May 12th is National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

Fibromyalgia (FM), which affects more than 12 million Americans, is a musculoskeletal syndrome characterized by widespread pain, tender points, incapacitating fatigue, anxiety, depression, migraines/chronic headaches, fibro fog (inability to concentrate/focus) and a myriad of other seemingly disconnected symptoms.�

"Fibromyalgia is a devastating condition that robs you of your life,"�said board-certified internist Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, renowned chronic pain and Fibromyalgia expert and bestselling author of "The Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Solution" (Avery Penguin). "Imagine a toothache that spreads through your whole body and lasts for 20 years. That's what it feels like living with Fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, most physicians are absolutely clueless about pain management, and treatment of Fibromyalgia is no exception." �

Among Dr. Teitelbaum's goals is to raise awareness about this routinely misdiagnosed, misunderstood and under-funded condition.�He has dedicated his 30+ year career to finding effective treatment for Fibromyalgia and its equally disabling cousin Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Dr. Teitelbaum sees hundreds of patients a year and travels nationwide and internationally to educate the public and fellow health care professionals about therapies that work.

His SHINE protocol, a five-step integrative approach to restoring and optimizing energy, has been successfully used to treat patients with fibromyalgia. SHINE was originally published as a peer-reviewed, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Steps to SHINE

SLEEP: When you have fibromyalgia, getting enough sleep can be difficult. Even though you feel exhausted, insomnia is commonplace and is aggravated by pain and stiffness in the body. Nonetheless, sleep is crucial for this energy-depleting condition, and you should be getting between eight and nine hours per night.

HORMONES: Checking your hormone levels and getting on a thyroid medication can help improve your symptoms. Most patients with fibromyalgia also suffer from hormone deficiencies.

INFECTIONS: Get treatment when symptoms of infections occur. The lack of restorative sleep in CFS/FM can lead to a dysfunctional immune system. Underlying viral, bacterial, bowel, sinus and yeast infections are common and can be a chronic feature of CFS/FM.

NUTRITION: You need to be sure you're getting optimal nutrition, especially because the entire nervous system is depleted and under duress. Taking a vitamin powder can help you get the right amount of vitamins and minerals without having to swallow handfuls of pills.

EXERCISE: If you're able to exercise, you should be doing just that. Even walking for 30 minutes a day can help to ease symptoms and strengthen body and mind.

Support for Dr. Teitelbaum's work has appeared in the Journal of the American Academy of Pain Management (April 2002), the major multidisciplinary medical society for pain management in the United States. One editorial noted that "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."