From Fatigue to Fantastic...yeah, right

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ion">Fibromyalgia Network via Bill Cohen

CONSUMER alert!!
Jacob Teitelbaum gets FDA warning letter.

The FDA has ordered Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., doing business as From Fatigued to Fantastic, LLC, to stop making illegal therapeutic claims for Corvalen (D-Ribose), Coenzyme Q10, Jigsaw Magnesium w/ SRT, "BMR Complex (Thyroid Glandular), Energy Revitalization System, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, Chol-less, Thymic Protein, Alpha Lipoic acid, Black Co...hosh, and Eskimo 3 Fish Oil. http://www.casewatch.org/fdawarning/prod/2012/teitelbaum.shtml Teitelbaum is medical director of Chronicity (formerly named Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers) which operates 13 clinics in the United States. Last year the FDA warned Chronicity to stop making illegal claims for Chol-less and several other products. http://www.casewatch.org/fdawarning/prod/2011/chronicity.shtmlSee More

VIEW IMAGEFDA Warning Letter to Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum

www.casewatch.orgReproduction of www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/g5579d.pdf

Hi Miriam...I did some research on Teitelbaum some months ago for a fibro friend who was going to his so called office.  I believe she had her initial 'consultation' and she left with over $800 of over priced supplements and the promise she would be 'cured'.  A few months later she felt worse...he then 'tested' her and said she had parasites, 'possible' Lupus and Epstein Barr.  Another giant load of supplements.  THEN he informed her that fibro' is a complicated disorder and it could take years for her to start feeling better and wanted to make another expensive adjustment to all the supplements.  That's when I did some researching on my own and found pages of complaints by patients who had been duped. 

I'm glad the FDA is stepping in...too many people have been given false hope!

Huggies

Donna

I was one of those that bought his book "From Fatigue to Fantastic" and followed his program, buying so many of his supplements and I cannot say it helped. Maybe I felt somewhat better but was that a placebo effect?

Sherrine, I took am very much in favor of a holistic approach to health, combined with western medicine. I take quite a few supplements including CoQ10 which by the way, was recommended by my cardiologist and I take it combined with some heart meds.

Currently, one of my beloved Golden Retrievers was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, a very aggressive form of cancer of the blood vessels. They are such a stoic breed...showed NO signs of illness until the mass on his spleen ruptured, then he required emergent surgery. The oncologist estimates 3 to 5 months and his chemo plan was simply too aggressive for our liking and would only buy him, at most, two months. So we have decided to try to give him the best quality of life we can, for as long as he is with us. We are now working with a holistic vet and have him on a Chinese herbal treatment which will support his immune system and "might" even extend his life. There is a holistic vet, Dr. Steve Marsden, doing research now with this plan and has a Golden with Benji's cancer that is on the herbs and one year out, NO chemo. I am hopeful.

Miriam

I hope Reese's Peanut Butter Cups cure Fibromyalgia. I'm testing it tonight.

applevenus, how'd that work out for ya? :) If hot chocolate and dark chocolate were a cure, Id definitely be fixed!

MT Lady, we had a black lab named George (I know, so very imaginative lol) My dad found him on a site (used to work as head electrician building prisons, department stores, etc) and brought him home in 98; he was 2. He died last year. He had a lot of trouble with his hips and shoulders toward the last few years of his life, and my dad did everything he could to try to ease his pain. George was never an indoor dog (we live in the sticks) but during the winter dad would bring him in to sleep by the fire; he bought the all-natural/homeopathic joint care supplements, too. They seemed to help, but even at the end it was too advanced; dad thinks he might have had cancer as well. Ugh, and here I am tearing up just thinking about him! He was a good dog, and we miss him a lot.

Maybe you just didn't follow directions well enough, Applevenus. They're in really small print! :) I think you need to eat 5 every 8 hours, with a full glass of water, at least 2 hours after a meal.

Reese's Peanut Butter cups are not for everyone. Tell your doctor if you experience euphoria, a sugar rush, or loss of appetite. These may indicate a serious condition.

Not only do you have to stand on your head, but you have to sing several choruses of "Muskrat Love' while doing so.  Oh...and try switching to Milky Way bars.

Donna

Hi folks:

I wish the information you chose to share had more thought and time put into it before commenting. First, Dr Teitelbaum regularly writes about many health topics and discusses a holistic and comprehensive approach as you advocate above. He discusses products that can be helpful for all types of health issues, just as you indicate the benefits of CoQ10 for heart health. Perhaps actually reading the FDA letter and also reading Dr Teitelbaum's articles would have helped. He does recommend some natural remedies over prescriptions when they are shown as more effective and typically provides references to published studies when making these claims. He does not ever recommend abandoning conventional treatments when it is the most effective approach to an illness. The FDA does not like the fact that things like CoQ10 as mentioned in this thread are recommended for specific health conditions and states that this classifies them as drugs which requires FDA study and approval. Did Sherrine and Miriam get FDA approval for the CoQ10 for heart support before advocating that above?

Second, he does not market a cure to fibro but rather provides valuable information that people spend years searching for. He clearly explains that there are several underlying issues that contribute to fibro and offers suggestions to address each of these issues to "support recovery".

Third, I was a patient of Dr Teitelbaum's and he never recommended anything close to what Donna mentions from her "research". His treatment protocol is a combination of prescriptions when needed and nutritional support and does not come close to $800 worth of supplements to get started. His office not only offers supplement discounts for the few that I was started on but also pointed me to other places where I could find the supplements cheaper since they are a small office and not a large retailer. Any testing for other illnesses such as lupus was done before my initial visit and Dr Teitelbaum DOES NOT test for Epstein Barr since it is an infection that most of us have been exposed to at some point and time and will therefore, test positive, even without an active infection being present.

