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, so it was a complete honor to hear him speak at the conference this past weekend.  He has 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 the vitamins, minerals, and herbs he recommends.  These 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. 

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.  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 who blended 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. 

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 experts opinion is that a stressful event is typically associated with FM and chronic fatigue onset, and Dr. Young has prepared an interesting presentation about stress in childhood and chronic illness and chronic pain.)  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 indicated 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 (as does Lumigrate's Scott Rollins, MD). 

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 'The Energy Revitalization System' products, 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.

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.