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David Tuller

@davetuller1.bsky.social

Senior Fellow in Public Health and Journalism, Center for Global Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. I blog at Virology Blog (virology.ws). My academic position is largely funded by donations from patients. davetuller@berkeley.edu

2,295 Followers  |  384 Following  |  235 Posts  |  Joined: 06.11.2023
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Posts by David Tuller (@davetuller1.bsky.social)

Trial By Error: Interview with Jonathan Edwards about "Therapy Guide" from British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH The British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS, known as BACME, defines itself as β€œa multidisciplinary organisation providing informa ...

The British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS issued a "therapy guide" last year. Very unsatisfactory. Professor Jonathan Edwards and colleagues have responded in an open letter. I spoke with Professor Edwards about it. virology.ws/2026/02/20/t...

21.02.2026 02:03 β€” πŸ‘ 50    πŸ” 19    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
Trial By Error: More on the Controversy over Invisible Illness | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH Emily Mendenhall’s new book, Invisible Illness: A History from Hysteria to Long COVID, has caused a bit of an uproar in some circles. ...

The book Invisible Illness has caused a bit of a stir among many patients. Here are some further thoughts on the controversy.
virology.ws/2026/02/16/t...

16.02.2026 18:47 β€” πŸ‘ 46    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 3
Trial By Error: Some Things I've Read Recently...Maryland Boosts LC Research, van der Zee on CBT, Thoughts on Hope and Chronic Illness | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH My rib injury sidelined me for a month. Now that I'm mostly better, I’ve been trying to get back up to speed and catch up with lo ...

A few things I've read recently: Maryland supports Long Covid research, @anilvanderzee.bsky.social on CBT in the Netherlands, and thoughts on hope and chronic illness:
virology.ws/2026/02/11/t...

11.02.2026 05:16 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

I do think there's a difference between US and UK on this. CBT is not the be-all and end-all in US. It seems in UK all talk therapy is called CBT. Here, we just talk about "therapy" as short hand for counseling, talk psychotherapy, etc. "I'm in therapy." No one asks about CBT.

03.02.2026 23:19 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, I understand that that's what people with these diagnoses get. but that wasn't really what I was referring to, which was the sort of supportive CBT referenced in the 2021 NICE guidelines.

02.02.2026 21:08 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

As I mentioned, I haven't read the whole book at this point and was only rsponding to the sections that involved me, so I could explain my role in that. I realize that concerns had been raised about the content overall.

02.02.2026 18:27 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, I understand that. I meant regular coping CBT and not PACE-style CBT.

02.02.2026 18:26 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Trial By Error: New Medical Anthropology Book on Chronic Illness Triggers Controversy | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH While I was on medical leave for the last few weeks, the fascist regime's brownshirts executed two people protesting the military ...

Here's my take on some of the debate over Invisible Illness, the new medical anthropology book that has triggered debates and controversy. This post examines the back and forth over the chapter that includes PACE and the history of the creation of the CFS construct.

virology.ws/2026/02/01/t...

01.02.2026 18:56 β€” πŸ‘ 40    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1
Trial By Error: An Essay on Living with Severe ME | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH I’ve been totally out of commission for three weeks while recovering from bruised ribs sustained in a fall. I have devoted most of my ...

I've taken three weeks of medical leave because of bruised ribs sustained in a fall on the pavement. I'm slowly trying to get back to work and catch up. Here's an insightful and moving piece someone sent me about living with severe ME.

virology.ws/2026/01/27/t...

27.01.2026 21:09 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 4

This is an extremely disturbing situation. I am familiar with legal noises from this cohort of people. How awful. I've been totally out of commission with a back injury the last two weeks so just becoming aware of this mess...

19.01.2026 20:16 β€” πŸ‘ 27    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

What is this thing about the U.S. being "the hottest country in the world"? It's preposterous. What the fuck does that even mean? Hottest on what metric? By whose assessment other than Trump's??

18.01.2026 15:26 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

it's so hard to know from individual cases whether chronological events mean they're causative. It's possible it could be great for one person and awful for another. I think there might have been a question of short-term apparent benefit followed by long-term negative impact. But very hard to know.

18.01.2026 08:21 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Trial By Error: My Unexpected E-Mail Exchange with Alem Matthees | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH In recent months, one of the most high-profile people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)β€”Australian Alem ...

Remarkably, Alem Matthees, the Australian patient whose freedom of information request liberated the raw data from the PACE TRIAL, has reported some improvements in his condition: virology.ws/2026/01/02/t...

03.01.2026 01:08 β€” πŸ‘ 73    πŸ” 20    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 5
Trial By Error: Journal Publishes Confusing Section on "Enduring Symptoms" | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH As part of its December issue, Future Healthcare Journal, sponsored by the UK's Royal College of Physicians, has published a spec ...

The medical field still hasn't figured out what to call illnesses defined by symptoms whose pathophysiology remains unclear, or even what they are, but nonetheless insists that multidisciplinary interventions are the way to go: virology.ws/2025/12/31/t...

31.12.2025 21:50 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This was originally just for German and Austrian research, right? Are they planning to expand further??

24.12.2025 17:06 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh my! I wrote about a dozen or more pieces for NYT over the XMRV situation back 15 years ago...

