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His bio:
Dr. Teitelbaum is the Director of The Annapolis Center For Effective CFS/Fibromyalgia (FMS) Therapies. He has had first hand knowledge of the challenges faced by patients with CFS/FMS. After coming down with CFS/FMS in medical school in 1975, Dr. Teitelbaum learned how to effectively treat it and has dedicated over 25 years of his career to treating and researching these devastating illnesses. His treatment protocol for CFS/FMS continues to evolve.
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The questions and answers will be archived on this page. We will be collecting questions and Dr. Teitelbaum will periodically take time from his busy schedule to answer them. We will post questions as the answers come in. We can not guarantee to answer all questions.
Ask a Short Question!
Email your question to: update@fm-cfs.ca - and place 'Q & A' in the subject line.
Your Question:
I have been living with FM for more than 7 years and about 3 years ago the symptoms got so bad that I was not able to go to work and barely look after myself. Over the last 3 years I have tried many different medications and treatments but have not had many long term improvements. I am currently using narcotics, Lyrica, to manage the pain and are going to massage and cranial secreal therapy on a regular basis as I have found they assist with coping. Do you have a outline of a specific protocol to follow to improve the quality of life when living with FM? Anything that may assist with improving would be greatly appreciated.
Dr. Teitelbaum's answer:
Actually, our placebo controlled published study and experience with over 3000 patients in my clinic and over 4000 patients at the fibromyalgia and fatigue centers (www.fibroandfatigue.com) throughout the US (they see patients from all over the world) shows that over 85% of CFS/FMS patients improve when you treat Sleep, hormonal deficiencies(despite normal labs) ,Infections ,and give nutritional support. THe full text of the study can be seen at www.Vitality101.com . Our recent study ,which was accepted for publication this week, showed an average 44% increase in energy in CFS /FMS patients simply by giving a special sugar called Ribose(CORvalen) 5 gm 2-3 x day. I had this illness in 1975 and it left me homeless for much of the year that I had to drop out of med school, so i know how devastating it is-and also that it is VERY treatable. Below is an article that will teach you what you need to get back on the road to recovery. My books "Pain Free 1-2-3!" (McGraw Hill 2006) and "From Fatigued To Fantastic''(Penguin 2001) will also give all the info needed.
Love and Best wishes
Jacob Teitelbaum MD
Effective Treatment For Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia and Muscle Pain
by Jacob Teitelbaum M.D.
Ready to Get Well?
Our study titled "Effective Treatment of CFS and Fibromyalgia"(Journal of CFS-see full text at www.JacobTeitelbaum.com) showed that over 90 percent of patients improved with treatment (p. 0001 vs. placebo), with an average improvement in quality of life of 90 percent. Many patients no longer even qualified for the diagnosis of CFS or fibromyalgia after treatment! In support of our work, an editorial in the Journal of the American Academy of Pain Management (the largest multidisciplinary society of pain specialists in United States) noted " the comprehensive and aggressive metabolic approach to treatment detailed in the Teitelbaum study are all highly successful approaches and make fibromyalgia a very treatment responsive disorder. The study by Dr. Teitelbaum et al. and years of clinical experience make this approach an excellent and powerfully effective part of the standard of practice for treatment of people who suffer from fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome”.
What is causing these syndromes?
CFS/FMS acts as a “circuit breaker”, with the hypothalamus decreasing its function to protect the individual in the face of what is perceived to be an overwhelming stress (just like blowing a fuse/circuit breaker in a house). This center controls sleep, hormones, temperature, and blood flow / blood pressure/sweating. In addition, if your muscles do not have enough energy, they will get stuck in the shortened position and you’ll be in pain (think rigor mortis). This “Energy Crisis” can be caused by any of a number of infections, stresses, or injuries.
Four main categories of problems need to be treated- Think “SHIN”!
These are the four key areas that need to be treated for your ‘circuit breaker to turn back on’ and for fatigue and pain to resolve:
1—Sleep. Because the hypothalamic “circuit breaker” that is offline controls sleep, most patients need a mix of natural and prescription sleep treatments. For you to get well and pain free it is critical that you take enough of the correct natural & prescription sleep treatments to get 8 to 9 hours sleep at night! I prefer to start with natural therapies. An excellent one (which I developed –‘Revitalizing Sleep Formula’ by Enzymatic Therapies -- 100 percent of my royalties for all products I develop are donated to charity) includes theanine, Jamaican Dogwood, wild lettuce, valerian, passionflower, and hops. Take 1-4 capsules 1 hour before bedtime.
