Janie
6
months on guai...When I was about 50 years old (I’m now 58) I began to
notice I was just tired all the time, had a lot of stiffness in my legs, and
generally felt crummy. Any time I would go to the doctor, I would ask about
these symptoms but always got the “your test results are all fine” or “well, at
your age....”. After he could find no explanation, one doctor asked me, “How’s
your marriage?” I told him my marriage was great, it was my body that hurt!
Over the next few years things gradually got worse. Finally a female nurse practitioner told me I had fibromyalgia. I had already come to that conclusion from research I had done and talking with others who had it. She gave me an anti-depressant, which only made me depressed, and pain relievers which did no good. In September of 2004 I began a downward spiral that resulted in having to resign from my job by the end of the year since my legs could hardly work. I talked with several women who seemed to be managing to continue with their lives in spite of FM, but discovered they were taking narcotics on a regular basis. Everyone I knew had a solution for me...drink this juice, buy this supplement, go to this practitioner, just exercise more, etc.
Finally someone told me they knew of a college student with FM who had had to drop out of school but she now had gotten well. I tracked down her mother and she told me her daughter was a patient of Dr. St. Amand. By following his treatment, she had been able to graduate from college, travel to Japan, and now hold down a job. She gave me the name of the book and the website address which I immediately checked out. As I read the book, I thought, “He’s telling my life story!” After a false start in December and some other health issues that had to be sorted out, I started the guaifenesin protocol in May of 2005. As I write this the end of August, 2005, I can say I have seen better hours and some better days and I have no doubt that I will continue to improve. Of all the cures and treatments I have investigated, this is the only one that offers hope of actually reversing the disease and not just managing the symptoms. I’ll gladly spend the rest of my life taking guaifenesin on a daily basis rather than narcotics!
Janie Willems
Elaine
6 months on guai…I found the guai site on my own. I had read it last year, but thought it was too much to do so forgot about it. Someone in my vulvar pain group mentioned that the protocol had helped with vulvodynia, and all of a sudden, it was worth the effort to try. I have not been able to sit as a normal person for five years, due to pain in the rectal and vulvar area. The first week on guai, I actually had three wonderful days that were virtually pain free. That is what made me pursue this adventure. I have had FM for over 40 years, but didn't know all my symptoms were part of it. My sister has been treated for years with all sorts of pain medications, etc with no success. I had decided to save my money and just live with it. The guai protocol has given me much hope and some good days. I have only been on it for six months. I am looking forward to a much brighter future.
Elaine from WI, age 65, 1400mg. a day
Marnie Schallert
6 months on guai…I am a 39 year old woman who has been suffering from FMS since childhood. I remember having the hardest time staying awake in class at elementary school. I hated recess. My knees and back always hurt. I was so embarrassed at disrupting the class as I frequently had to get up and go use the bathroom due to my irritable bladder. Getting up early in the morning to get ready for school was horrible. I could never get rid of that groggy feeling, or the cold aching in my body. On weekends I'd usually sleep till about noon. In high school I'd go out to a movie w/ friends and be so exhausted I wondered why they thought it was a fun thing to do. I'd always be saying "I have to go home" because I never had the energy to go do things at night with friends. I kept making up excuses when people invited me to do things - finally most people just gave up on me.
As an adult I tried to push through it all and had a successful, fast paced career as a marketing manager for several years. Then I developed carpal tunnel, and had to quit my marketing job. Fortunately, I had paid for disability insurance so they re-trained me for another career as a nutritionist. After studying nutrition for two years I came to the conclusion that all my problems were diet related. I became a certified aerobics instructor and personal trainer. For five years I worked in this field, and advanced to where I was managing a large women's gym. Even though I worked out every day, taught several classes, and ate the "perfect diet", my endurance never seemed to improve. I looked great but felt awful! I helped hundreds of women lose weight and get fit, but couldn't help myself feel better. I took every supplement and herbal remedy known to man! People in my classes would come to me concerned after saying I sounded very short of breath. I worked hard to hide this, especially as I was the instructor and was supposed to be in the best health!
