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. {Mardy's note: F&FC closed and morphed into a different business, and that freed up some time for him and I saw he now sees patients 'remotely' from his home office in Hawaii, and he has an assistant of some sort who also works with the patients/clients coming his way; the prices were reasonable and he does not require a face-to-face visit the first time as some other experts in this field, like Marc Spurlock, MD, our 'resident expert' at Lumigrate, does.}

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 gain from any revenues from the sale of the products, I believe I have seen that the proceeds go to a nonprofit.  They are powders, which certainly has an appeal for those of us who are 'over' taking all the pills we end up taking, or who have swallowing issues.  He said you can take much less than the recommended dose of the "Revitalizing Forumula" -- he takes 3/4 of a tablespoon per day as a 'maintenance dose'. 

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 incorporated it into 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 he cares about people with CFS/FM/exhaustion, and we have a great deal to learn from him. Patient/consumers and providers alike. 

The highlights (and this was a SHORT presentation, so this is just my offering of notes from what he said, which included he can talk all day about it so to do 45 minutes is the 'real basics'): 

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 current 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 in adulthood; we hope to provide that in the future.) 

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" to be 'fought' -- 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. See the information below about his websites and books, etc. 

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. {Mardy's note: I have seen this to occur with many people I work with and experienced it myself. All your energies go into maintaing the 'necessities' of life -- work, house keeping, food preparation, and when you're exhausted, you want to rest and then this becomes a 'catch 22'. Family and friends or associates often get thrown off by someone who is making it a priority to DO things that bring them enjoyment but then "don't do other things they don't want to do". It makes them question if the person has the condition or if they're sandbagging to get out of obligations. Naturally, that can be the case but I've found it to usually be quite the opposite. They are merely putting their energies where it best helps them and not where it drains them further.}

There are equal numbers with 'sudden onset' versus 'gradual onset'.  Sudden onset indicates infection, injury, toxic exposure, exposure to a 'bug', pregnancy.  Gradual indicated hormone deficiencies, 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". In my opinion, consumers/patients being well-educated about this aspect is critical, as the majority of physicians in the US (and beyond) have become reliant on having 'objective' data tell them things and they tend to rely less the their other skills. Think of how many people and information they are taking in.  And YOU, as our You Model at Lumigrate shows, benefit from finding a team around you that TOGETHER can help you move forward.  

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, as opposed to the newer Lyrica).  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 print with your doctor's name on it (which you provide) explaining, per Dr Teitelbaum, what you likely have and some suggestions for him or her to team up with you about doing, that will require their input/prescribing. Other things in the other printout are for you to act upon or not on your own.  

Hormones -- He's a proponent of Armour thyroid (thyroid is a hormone). We have much in the Forums at Lumigrate from our 'team of experts' on thyroid -- Gary King, RPh of ITC Pharmacy, Marc Spurlock, MD of Renewed Vitality, and Jim Kennedy, DDS (holistic, cranial specialist) who is a Grand Junction provider, very knowledgeable about the endocrine system as it 'starts' in your head with the pituitary/master gland.  

Adrenalin is another hormone, and 'adrenal fatigue' can be tested with morning cortisol levels or as with thyroid, and a good picture can be made with "symptom analysis", so again, utilize Dr T's tools at his website about that (one is free, the other is more comprehensive and is about $100; the free one is extremely in-depth, I'd definitely start there, and he said to too!  

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 if you want to learn more about that, look for my review of the book "Adrenal Fatigue" at the Lumigrate Bookshelf.  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 Marc Spurlock, 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' or otherwise manufactured 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 pain relievers 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 d-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. Doing too much drains your energy, you're wanting to find the just-right amount that day to inspire things but not deplete. MONITOR how strong you're feeling and stop or turn around erring on the side of too little than overdoing it, has always been my recommendation to people I am working with individually. 

I've dusted off his book and I can't more highly recommend it... 'From Fatigued to Fantastic' and his website: www.vitality101.com [1].  {Mardy's Note: He came out with another best seller in 2010, "Beat Sugar Addiction Now!" that I recommend to ALL people looking to improve their wellness level, unless of course, they're already a guru on progressive nutritional concepts that understand the many types of sugar's and their effects on the body. One of the pharmacies Dr T recommends in that book is ITC Compounding and Natural Wellness Pharmacy in Castle Rock, Coloraodo, which agreed in 2010 to provide content to Lumigrate, when they had extra time to devote. They used to stock a few books, Dr. Ts being among them. However, the one time I needed a quantity of them, they were sold out so apparently I'm not the only one wanting them, and I purchased copies at the local health food store and bookstore. Again, Lumigrate's Bookshelf has my reviews of the books I think might be GRATE books for YOU to have on YOUR shelf, so check that out here as well. 

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

Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! ~~ Mardy