Jacob Teitelbaum, MD Has Come 'From Fatigued to Fantastic'

"Feed me now or I'll kill you!" got a round of laughter from the crowd listening to Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, or 'Dr. T'. It certainly hit home for me.  He broke things down in a very entertaining way, to the "SHINE Protocol" -- sleep, hormones, infections, nutrition, exercise.

For as long as I can remember I've been studying and incorporating what I learned in the books of Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum. My doctors who have helped me past and present have been learning from his work as well, typically because I or another patient have brought them the book or recommended it, so it was a complete honor to hear him speak at the conference this past weekend. (Mardy's note: this is a blog I wrote in July 2009, transferred here due to Dr T being tops in the field of FMS and fatigue and my wanting to have people learn about him, be reminded about him, certainly follow the link to his website if interested).

He has, at this time, helped 3,000 patients directly and now is focusing on physician training, and in large numbers:  4,000 physicians in Indonesia and 400 in Virginia was his immediate schedule! He is the medical director for Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers as well.   I found my 2001 edition of his book (the first came out in the mid '90s), when he had developed products to simplify the purchase and consumption of quality forms of the vitamins, minerals, and herbs he recommends.  It is now in it's 3rd edition but I tend to not rebuy music from LP to CD any more than I buy a new edition of a book, as I now refer to website information, in this case endfatigue.com. (link provided, below)

The products are available at his website and in health food stores and he specified in his presentation on Sunday that he does not get any revenues from the sale of the products.  They are powders which certainly has an appeal for those of us who are 'over' taking all the pills we end up taking.  He said you can take much less than the recommended dose of the "Revitalizing Forumula" -- he takes 3/4 of a tablespoon per day. <Mardy's note: I have since heard him speak in 2010 on television and say the proceeds are donated to a fibromyalgia-related cause, so if this is a meaningful detail to you, please check out and if you find anything out, please let me know so I can have more answers, as I am always concerned about ethics. I'm finding that, in general, the public is so scrutinous about money 'dealings' that it makes it tricky to navigate doing business: "You're damned if you do and damned if you don't" so to speak.

Example: It would have been so 'easy' to support providers on Lumigrate who are good and ask them to support me financially BUT as soon as that exchange happens, people start wondering if Lumigrate and I are being 'coerced' by the money. So it's presented complexities for me which I did not forsee initially with Lumigrate but I created this website to help me and 'the people' connect to quality, progressive information, so I'm sticking with what 'works' for the people we serve.  I know Dr Mercola has said he had the same dilemma, of putting money out to start a website to get the information out there he wanted people to have, and had to recoup costs somehow so started selling supplements, then came under fire for that.  So I would imagine this has been an evolution for Dr Teitelbaum and I honestly was 'green' in this Internet/alternative information industry when we met and I'm hoping to get to whatever the shade is after green soon and without too many scars along the way!

Dr. Teitelbaum speaks from experience: his studies to become a medical doctor were disrupted by chronic fatigue which caused him to quit school and become homeless for a time.  Some of the people doing outreach were from the alternative medical community.  The silver lining to that cloud is that he learned from them and utilized their information to get well, and incorporates it in what he brings to us through his books and lectures to professionals.  He considered becoming a naturopathic doctor but decided to continue to become a medical doctor and blend in alternative medicine into his treatment protocols.  The acknowledgement in the front of his book appreciates the patients he has learned from, and it was clear in watching him linger after the event talking with people with the condition that we have a great deal to learn from him which is not in books from him yet, and that he is a sincere advocate for patients and committed to solving the education problem. He has the heart and soul of a teacher.  teachers and I, for one, admire people who have had the skills and put in the work to have profited from their efforts and abilities.  I have seen on Internet topics quite a lot of criticism and it stems from people being angry at their situation related to illness and the impact that has on their finances. My suggestion is that Lumigrate is not a place for that kind of thinking but to give people the opportunity to recognize the impact of "stinkin' thinkin'" on their well-being and outcomes, there is information in other forums.  Look for forums about the mind and mind/body connection. We also have professionals, such as life coaches, to work with that if you're wanting someone, or you might use someone in your geographical area, then please, come back and learn with enthusiams from the people who we cover and utilize at Lumigrate!  

The highlights (and this was a SHORT presentation, so this is just my offering of notes from what he said): 

Fibromyalgia is: When you're exhausted and you can't sleep and you have widespread pain. Why?  Your body is spending more energy than it can make.  (Like fuses that blow in electrical systems to keep the house from burning down.)  It's a disease of people pleasing, trying to get approval from someone who won't give it, which sets you up for not being able to say 'no'.  (Lumigrate's medical expert on video Christopher Lepisto ND states related to FMS his opinion that a stressful event is typically associated with FM and chronic fatigue onset. Dr. Young has prepared an interesting presentation about stress in childhood and chronic illness and chronic pain which we look forward to bringing to you soon -- please refer to the podcast area here at Lumigrate or find us at the iTunes store, it was episode 000, the first one where we introduce this.) 