Fibro is a complicated illness and Dr Teitelbaum will tell you that getting better is not an overnight process and that it can take several months to get better (any research would discover that this is discussed right on his website) as opposed to several years as Donna indicated.

Your friend may have saw a doctor who claimed to work with Dr Teitelbaum's protocol or perhaps one of the Fibro and Fatigue Center doctors. When I researched these centers, Dr Teitelbaum was the medical director. As the medical director, he helped train the doctors on his protocol but each center was run by the doctor who owned the center. I found that some centers were following Dr Teitelbaum's work closely but others were only using small parts of Dr Teitelbaum's protocol and were recommending hundreds of dollars of supplements at the first visit. Because Dr Teitelbaum had no administrative role with these centers and it was his work that I was interested in, I chose to work with him directly.

Fibro can be debilitating and can ruin lives, careers, marriages, etc. Finding the right approach and answers can be a difficult and long search and what works for one person may not work for another. There is not one "magic bullet" for fibro and similar illnesses. Healing can be as complicated as the illness and not everyone can commit to getting better.

Dr Teitelbaum's approach worked for me and for many others as I was able to consult with other patients to work though the protocol. For some of my issues prescriptions were the best treatments and for others, the natural treatments far surpassed any prescriptions that I had tried. Again, the response to any treatment is different for everyone and is very much trial and error for many issues.

We do now know what contributes to fibro and this continues to help me tremendously as I work to maintain my health. I worked very hard to get better with the support of Dr Teitelbaum, his staff and other patients so it is very disheartening to see comments that are merely "thrown" out to people who may be looking for help. Your comments on this thread were clearly not substantiated.

It is also unprofessional and inappropriate to comment on the assumed money Dr Teitelbaum has been "racking in". You clearly know nothing about how many people he helps and how much charity work he does. Very disappointing to come across a discussion that not only stems from ignorance but seems to enjoy "trashing" the reputation of a man that you have had no direct experience with but claim to know so much about. I would have higher expectations from discussions that should be designed to help people especially from forum moderators.

I hope you all find a way to heal but I can assure you that what you have here is embarrassing. I recommend doing your homework the next time.

aunt dee dee,
what type of autonomic dysfunction with your fibro?!!! Struggling to find how fibro fits me, and would appreciate your response.

Thanks
Rhiannon

Hi, Aunt Dee Dee, and welcome!  I'm sorry if I offended you with anything I was saying but I do stand by what I said.  Jacob Teitelbaum has made claims, sells supplements at his site (yes, I'm sure he makes money with this), sells books and is or was the director of the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers.  It seems to me that he should be held responsible for what doctors are prescribing at these centers since they are affiliated with his name.  You implied that he doesn't have control but if he is the director, he should have control.

Your experience sounds different than Donna's friend, but that friend went through that nevertheless thinking that since it was a Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Center associated with Dr. Teitelbaum, it would be just fine.  Apparently not so.  That bothers me.  Yes, every person should do their own homework when it comes to their health but some don't or don't know how and just trust a name they have heard about.  That's why I said in one of my posts that you do your own research, talk to your doctor before taking anything, etc.  We with fibro do need to learn as much as possible about this illness since we have to be our own advocates.

 

Here is a link to a Chicago Tribune article this past May about all the numerous problems the FDA was having concerning Dr. Teitelbaum. 

 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-04/features/chi-fatigue-supplements-illegal-drugs-fda-20120504_1_warning-letter-fda-supplements

Here is a link to Dr. Teitelbaum's protocol for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.  After reading this, I certainly can see how you can rack up $800 in supplements. 

 

http://www.immunesupport.com/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-teitelbaum.htm

I'm very happy that you did have some success with this.  I just have a major problem with anyone offering a "cure" for fibro since doctors don't know what causes it in the first place.  Just the title of his book...From Fatigue to Fantastic...is implying a cure to people that are suffering so much.  We do know what helps one doesn't necessarily help another.  There are things we can take to help us...anything from Tylenol and supplements to narcotics.  We can change lifestyles and do gentle exercises, etc.  But there is no cure...yet. 

 

Have you had the opportunity to read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum?  There is a link called Doctors Respond To New York Times Article that is very good.  Most of these doctors have spent their career studying fibro and are now thinking this is a neurological problem.  I do hope they find out in the near future.  When they do, it will be all over the news.  Here is a link to that article. 

 

http://www.fmnetnews.com/latest-news/doctors-respond-to-new-york-times-article

 

I have had success with a few supplements.  Malic acid/magnesium supplements have helped quite a few on this forum including me.  There have been blind studies on malic acid and how it helps with the pain of fibromyalgia.  I also use vitamin D3 and sometimes a product called Curamin that has four herbs including tumeric in it and it has helped too.  Notice I say helped.  I don't claim any cures.  I take other supplements to help my body including CoQ10 (I take a statin drug so I take this.) and folic acid to help with absorption since I also have Crohn's disease.  Yes, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another and that is stressed on this forum.  It's a trial and error process, unfortunately.

 

So, I do welcome you and we will just have to agree to disagree on this topic.  I have given my opinion and you have given yours.  It's up to each individual to decide what they want to do.  Again, I'm sorry if I offended you and I hope you will stick around with us.  We do have a wonderful group of members who love to help one another and, as a bonus, we really do care about each other too.  I hope to hear more from you soon.

Sherrine 

 

 

Enough , please ladies. points were made so be done with it.

To be feeling lost, hopeless and depressed; trying to find hope (not miracles), and have to here this negativity, its too much.

I appreciate both views with the upmost respect. I appreciate the time and care that went into your posts. Just quit bickering back and forth.

I'm locking this thread since it is getting inflammatory.

Sherrie