Many of the reports of complementary treatments are anecdotal - that doesn't mean that they don't work for particular individuals, it means that no formal medical evidence has been independently collected and approved by the medical community in general. It is an area of great controversy.

As a result, complementary treatments are not widely supported by mainstream medical professionals (although there is a discernible change in attitude toward particular methods for particular ailments: acupuncture for pain control, for example, or homoeopathy); however, as mainstream medicine is currently limited in what it has to offer people with ME/CFS, some people feel that complementary methods are at least worth a look.

A number of people find that they have been helped by one or more such methods, and some are outlined below. As with mainstream methods, benefit is not universal: while some people feel improvement, some experience no effect; some people may feel worse and even relapse. If you would like to know more, try contacting your local Support Group or, even better, try to get along to their meetings to meet people face to face. There will usually someone there who has experiences they can share.

Ideally, for any treatment you choose to undergo there should be available validated and relevant scientific evidence to which you can make reference. If this is not available, then you are urged to be very cautious before you embark on any course of complementary treatment or therapy.

Complementary therapists tend to the 'whole person', as opposed to particular symptoms or a particular condition. As a result, your first consultation could be quite lengthy and you could be asked many questions about yourself, not just about your perception of your illness, so check with the practitioner when you make your first appointment so that you can have your thoughts in order.