetings are held at: Longsight Methodist Church Hall, Longsight Lane, Harwood, Bolton.
The church has a well-sized car park and the ramps at the entrance provide good wheelchair access.
The entrance fee is £1 (to pay to rent the church for the evening.) However, refreshments are provided.
Please try to avoid wearing strongly scented toiletries when you attend the meetings, as some members are very sensitive to these products.
Members are welcome to borrow our electric scooter, manual wheelchair or light box (Contact Pam for info)
The Newsletter:
The newsletter is sent out three times a year, in place of the meetings. The newsletter is put together by members of the group and proves a great read! It includes future meeting dates, contact details of relevant comittee members, recent press articles,findings from the latest ME studies, minutes from national ME conferences, book reviews,helpful hints for ME sufferers and carers and more. Minutes of the last group meeting,handy and healthy recipes, including both meat and vegetarian varieties and recipes for those with special dietery requirments (e.g gluten free, dairy free, etc)and helful contact information for other ME groups, including nationally recognised ones)Write ups about previous meetings appear in the newsletter and dates of the next few meetings are given. You can see previous articles on the "Research & Past Newsletter Articles" page.
What we offer:
- A comfortable, warm and spacious meeting hall where members can mix and mingle.
- Regular meetings, 9 times a year on the third Thursday of the month, alternating between speakers and socials. Speakers range from medical, welfare and other backgrounds. Our AGM is always in March and we have a bring and share pre Xmas social in November.
- Internet chat group
- Free Link-Up Contact service where members can be in touch via email, phone or letter.
- Free yoga sessions, Tuesdays at 3:15pm-4:15pm at the Jubilee Centre, Bolton, funded by Awards for All.
- A detailed newsletter for members, MPs, Health Authorities and other bodies.
- A well-stocked library of books and CDs.
- Immediate access to research reports through the national ME charities' publications.
- Help and advice on Welfare and Benefits.
- Links with all other ME/CFS Groups in the North West through regional meetings and shared newsletter exchange. Growing links with other Groups in the UK.
- Occasional short courses on relevant recreational activities, eg. painting, t'ai chi.
- Plans to tape our newsletter, provide information packs to specific groups.
And much more! Come and visit us - or ring our Contact for further
information!