August 01, 2004

I developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at the age of 27. I was an entrepreneur running my own business, with 20 employees and all the accompanying responsibilities. Rather than responding to the signals my body was sending me, I continued to push, forcing my way through the fatigue in order to continue working. Eventually I became so ill that I was unable to get out of bed.

Over the next 12 years, I had a series of relapses (one every 1 to 3 years typically). Each relapse left me more debilitated than the last. Most of the relapses were caused by remedies that were supposed to help--in most cases natural supplements or herbs. During the last decade plus of my illness, I was so debilitated that I could not listen to radio, TV, or voices for more than a minute. I could not speak more than a few sentences. I had such severe orthostatic intolerance that I could not sit up for more than a minute or two. Because of the bad experiences I’d had with "cures," I felt that I was one of those people for whom nothing would help.

Three years ago, I read about a physician who believed that CFS was the result of an over-reactive nervous system. That was very consistent with my own experience. I was over-reactive to sounds, smells, emotional stressors, etc. The physician, Dr. Jay Goldstein, was treating CFS with meds that reduce the reactivity of the nervous system.

Prior to coming down with CFS, I was a firm believer in holistic medicine and skeptical of the western allopathic approach. I was willing to take the occasional antibiotic to treat an infection, but I didn't believe drugs could help my CFS. For over a decade I pursued natural therapies including acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, cranio-sacro therapy, shiatsu, Reikki, homeopathy, reflexology, ayurvedic medicine, various herbal therapies (Chinese, western, etc), various diets, and vitamins and supplements too numerous to list. I worked with at least a score of practitioners. Most of these people were very talented and had helpful insights into my illness, but none was able to have any noticeable impact on my condition--although several of the herbs and supplements caused severe relapses. Now, after 12 years of deteriorating health, I decided to give Dr. Goldstein’s drug-based protocol a try.

Dr. Goldstein’s protocol involves trial and error testing of literally dozens of drugs.
Ironically, alternative medicine played a key role in the success of my drug therapy. While I was testing various meds and combinations of meds, I worked with a holistic therapist who helped me select the drugs. Although she turned out to be unable to tell beforehand if a med would be beneficial or harmful, she was always able to tell this once I started taking it. Without her, I might not have chosen the right meds.

I eventually settled on a combination of four prescription drugs, Baclofen, Mirapex, Chlorzoxazon, and Guaifenesin. I took these meds for about two years, during which time my CFS gradually went away. I returned to work and was able to resume an active life. I spent another 6 months gradually phasing out the drugs, and have now been off them completely for about 6 months. The moral of this story is don't give up. Medicine is advancing rapidly. There is a solution out there for you, or there will be one at some time in the near future.

Dr. Goldstein is no longer practicing medicine, but several of his books are available at Amazon.com:

1. Betrayal by the Brain (his first book)
2. A Companion Volume to Dr. Jay A. Goldstein's Betrayal by the Brain: A Guide for Patients and Their Physicians by Katie Courmel and Jay A. Goldstein (Paperback) This is a plain English translation of the above.
3. Tuning the Brain: Principles and Practice of Neurosomatic Medicine by Jay A. Goldstein published by Haworth Press.

If you need to contact me, you may e-mail me mattsimonmx@juno.com

Matthew Simon

Posted by hdiaries at 06:34 AM | Comments (0)