At 32 I became pregnant, and worked most of the way through my pregnancy, though quit teaching classes. I actually felt much better during most of my pregnancy! After my baby was born is when it hit and I for the first time lost complete control of my health and life. All my FMS symptoms flared really badly and the loss of sleep you have with a new baby compounded it all. It's been downfall from there. I now have two children, ages 2 and 5. I’m on disability, I take many medications, and every day has been a struggle just to survive and care for my little ones. I've been almost completely homebound for two years. I'm afraid to drive as I could fall asleep at the wheel. I can't manage to wash my hair more than once a week so I'm embarrassed for people to see me because of how I look. The extra 30 pounds I've put on in the last two years doesn't help my self-esteem either. Most of my social interaction has been online. My husband does the laundry and much of the housework. Most of our meals are pre-packaged or take out because I rarely have the energy to make dinner. As a nutritionist this really bothers me! I walk to the end of my driveway and have to sit down and catch my breath. My days of teaching fitness classes are long gone! As a mom, my heart breaks that I can't run around and play with my children and take them places like the zoo when their friends go.
Fortunately I found Dr. St. Armands book and the guai protocol! It's my only hope right now. I've done years of research and have yet to find anything else that reverses the symptoms of fibromyalgia. I've now been on the guai 6 months. It took 3 months to find my cycling dose. Honestly, most of the last six months have been horrible! But there have been a few good days, and I am finding now almost every day I have an hour or so when I can get a few things done. Today I did a load of laundry, from start to finish! That's really a big accomplishment for me! There are even times where I almost feel "normal"! The biggest testimony to the guai is that I now get up at 6a, get both my kids ready, and have my son at Kindergarten by 8. Yes I do have to nap in the afternoon, but it’s a miracle that I can do this much in the mornings! This morning as I was getting dressed I didn't have that miserable, depressed, groggy feeling I did as a child when I was up getting ready for school. I felt hopeful and so blessed to be up out of bed instead of stuck hiding beneath the covers, unable to function. Last night, after a dinner that I had made, I played tag outside, in the yard, with my boys. I’ve learned to be so grateful for each moment that I feel alive again. With the guai I expect more of these moments - maybe even days, weeks, months, and years!
Marnie Schallert
Janis
I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1979 after a snow skiing injury. I was later diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome also. Dr. St. Amand believes that based on childhood symptoms that I had the disease since an early age. All my life I had many mysterious symptoms and problems and often was a mystery to the medical profession. I would get severe symptoms of something and they would suspect tumors and all kinds of mysterious diseases and then suddenly the problem would disappear as quickly as it appeared. I spent thousands of dollars in my lifetime on tests and have been x-rayed, scoped, scanned, poked and prodded so many times I couldn’t tell you. I hated going to doctors and often felt like they were condensing to me and that they didn’t believe all the weird things that I complained about including smelling ammonia when I cried.
So many times, I would leave a doctor’s office in tears or anger and say to myself that was a waste of my time and money. I had virtually given up on the medical profession even though I am myself an RN. I decided that I would only go to the doctor if I were dying! I met a woman through a home Bible Study at my home that was searching for answers to her illness and finally found Dr. St. Amand. When she first told me about the guaifenesin protocol, I thought it was quackery because I knew this drug was for mucus so couldn’t possibly fathom it being used for fibromyalgia. I read the web-site and I cried! I felt like I was reading my life story. So I made an appointment and I started on the guaifenesin the same day that I saw Dr. St. Amand. I was thrilled to finally be validated and understood and was given hope at having a normal life again. I embrace cycles because that means that I am getting better. I started on the protocol in March 2005 and I feel that I am gradually getting better. I support the protocol 100% and started a support group within weeks of starting the protocol to get the word out to others of this hope. My husband joined Grace-Fibro-Smile to help me and others with salicylate-free and chemically-safe products. My mission as an RN and a Christian is to help the fibromyalgia community and to educate others about toxic chemicals that I believe are slowly poisoning us and making us sick.
Janis, 53, in California www.cleure.com/safe, www.jescollection.com
Elaine B.
10 months on the guai...My
guai journey actually began late last year. I hung out on the guai protocol
group for several months before making myself know and eventually began the
protocol in late February, '05. A little bit about my history and then I'll
tell you why I chose Dr. St. Amand's Guaifenesin Protocol as my choice for
remedy.