2--Hormonal deficiencies. The hypothalamus is the main control center, via the pituitary, for most of the glands in the body. Most of the normal ranges for our blood tests were not developed in the context of hypothalamic suppression or these syndromes. Because of this (and for a number of other reasons) it is usually necessary to treat with natural thyroid, adrenal (e.g.-glandulars such as Adrenal Stress End & DHEA), and ovarian and testicular hormones -- despite normal blood tests! These hormones have been found to be reasonably safe when used in low doses.
3—Infections. Many studies have shown immune system dysfunction in FMS/CFS, which can result in many unusual infections. These include viral infections, parasites and other bowel infections. and most importantly fungal/Candida infections.
4--Nutritional supplementation. Widespread nutritional deficiencies are common, and require dozens of nutrients. As people are tired of being part of the “Handful Club” (taking handfuls of supplement tablets each day), I developed a product that contains 50 key nutrients in 1 capsule and ½-1 scoop of powder taken daily (as a good tasting drink). Called the “Energy Revitalization System” by Enzymatic Therapy, it replaces well over 35 supplement tablets with 1 drink.
Ribose (Corvalen)-An Exciting New Discovery!
Corvalen (D-Ribose by Valen Labs) is an outstanding new nutrient (a special sugar-even OK for those who need to avoid sugar!) for those of you who want a powerful energy boost! In addition to its role in making DNA and RNA, those of you familiar with biochemistry remember Ribose as the key building block for making energy. In fact, the main energy molecules (like “Energy dollars”) in your body (ATP, FADH, etc.) are made of ribose plus B vitamins/phosphate. That makes these energy molecules similar to the paper that money is printed on- kind of like being able to print your own energy currency!
Corvalen has many uses, including treating heart muscle weakness (Congestive Heart Failure). We were so impressed with this product that our research center recently completed a study reported on in the national news services. Two thirds of CFS/Fibromyalgia patients improved, with an average increase in quality of life of ~25%- outstanding for a single nutrient! Take 1 scoop 3 times a day for 2 weeks, then decrease to a scoop twice a day, but lower the dose if you get hyper from being too energized. The use of Ribose (Corvalen) is a major step forward in treating fatigue with the average CFS/FMS patient in the study having a 43% improvement in energy after 2-3 weeks. In our study, pain, sleep, and “brain fog’ also improved.
There are many other treatments available as well. They can also be seen at my web site (www.Vitality101.com) which contains a treatment protocol with over 270 effective therapies and detailed instructions for use. Treatments are broken down by category (e.g.-sleep, yeast treatments, pain, etc) with natural alternatives offered for all prescriptions. Many of the needed treatments can also be found there. In addition, there is an exciting new development. The Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers (see www.FibroAndFatigue.com ) has opened up a chain of clinics throughout the US that see patients from all over the world. Begun by a wonderful businessman, Bob Baurys who had CFS and recovered using this protocol, he began FFC to make effective treatment available to everyone. This was after he experienced the same abusive ignorance that most CFS patients suffer through in our current healthcare system. I was so impressed by this group, that I agreed to become their Medical Director-and can assure you that they give outstanding, knowledgeable, and compassionate care.
At this time, you now have all the tools you need to get well! We wish you all of God’s blessings and our best wishes in your healing!
Your Question:
Hello, I would be very interested to know if adenosylcobalamin sufficiency (not methylcobalamin or total serum cobalamin) has been checked with measurements of serum methylmalonic acid concentrations in cfs patients. Alternatively, has intramitochondrial succinyl-coenzyme A sufficiency
been investigated?
Dr. Teitelbaum's answer:
I have seen no studies on these. Ribose and Acetyl-L-Carnitine and likely coenzyme Q 10 deficiencies appear to play a role in mitochondrial dysfunction and treating with these has been helpful. Our recent study using D-Ribose 5 grams 2 x day in CFS/FMS showed an average 45% increase in energy and this study was accepted for publication this week. We have also just began a placebo controlled study on Ribose. B vitamins also likely are very helpful for mitochondrial function as is magnesium.
For more info, see the chapter on mitochondrial dysfunction in my book From Fatigued To Fantastic! and also the newsletter I wrote on the topic.
Love and Best Wishes
Your Question:
Good day doctor. I have been diagnosed with CFS. I have undergone various attempts at treatment including Ritalin, narcolepsy medication, (Alertec), as well as a combination of these two, and am now trying Dexedrine. My question is this, why do I seem to achieve short term success, (one or two days of partial normalcy), and then the effectiveness of these medications drops off to a very minimal level? Is this some form of placebo effect, or do these treatments actually work in others for longer periods?
Dr. Teitelbaum's answer:
They usually work for long periods. It is not uncommon, however, for many treatments to do this as you treat one problem and get 1 system working, but this stresses other systems and you then crash again. This is why I recommend treating the whole process at once. This can be done at my clinic (410-266-6958) or at the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers nationwide (www.fibroandfatigue.com )
Love and BW
Jacob Teitelbaum MD