24.12.2025 17:02 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

but at least normally those receiving an intervention after randomization are given information about the intervention. In this case, the participants are being told it's "standard" treatment.

13.12.2025 22:33 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Trial By Error: In Protocol for Long COVID Exercise Trial, Investigators Advocate Lying to Participants | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH Researchers are planning yet another trial of a rehabilitative exercise program for Long COVIDβ€”but, in this one, they propose to lie t ...

Can you actually lie to participants in a clinical trial and still pass ethical review? It seems so, at least at Western University in Ontario, Canada. virology.ws/2025/12/11/t...

11.12.2025 17:51 β€” πŸ‘ 44    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 6
Trial By Error: Some Things I've Read Recently--Aboriginals and Long COVID, Tips for Disability Claims, Profile of Ron Davis | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH Failure to address Long COVID in Australian Aboriginal communities Croakey Health Media is a small but feisty Australian news outlet t ...

Some things I've read recently: Australian aboriginals and Long COVID, Medscape on LC and ME/CFS disability claims, Stanford Medicine magazine profile of Ron Davis @croakeynews.bsky.social @melissasweetdr.bsky.social @janetdafoe.bsky.social
virology.ws/2025/12/05/t...

05.12.2025 21:21 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Trial By Error: JAMA Touts Long COVID Exercise Trial with Clinically Insignificant Results; Most LC Exercise Trials Ignore PEM, Per Sick Times | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH In its current β€œMedical News in Brief” section, JAMA is touting and amplifying the questionable claims of a flawed trial to treat or p ...

In recent @jamanetworkopen.com exercise study with clinically insiginficant findings, all participants scored way below healthy adults--a major fact overlooked by the paper. Also, @thesicktimes.org reports on exercise trials. virology.ws/2025/11/25/t...

26.11.2025 07:33 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Trial By Error: Another Exercise Trial with Clinically Insignificant Findings | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH A recent study from JAMA Network Open, called β€œResistance Exercise Therapy After COVID-19 Infection: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” dem ...

Why do these people keep promoting exercise studies with reported benefits that do not reach the threshold for clinical significance? Here's another one of these, from @jamanetworkopen.com: virology.ws/2025/11/21/t...

23.11.2025 20:20 β€” πŸ‘ 42    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025 Help UC Berkeley raise $68,000 for the project: David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025. Your gift will make a difference!

Someone asked me yesterday if they could still donate to the crowdfunder even though it technically ended Friday night and they missed the deadline. Yes! Berkeley has left the link open until midnight tonight, California time, for just this reason.
crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/47768

09.11.2025 15:08 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, it's excellent! I've just seen it. Thanks to @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social for applying his usual care in highlighting @bmhughes.bsky.social's key points!!!

08.11.2025 21:42 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025 Help UC Berkeley raise $68,000 for the project: David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025. Your gift will make a difference!

Berkeley's crowdfunding campaign for Trial By Error, which investigates problematic psycho-behavioral research involving ME, ME/CFS, Long COVID, etc., has reached 98% of the goal, with one day remaining:
crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/47768

07.11.2025 16:50 β€” πŸ‘ 39    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks for flagging it @drfionac.bsky.social. For those interested, Berkeley's crowdfunding campaign for Trial By Error has reached 98% of the goal, with 500+ donations and one day remaining. crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/47768

07.11.2025 16:48 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025 Help UC Berkeley raise $68,000 for the project: David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025. Your gift will make a difference!

With several days left to go, the current Berkeley crowdfunder for Trial By Error has received 400 donations! The support is greatly appreciated!!
crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/47768

03.11.2025 20:33 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025 Help UC Berkeley raise $68,000 for the project: David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025. Your gift will make a difference!

For the first time, Berkeley's Trial By Error crowdfunding campaign has reached 50% of the goal right at the 15-day half-way point. Most times, it's at about a third at this point. If you'd like to donate, here's the link:
crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/47768

23.10.2025 10:45 β€” πŸ‘ 29    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025 Help UC Berkeley raise $68,000 for the project: David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025. Your gift will make a difference!

For several years, I have spent my time busting terrible and even fraudulent research into ME, ME/CFS, Long COVID, etc. If this crowdfunding works out, I will do one more in the spring and then retire from Berkeley. If you'd like to support my work, here's how: crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/47768

22.10.2025 10:20 β€” πŸ‘ 65    πŸ” 48    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Trial By Error: Dutch Paper on Medical Abuse of Kids Ignores NICE Guidance on ME/CFS-Related Safeguarding Issues | Virology Blog By David Tuller, DrPH This is a crowdfunding month for UC Berkekely and Trial By Error. If you’d like to support my work, here’s the link: https://crowdfund ...

Dutch Paper on Medical Abuse of Kids Ignores NICE Guidance on ME/CFS-Related Safeguarding Issues
virology.ws/2025/10/20/t...

20.10.2025 15:49 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks! Sorry! I wish I had control over the portal and it accepted paypal and other forms of payment. I have repeatedly asked about this. Berkeley uses a vendor's platform and for some reason they don't do that. It's a pain in the butt.

16.10.2025 16:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0