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I had for the previous 18 months visited my GP on a weekly basis. I had been racked with pain, lost my ability to think and formulate adequate conversations and undergone some dire clinical tests. My symptoms were treated with disbelief and all I had been offered were anti-depressants “ that might ”help.
Raymond spent over an hour talking to me and physically examining me, after which he confirmed that I was ill and named the illness, M.E “Hurray” it was such a relief to find someone who understood completely my medical condition and could treat me.
I attended Raymond’s clinic regularly where the treatment was administered with kindness and understanding.
We did our share at home, my husband having been taught the massage and exercise regime, and gradually I improved. My life was returning to normal and I could even plan an evening out.
There are no words to describe how grateful I am to Raymond and his dedication in searching for the truth in respect of M.E. Rita Williams
In support of the Perrin Technique.
When Judith was diagnosed with ME/CFS 10 years ago, she was told she would be cured in two years time. When she wasn't, the specialist said if she was not better after eight years she would have ME/CFS for life. We went to Dr. Raymond Perrin ‘beyond hope’ as it were, but willing to try anything to get well.
We have found the Perrin Technique: regular massage and exercise, healthy diet and supplements, to be the key towards success. Here was the first actual treatment we had come across. Specialists and doctors only treated the symptoms – nausea, pain, etc – despite the help they provided, their side-effects often caused as many problems with the drugs they used – Tramadol producing ‘brain fog’ and amitryptilyne more fatigue for instance. Reducing these prescribed drugs became a priority.
Judith had gone through the ‘Exercise for Life’ programme at the hospital that many have refused because it seemed too strenuous. But it kick-started her body back into life, if rather painfully at first. This was followed up by a physiotherapy programme at our local hospital. At the end of this she was recommended to perform regular stretching exercises, such as those offered by a yoga class. This led us to begin attending the class held by our ME support group and found it to be very helpful. We had many supplements, recommended by doctors and specialists, other sufferers, magazines and books. We ate healthily. Judith’s husband had trained in body massage with the idea of promoting health in Judith by giving her a daily treatment but we never got ourselves into a routine of doing this regularly.
Then we went to Dr. Raymond Perrin and recognised the simple truth of his technique – after a sceptical appraisal of what was involved, which was typical of our approach as we looked at the many ‘treatments’ we had tried and rejected over the years. Because of Massage training, we could see the value of consistent lymphatic drainage, which Judith now had each day. We also applied Alexander Technique to the spine and Tai Chi tapping to the thoracic duct that Dr. Perrin had identified as the main drainage area.
Judith’s typical day has now been extended as she has required shorter periods of rest and has managed to get up earlier. Judith has undergone 12 months of sessions so far. She is not yet cured, still undergoing treatment and we suspect she will always have a weakness to fatigue, but we have a life together now instead of living with an invalid who could do little for herself.
Looking back we can see that we were on the right lines with treatment, but Dr Perrin gave us a structure to work with, supervision and the impetus and encouragement to apply the treatment and self-manage the improved health. He gave us the framework for daily massages with increasing exercises, working with his vast experience of similar cases and pointing in the right direction for supplements, that we needed. Before this we had not seen much improvement in Judith’s condition because we were not pro-active enough without Dr Perrin’s support, based on his years of scientific research enabling him to give expert information.
We must say we could not have afforded this Technique without the support of a relative. It should be part of the NHS, it would save a vast sum of public money on medication and diagnosis and folk would actually get better and have more of their life back, optimising health to live better within their limitations.
I started seeing Ray Perrin in 2000 after six years of suffering with ME. When I started treatment with Ray I was virtually house bound and could only walk a few meters and in constant pain all the time. I am now holding down a full time job and went skiing for the second time last Christmas! When I started treatment with Ray, his was the main source of treatment I was receiving and has significantly helped me towards recovery.
Shipra KahnI first heard of Dr Perrin some 8 years ago through a friend of mine who explained that Dr Perrin was carrying out research into ME, which I had been diagnosed as suffering from back in the early 90s.
I had been struggling with a whole range of symptoms for many years and my life was on hold. Dr Perrin initially carried out an examination on me and was honest enough to tell me that given my age which was 52 and other problems he was not sure how much he would be able to help me.
At first as Dr Perrin had explained I found the treatment painful and difficult because my symptoms appeared to get worse, but slowly the pain decreased as did many of the other problems such as the stomach problems I had had and I found that I slowly had more energy than for many years.
Over a period of time Dr Perrin continued to treat me and my need for his treatment lessened so I saw him less frequently although I still see him to maintain the quality of my life and to keep my body in the best possible shape, but this is more to do with the arthritis in my neck and spine now
Over the time I have known Dr Perrin he has always explained what the treatment has been and why which has led to a great deal of trust in his treatment of my ME. He could of insisted on me and other patients only coming to him for treatment, but because of his awareness he has helped me and others to do massage ourselves to supplement his treatment, reducing the need for visits, plus I am aware that he is not keeping his knowledge to himself rather he is sharing it with other professionals in the hope that more people will receive treatment for this terribly debilitating condition.
Jeff GlasserI was diagnosed with M.E in February 2004 whilst in my first year of uni. Through the treatment which I received, my symptoms improved and I graduated last June with a first class degree and am now working full-time. Without this treatment, this would not have been possible. I can now lead a normal, active life. I am very grateful to Dr Perrin and would urge anyone to try this treatment.
Nicola OpenshawBLOCKED DRAINS!
My Recovery and The Perrin Technique
I had suffered from M.E. for 21 years. Prior to its onset I had a successful job and was living in New York. I ended up back home with my parents looking after me, no job and no life.
