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What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About: Fibromyalgia Fatigue: The Powerful Program That Helps You Boost Your Energy and Reclaim Your Life
The authors of the successful "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia" present a revolutionary new guide to help sufferers relieve their chronic fatigue.
- GenresNonfiction
333 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 13, 2014
First of all, I'll have to admit that I didn't read this book as closely as I could have. I skimmed through a lot of it, mostly because I was severely underwhelmed by the contents and the way the book was laid out. I felt like the book was mostly an attempt on the authors' part to sell their original book again, with the random reviews interspersed throughout the otherwise interesting concepts. Besides that, the authors spend the entire book working under the assumption that the reader has read the first book already, which mostly has the effect of turning the reader off. I didn't want to read their original book. I wanted to read the book I had in my hands!
There were a couple thing that irritated me above all else, of course, and that was the lack of studies that proved their guaifenesin therapy worked. Where are the reviews from their customers who didn't get results from the therapy? Where is the commentary from doctors who were treating patients who took it upon themselves to take up this therapy? Where are the double-blind placebo-controlled studies by scientists and the published results? Of course there aren't any. That's because this is sensationalist faux-medical mumbo-jumbo based on hypotheses.
The next thing that bothered me was that they treated guaifenesin as if it was a completely harmless thing. Uh, sorry, but it's not. Like any other medication, it has side effects (which include dizziness, diarrhea, vomiting, and rashes), you can be allergic to it (you can be allergic to anything), and, oh yeah, there's a limit as to how much you can take a day. Surprise! You can overdose on it! Admittedly, the side effects are rare and generally tolerable, and the overdose takes a lot of the drug and is even more rare and most likely won't kill you (I'm pretty sure you'll just vomit a lot as it's not terribly toxic), but the risk is still there. No medicine is without risk, and to treat it as if it is is irresponsible.
I'll say this for them, though: they did get one thing completely right: it is the fatigue of fibromyalgia that gets you. The pain sucks, but it's manageable. The fatigue gets worse every day, is even more difficult to get rid of then the pain is, and is completely impossible to ignore. There definitely onto something with treating the fatigue, but I think the fatigue should be treated with the pain, not instead of it. Just because the pain is tolerable doesn't mean it should be ignored.
Anyway, if nothing else, at least this book has given me something to think about. I can thank the authors for that at least. :)
There were a couple thing that irritated me above all else, of course, and that was the lack of studies that proved their guaifenesin therapy worked. Where are the reviews from their customers who didn't get results from the therapy? Where is the commentary from doctors who were treating patients who took it upon themselves to take up this therapy? Where are the double-blind placebo-controlled studies by scientists and the published results? Of course there aren't any. That's because this is sensationalist faux-medical mumbo-jumbo based on hypotheses.
The next thing that bothered me was that they treated guaifenesin as if it was a completely harmless thing. Uh, sorry, but it's not. Like any other medication, it has side effects (which include dizziness, diarrhea, vomiting, and rashes), you can be allergic to it (you can be allergic to anything), and, oh yeah, there's a limit as to how much you can take a day. Surprise! You can overdose on it! Admittedly, the side effects are rare and generally tolerable, and the overdose takes a lot of the drug and is even more rare and most likely won't kill you (I'm pretty sure you'll just vomit a lot as it's not terribly toxic), but the risk is still there. No medicine is without risk, and to treat it as if it is is irresponsible.
I'll say this for them, though: they did get one thing completely right: it is the fatigue of fibromyalgia that gets you. The pain sucks, but it's manageable. The fatigue gets worse every day, is even more difficult to get rid of then the pain is, and is completely impossible to ignore. There definitely onto something with treating the fatigue, but I think the fatigue should be treated with the pain, not instead of it. Just because the pain is tolerable doesn't mean it should be ignored.
Anyway, if nothing else, at least this book has given me something to think about. I can thank the authors for that at least. :)
June 6, 2018
Please don't waste your time. I've been reading & learning about Fibro from professionals & live with it now myself. I don't recommend this book to anyone. It is dated & lacks any help whatsoever.
This book does not provide any support for fibro. All it does is say to take this pill, at a specific dosage & avoid salicylates which are in nearly any plant product & you'll be cured.
I have bought the pill, I haven't tried it yet & I doubt anything will come of it either.
There are no conclusive results from the study done & the doctor's website doesn't have any success stories, it's all heirsey & I'm wondering how they are getting away with that?
The rest of the book looks at hypoglycemia & diabetes & diet plans. Some of the diets seem a bit dated, but some of the recipes may be ok for the most part.
In any case, don't waste your time. There are much better books on Fibro
This book does not provide any support for fibro. All it does is say to take this pill, at a specific dosage & avoid salicylates which are in nearly any plant product & you'll be cured.
I have bought the pill, I haven't tried it yet & I doubt anything will come of it either.
There are no conclusive results from the study done & the doctor's website doesn't have any success stories, it's all heirsey & I'm wondering how they are getting away with that?
The rest of the book looks at hypoglycemia & diabetes & diet plans. Some of the diets seem a bit dated, but some of the recipes may be ok for the most part.
In any case, don't waste your time. There are much better books on Fibro
February 12, 2019
Highly recommend. I’ve read this book over and over.
January 19, 2012
Like most things, there was good and bad.
It was expected that the reader of this book has already read What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia, and I haven't.
That made the "add on" introduction a bit overwhelming. I'll probably go back and read the other and I'm assuming this will all make more sense. Some sections were clear and concise. Others were so "thick" it was like reading the Yellow Pages.
The section with recipes for those trying to lose weight seemed crazy. Cheese fried in oil? That's it? How can that actually be recommended?
I have to assume that guaifenesin is discussed with more depth in the other book. But if it's so helpful with energy, then why only use it in the introduction of this one?
It was helpful, but often confusing.
It was expected that the reader of this book has already read What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia, and I haven't.
That made the "add on" introduction a bit overwhelming. I'll probably go back and read the other and I'm assuming this will all make more sense. Some sections were clear and concise. Others were so "thick" it was like reading the Yellow Pages.
The section with recipes for those trying to lose weight seemed crazy. Cheese fried in oil? That's it? How can that actually be recommended?
I have to assume that guaifenesin is discussed with more depth in the other book. But if it's so helpful with energy, then why only use it in the introduction of this one?
It was helpful, but often confusing.
June 8, 2011
It is a great book ... if you have a bad doctor. I did learn one new thing from it though, I had no idea that fybromyalgia could be the cause of my recent onset of panic attacks.
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October 1, 2013The authors of the successful "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia" present a revolutionary new guide to help sufferers relieve their chronic fatigue.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews