
Dr. Teitelbaum is a board certified internist and Medical Director of the national Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers, Inc. He is the author of the perennial best-seller From
Fatigued to Fantastic! which has sold over 500,000 copies. The 3rd revised edition from Avery/Penguin Group USA publishes on October 4, 2007. In
Pain Free 1-2-3 (McGraw-Hill, April 2006), Dr. Teitelbaum outlines a step-by-step program that can help anyone identify the source of pain and understand how to alleviate it.
Three Steps to Happiness: Healing Through Joy (Deva Press 2003), provides a blueprint for creating and maintaining a natural state of happiness and vitality at any time.
He is the lead author of groundbreaking “gold standard” research on effective treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, which was published in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, volume 8, number 2 in 2001. Up to 24 million Americans are chronically fatigued. And as many as 12 - 13 million are diagnosed with either Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and/or Fibromyalgia. Dr. Teitelbaum shared his tips and resources to address our nation's personal energy crisis and allow us to leave the vibrant lives we deserve.
You can listen in streaming on-demand at this link. Warning: a heckler joins for about 10 seconds, screaming obscenities for the last 2-3. Dr. Teitelbaum handled this very well. And BlogTalk Radio’s host controls allowed me to remove the caller immediately.
What projects are you working on right now?
Our general goal is to make effective treatment available to everyone using natural and prescription therapies, which is not part of the big pharmaceutical money game. We have an iPhone application called Natural Cures which is currently available to the public free of charge, but will increase to $1.00, so download it now. Once downloaded to the phone, you are able to search any illness and find any natural or Rx remedy. Health Fact has a nutritional primer and soon an herbal primer. My book, “I am Beating Sugar Addiction Now” is coming to press shortly and my next book will teach people how to recover from the difficult economy and how to get their life back, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Congratulations on being recommend in Oprah magazine and that issue has been out for a few weeks now. What has been the impact on your business?
After the mention, I received a call from Dr. Oz to be on his show in 3-4 weeks. The impact has been interesting. I think the general economy has been picking up and I can see that our product sales have increased. Things are healing and this is a good thing. Most businesses have taken such a hit, but I think things are turning around for the better. It is like spring time for the economy. It is time for small businesses to heal on all levels. This takes the lead for healing our whole country.
Why does your program work so well for so many, when seemingly all others especially Western drug treatment has failed?
It is important for our listeners to understand what drives Western medicine. I appreciate it, but there are many weaknesses. Basically in medicine today, for anything to be promoted for use, it has to be very expensive and patentable. The way the system is set up, it must go through the FDA process, which costs $800 mil. If it something is not patentable, that money is lost, no matter how well proven that treatment is. On the flip side, no matter how deadly or dangerous or infective to other treatments that are out there, if it can show statistical benefit, not clinical over a placebo, without being too dangerous, that is all it takes for FDA approval, even if it kills just a few people. Medicine is no longer based on what is safe and effective; it is based on patent and dollars. This is so dangerous. We are moving towards change, but it takes a great deal of time and energy.
You suffered from Chronic Fatigue in medical school. Was it identified with that term then and what was your experience in dealing with it?
Back in 1975 I had a nasty viral infection that I called the drop dead flu. We could not tell what it was. I was bedridden and had to drop out of school. I became homeless at this point as I was paying my own way. My medical professors knew there was a virus but could not identify it after six weeks. They figured I was depressed. In medical mentality there was a rule of thumb, that if the docs didn’t know what was wrong, they think the patient is crazy. I had the disease and they had no idea what it was. I learned how to treat the virus much better while I was homeless. I met naturopaths and herbalists who taught me how to get well and I soon recovered. I did go back to medical school and got my honors. Through my studies, I learned that 91% of patients improve when treated on an energetic level.
Tell us about your journey with alternative medicine.
I read a great deal of medical literature, beyond funded medical studies. I did an extensive amount of research based on some of the questions that patients had regarding natural treatments. Most physicians do not read any of this information nor are they interested. They only read the materials put out by the pharmaceutical companies.
When did Western Medicine begin to accept Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia as valid distinct disorders?
About 15 years ago. An important thing happened about one year ago. For the first time ever, three new medications were approved by the FDA for Fibromyalgia pain and because of that, companies are spending millions of advertising dollars to inform the public. They realized there is money to be made; however, it has also brought to light that it is a real disease.
I want to be able to help people effective treat their disease as well as to recognize if they have it. Basically the symptoms are: exhaustion and lack of sleep. It is a paradox and doesn’t go away with vacation. If you ache all over and have brain fog you have CFS until proven otherwise. Most doctors will not acknowledge some of the symptoms exist. They represent the energy crisis in your body. The fuse that is blown in the body is sleep.
You have a SHINE protocol based on these symptoms. What is that?It is an acronym: how to restore energy production which turns on the circuit breaker.
The "SHINE Treatment Protocol" is an itemized list of all the common treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, both natural and prescription, that can be used by a patient or practitioner. A personalized treatment plan can be created from this list by identifying the underlying causes of these two, based on an analysis of the patient's particular symptoms. SHINE stands for:
S: SLEEP - You need 8 hours per night and there are many natural remedies to help.
H: HORMONAL SUPPORT- in the medical field, we confuse the normal rage with healthy, which has nothing to do with health. It is based upon computing the standard deviation. You need to treat the hormones and compare to the symptoms using bio-identical hormones. These are cheap and most docs will not even look at them.
I: INFECTIONS– because our immune systems are not working properly when people have these illnesses. People tend to get yeast infections or an overgrowth of Candida. Basically it is really odd in medicine because there are no tests for normal as compared to overgrowth of yeast. Doctors say there is no such thing as an overgrowth.
N: NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS- Optimal nutritional supplementation is essential. Many nutrients can be depleted as a result of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fybro Myalgia. B-12, magnesium,... as well as your basic A, B, C and D vitamins need to be supplemented at a level that your average over the counter multivitamin cannot provide.
E: EXERCISE- Exercise as able. After 10 weeks on the 4 steps above, you will be able to slowly increase your exercise-without being wiped out the next day!
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I do recommend that people go to the Fibromyalgia and fatigue clinics as these physicians are experts in these diseases. The doctors know what they are doing.What is your reasonable aspiration or hoped for goal* with all that you are doing?
Short term: heal our healthcare system. Basically right now I am looking to be involved that people have access to natural remedies and teaching people they can be empowered in their own health. A big part of this is bypassing the pharmaceutical companies. I had the great opportunity to speak with President Obama and Michelle on these issues and there are some processes/laws in creation to work on this task.
You mentioned that some of these changes and reforms are already happening in our healthcare system. Why are you so optimistic?
The system will reform or collapse. There is a certain evolution and growth that occurs with what is common sense and necessary. The public is able to go online and get the information they need and get their own tool kits. People have a certain common sense about them.
On a recent appearance on Good Morning America, you said we suffer from a personal energy crisis that is far greater than an oil crisis. Why and is this worse now with the economy?
This is absolutely what is going on. How many listeners don’t need more energy? People go into the doctor’s office saying “I have fatigue and I have pain.” Pain is an energy crisis. Doctors are not trained in this area. A lot of this is occurring due to our nutrition. One third of our nutrition comes from white sugar and white flour, which are devoid of vitamins and minerals. The government forced companies to enrich the flour with a few nutrients. This is like one third of a loss of your paycheck. This detriment leaves us nutrient deficient and adds on lack of sleep and things are speeding up exponentially. The good news is that all this is treatable. We can help the body handle what is in the environment. Our vitamin powder and energy powder or some from the health food store can help combat this health crisis. Also, go out in the sun – your body needs sunshine!! Vitamin D is a critical hormone/nutrient. Just avoid sunburn, not sunshine. The lack of sun causes overwhelming amounts of cancer.
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You offer wonderful advice with a simple phrase: Follow Your Bliss. What do you mean?
I have always said, if you get people healthy and they go back to a life they hate, I guarantee that they will get sick again. You can’t just treat only the physical component – the disease will pop up somewhere else. You need to treat the whole person. Check in with your feelings - Your gut reaction. Cut out the things that feel bad. Follow your bliss!! You will be filling your life with wonderful positive things and as you continue this thought, more positive will surround you. Looking at the rise in chronic diseases, it looks like we are working at jobs we hate. Would you connect the two?
I am not sure we are doing more of jobs we hate, but I do presume our entire nutrition and environmental atmosphere is more damaging. I think more people are starting to wise up and do what they love and people are shifting their focus and their lives.
Where can people find your FREE weekly newsletter?
The website is Vitality 101. There is a lot of fun and useful information and even a joke of the day.
If we speak next year, and I hope we do, what will you celebrate with us?
Celebrating my new book, “I am Beating Sugar Addiction Now” as well as my next book. Maybe I will even be on Oprah.
Caller: Do you see a shift in the healthcare field to where we will start to see more people come in looking at naturopathy and alternative medicine?
I believe so. I think health insurance should be catastrophic coverage only and natural treatments are out of pocket. We already know there are more visits to naturopathic doctors than traditional medicine. Natural remedies are a growing area and this scares the pharmaceutical industry.
Disclaimer: I was introduced to Dr. Teitelbaum by our mutual friend Dean Draznin. Dr. Teitelbaum, Dean and I spoke earlier this summer about what Twitter could do for him. Dean is founder of Dean Draznin Communications which serves as Dr. Teitelbaum's PR firm. I scheduled this show working with Dean. Recently, my wife joined Dean Draznin Communications. I received no remuneration for this interview, nor asked for any. But I did convince my wife to bring home a sample box of Dr. Teitelbaum's Energy Revitalization from her office. And it's great! I feel clear, focused, with energy but not jittery. I slept well. I worked out at the gym yesterday and still felt like working in the yard for a couple of hours the next day. That's a first.