The hypothalamus is a key in sleep and a cascade starts where things go awry.  It takes more energy to relax muscles than it does to tighten them, so the muscle belly gets tender points (not to be confused with trigger points).  Pain is not the enemy -- it is the body's way to say something is wrong.  The analogy he used is the oil light on a car: if the oil light goes off, is it the enemy?  If you treat the underlying causes of pain, pain goes away.  Well, that sounds simple enough, right?  Well, it's not, but if you have self discipline and can muster some energy to study or recruit a friend who can help you, Dr. Teitelbaum literally has thrown out a rope that you can pull yourself up from chronic illness to chronic wellness.

Depression: Ask yourself the question 'Do I have many interests?'  If you answer 'no', this indicates depression.  'Yes, but I don't have the energy for them' is more what someone with FM will answer. 

There are equal numbers with 'sudden onset' versus 'gradual onset'.  Sudden onset indicates infection, injury, toxic exposure, pregnancy.  Gradual indicates hormone deviciencies, including hypothyoridism. 

When it comes to labwork, think about 'how they determine what 'normal' is'.   Statistically, they take a bunch of numbers and find the mass, go two 'standard deviations' out.  But that doesn't mean the lab # is normal for you.  He had a great analogy: Imagine you take 100 people and their shoe sizes are 4 to 13.  So the 'normal range' is established, but he is given a pair of size 6 shoes -- except he wears a 12.  The shoes don't fit, but he's told 'but it's in the normal range". 

SHINE Protocol:

Sleep -- Get 8 hours of sleep.  He has lists of the medications he recommends for FM on his website (link below), but he had an important highlight: the cheaper medications are his preference (Neurontin, for example).  The symptom analyzer on his website is an excellent FREE tool which gives you customized feedback based on your symptoms -- things you can do on your own and then a letter to your doctor explaining what you likely have and some suggestions for him or her to team up with you about.  

Hormones -- He's a proponent of Armour thyroid (thyroid is a hormone).  Lumigrate's video "Hypothyroidism: Misunderstood, Misdiagnosed .... Missed!" provides an hour about thyroid so you can be effective in asking your health advisors how to help you with it because it is so underdiagnosed (and we've made these seminars appropriate for the providers to watch as well as the public, so share with them if you need!).  Adrenalin is another hormone, and 'adrenal fatigue' can be tested with morning cortisol levels or as with thyroid, a good picture can be made with symptom analysis.  Doctors don't typically diagnose this disorder because there isn't a code for anything with adrenal problems unless it's a very severe form which literally is life threatening, and I'll write about that another day.  If you get dizzy when you stand up or have that 'feed me now or I'll kill you' feeling, adrenal fatigue is a likely suspect.  Estrogen and progesterone are factors and he suggest the bioidentical form of supplementation. 

Infections and inflammation: Yeast in the gut that has overgrown is the cause of the immune system going awry and leading to chronic infections.  Probiotics, in the form of 'pearls' so they are not killed in the stomach are his suggestion, as well as good quality fish oil.  Studies have shown treatment with generous doses of fish oil to be 2x as effective as some NSAIDS at pain related to inflammation. 

Nutritional support: He made it simple: Eat a good diet and use supplementation. 'The Energy Revitalization System' products were at the top of his list, but in about 1/4 to 1/2 the serving recommended.  Taking ribose can increase energy 45% -- so perhaps reach for that instead of coffee when you're needing an energy boost!

Exercise: as able -- gentle stuff; walking, swimming. 

I've dusted off his book and I can't more highly recommend it... 'From Fatigued to Fantastic' and his website: www.vitality101.com.  His business card also has the website for Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers: www.fibroandfatigue.com.  <Mardy's Note: Spring 2012, I have heard F&FCs are no more, perhaps they sold to another group>.  I highly recommend a trip to www.endfatigue.com

I hope this has been a helpful overview for you and gets you going in the right direction. 

I'll be continuing to bring information to you from the conference as well as review other books which are appropriate as follow up, such as Adrenal Fatigue by James Wilson, ND, DC, PhD, which provides supportive information about adrenal fatigue.  Please find the Lumigrate Bookshelf forum for the GRATEst books I have found to be of benefit about health and wellness, including fibromyalgia.  

Remember, our providers learn from US as much as we learn from them; if you know of something your provider might benefit from, print something out or get their e-address and email them a link.  I've taken books to my providers in the past and they've gratefully accepted them and not only read them but incorporated the information into their practice, which benefits ALL their patients.  HEALTH CARE REFORM a la Lumigrate, I call it! Consider giving these things as 'thank you' presents, and if you can OR cannot afford to purchase books, asking your community library to purchase them is a way you can help your community's health; track down clinic and hospital resource personnel and let them know as well.  These are times for grassroots, people-directed solutions and community involvement and something YOU might be able to do from home which requires little energy but yeilds GRATE feelings of satisfaction and thereby impacts positively YOUR health and well-being as well.