Years later, married with three children, (in addition to two from a previous marriage) I embarked on yet another ‘treatment’ I hoped would be the answer. By this time I was pretty sceptical as I had tried many ‘treatments’ over the years both medical and alternative, to no avail. I had struggled to bring up a family against all the odds but with very little in the way of quality of life for me. Virtually every day was a struggle, the life force had gone out of me and I forged on as best as I could (with a lot of help from my husband and friends) for the sake of the children. They had never known what it was like to have a healthy and reliably well mum and often understandably, resented it. They weren’t the only ones. Things were also getting worse, as my immune system struggled more and more I developed bouts of pneumonia which proved very difficult to get rid of.
That’s when about a year ago, I went to see Dr Perrin. My husband came with me and we were both impressed by his frank and down to earth manner (no sales pitch here). He explained clearly his findings and the treatment. He then examined me and physically diagnosed M.E. This was the first time I had had a physical diagnosis. There were physical things on examining me that led to a diagnosis of M.E. and M.E. only. I think this is important. Here was a physical diagnosis rather than a symptom led one.
He then gave us a rating for my M.E., I had a severe one and badly blocked lymphatics (or drains!) and told us he believed he could help but that it would take time. He was right. After my first treatment, I relapsed badly, lost my speech and was physically so weak that I needed a lot of help to get back in the car. So began a regular pattern of my husband driving me to Bushey, having the treatment and him driving me back. I wasn’t much use after the treatment and as time went on I began to wonder if it was having any effect. In between seeing Dr Perrin I would see Laurent Heib (another practitioner trained by Dr Perrin) in Portsmouth and my husband would have to massage my lymphatics every day (as this was largely around the breast area this proved a real hardship for him!). This could be done oneself but it is better with a partners help particularly as they have more strength. There were other supporting aspects to the treatment but the massage is the most important.
Gradually, despite my cynicism, I started to improve. Last September I felt sufficiently well enough to embark on a full-time HND course in Garden Design. This would have been unthinkable before. As my workload at college increased, it was a real struggle to stay on top of things but despite this I have not relapsed and only experienced the same tiredness as every one else on the course. Keeping up with the treatment I am convinced has helped me to keep going. Probably if I had been content to take things easier for longer my recovery may have been quicker, but it was never going to be easy with three children to look after and I needed the psychological boost. Family and friends around me thought it was a miracle I was able to keep going as if ever I had tried things before I always ended up relapsing. A friend told me recently in all the years she had known me, she had never known me not be in bed for at least one or two days a week. I have not been to bed through illness since September.
One of the things I began to notice after a few months of the treatment was the disappearance in the pain in my breasts. This may sound odd, but I thought it hurt all women to lie on their breasts. It was only after it stopped being an issue I asked friends who assured me this was not something they experienced. Also the front of my neck was a lot less lumpy and tender. There were many things that I had grown accustomed to that were not normal and began to disappear. My concentration (I had also been taking the VegEPA recommended by Professor Puri) was remarkably improved. I couldn’t write a sentence without difficulty before and here I was writing dissertations!
JM.I originally met with Raymond Perrin in 1998 after suffering from M.E. for about two and a half years. Until this point I had already tried other forms of both conventional and alternative treatments for M.E. to no avail. I was at this stage twenty-six years old, and had been unable to work at all since the onset of the illness. I suffered from severe episodes of being so weak that I could literally barely move. Sometimes I would sit on a chair and would fall off it, my body being too weak to hold me up.
I think that most importantly the Perrin technique gave me hope. Although progress was slow, there was definite progress. I learnt much better how to pace myself and became more attuned to the ups and downs of the illness. Within a few months of starting the treatment I was able to return home to Israel where I live and start working part-time, something that had eluded me for three years.
Eight years on, I am still not cured and continue treatment approximately once every two months. There are of course ups and downs, but in general there are far more ups, I am able to maintain part time work, and the downs are much less debilitating than in the past. I would recommend the treatment plan to anyone with M.E. It is a comprehensive treatment of this often difficult and little understood illness.
A.C., IsraelIt is no exaggeration to say that Raymond Perrin gave me back my life!.Thanks to him I am able to enjoy my daughter growing up and I have managed to keep my job.He deserves more recognition for the wonderful work he does.
Colette Hopkins "My name is Lizzie Jolley, I am 28 and I was diagnosed to have M.E./CFS in November 2002 whilst doing an MSc in Environmental Law at Nottingham University.
I was quite obviously devastated but not surprised that something was wrong, as I had been feeling tired and lethargic for quite sometime and found it increasingly difficult to take in any of the information I was learning on my course. I was lucky in that I caught it fairly early, in that I wasn't bed ridden like many people are and through a friend from home I found out about Dr. Raymond Perrin's clinic and how he had helped her recover. I was lucky in that my mother drove me from Nottingham to Manchester for my first consultation and Dr. Perrin examined me and explained his technique and theory, one which I totally understood, maybe because I am a biologist but it all made sense! So I started treatment, visiting once a week for 9 months initially over which I saw an amazing difference. The treatments always initially tired me out but they really helped. I was told that I would never pass my masters but I continued and with the treatment I passed and even went on to start a Ph.D. at the National Oceanography Centre at the University of Southampton in September 2003. Due to the distance from the clinic I stopped having regular treatment and visited on a couple of occasions when I was having a relapse. Four years on and I am now in the last stages of my Ph.D., looking for a job as a Marine Biologist and am now preparing myself for a 1/2 marathon in May and the 3-Peaks Challenge in June, as well as doing many sports like diving and climbing. I could not have got as far as I have, had I not been to see Dr. Perrin; his technique makes complete sense and has helped me change my lifestyle to a healthy one. I have and will continue to recommend his technique to anyone that is unlucky to suffer from M.E./CFS and also that more osteopaths train in this technique to give sufferers the help that they so need."
