End Fatigue

Treatment Helps Sooth Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia

Study: Approach Works For 90 Percent Of Patients

POSTED: 3:10 pm PST November 5, 2004, UPDATED: 2:43 pm PST November 6, 2004

SAN DIEGO -- Anne Francis enjoys her daily walks with her dog, O'Shea -- something she could not do a year ago. "Life was not worth living. If I had not had pets, I can honestly say that I would not be here," Francis said. Francis had battled pain, fatigue and frustration for nearly 10 years.

"It was like a fog had descended -- a fog in which I was literally living like a vegetable in pain," Francis said. Francis has chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia -- two conditions Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum said are hard to overcome. "It devastates them. Picture having the average 32-pound weight gain, total exhaustion, brain fog with no energy, widespread pain, and you basically feel miserable," said Teitelbaum. To offer relief, he targets four areas. First, he has patients maximize sleep by sleeping eight hours a night. Then, he corrects thyroid, estrogen or testosterone deficiencies.

"Any of these hormones can, when they are deficient, cause fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome," Teitelbaum said. Next, he healed the infections -- sinusitis and yeast infections are most common. Finally, a patient must get a good mix of nutritional supplements. "When you treat all four of those, people get well. The fuse goes. The circuit breaker comes back on, and they feel well," Teitelbaum said. A recent study showed the approach works for more than 90 percent of sufferers. Francis now takes a page full of supplements every day and has her hormones and infections under control. "I look forward to each day. I know that I am getting better," Francis said. She said it has paid off to finally live where pain is not at the top of her list. There are dozens of nutritional deficiencies that people can suffer from. For more information on this therapy, visit www.vitality101.com.