I am a registered nurse, who was very active until a severe illness struck me in
January, 1997. At that time I began having a sore throat and on Monday of that
week I called my physician and told him I'd fought it as long as I could and
that I needed help. I got on antibiotics. On Wednesday, of that same
week, I was out-of-town staying in a motel. During the night I woke up and knew
something was very wrong. I knew where I was and that I needed to call
downstairs and ask them to call for an ambulance. I couldn't move. I guess at
some point I either fell back asleep or something worse happened. I'll finish
this in a bit. On Thursday I got up, got ready and went to my
meeting. I knew something had happened during the night but could not remember
what. I was in a board meeting for a couple hours before I began feeling very
ill. I called one of my physicians in that town and let the receptionist tell
me they were booked up and could not see me. Major mistake. So, I called my
secretary some 75 miles away and told her she was going to have to come get me.
By the time we made it back to my hometown I was having mild seizures. My
fingers were blue to the first joint, as were my toes and my mouth. My doc met
us outside and instructed my secretary to take me immediately to the ER. By
Friday night my 02 SATS were in the 70's (not good). They shipped me back, by
ambulance, to the state capital where I was originally the day before. I was in
ICU on a ventilator until the next Wednesday. To make a very long story
shorter, I was diagnosed with bilateral viral and bacterial pneumonia
complicated by meningitis. Several people died during that time from the
pneumonia alone. By the Grace of God, I managed to live through it but for the
next two months, every day I awoke, I was amazed that I was still alive. And my
first thought was, "Well, this will be the day I die."
It was the next year that I was diagnosed with FMS although now I can see that
I've had it since my earliest childhood memories. I cannot tell you how many
doctors I've seen over those years. The only treatment offered was to treat the
symptoms. During this time my second neurologist discovered from an MRI that
I'd had an "old" stroke. "Old"as being defined as farther back than the past
six months. Now I know what happened to me that night in the motel. I have
since lost a tremendous amount of muscle mass in my legs which the neurologist
says I can't get back. At my wit's end, I began doing my own research last
year. It was through an Internet search that I found "The Guaifenesin
Protocol." After much investigation, reading and lurking on the guai listserv I
decided that Dr. St. Amand's theory and history of treating FMS patients was the
only thing that made sense to me.
I ordered and read "The Book." I was convinced this was what I had to
do. While reading the book, I started purging all the salicylates out of my
house. My daughter-in-law was the grateful recipient of all my tons of makeup
that I could no longer use. In late February I began the protocol. As is
said over and over, this is not for the faint of heart. I have struggled
mightily identifying and ridding myself of blockers. Today I have that pretty
firmly in my head. These months I have seen tremendous and sometimes horrific
changes in my life. But today I can hear what my body is telling me which I
could never do before. I know my body now better than ever before. I
faithfully keep a detailed symptom journal and take it to my physician when I
visit him (or them). I call it my "Everything you ever wanted to know about me
but were afraid to ask" journal.
How do I know The Protocol is working for me? Because I already see some
improvement…small little steps along the way. The key word here is
"improvement." Most of my days, I still have to mark as "Poor" or "Fair", but I
do have some "Good" days interspersed throughout my journal...small victories.
I know I'm reversing and this will be a lifelong endeavor. I have well over 50
long years to reverse. About 3 years ago I had to give up my nursing
career because I became totally disabled. In April of this year, I began
working just a little at a local nursing home. I am delighted to be back in
nursing, even if for just that little bit. It takes me a week to recover from
working my 3 night shifts but I am and always will be a nurse. If I can never
work more than this, then this will have to do.
Why do I do this beyond the obvious reasons? Because I now have three young
grandsons who are the light of my life, because I have a Dear Husband who
deserves a wife who is not in constant turmoil and pain, because I have three
children whom I adore and because I am fantastically enjoying the Empty Nest
experience. I married at age 18 in 1966 (you do the math). Next year I will be
married a whopping 40 years to the same guy. I'm the only one in my entire
graduation class who can make that claim. I want our last years to be in peace
and to be as active as possible - together.
Newbies (of which I am still one) please hang in there. Life does get better on
The Guai Protocol, even if ever so slowly.
Elaine M.
Burchfield,
RN,
The Great State of Mississippi
1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5+ Years
Read many other success stories at:
http://fibromyalgiatreatment.com/board/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=d76e95e303e097a2eb7d3402d01dffb3
and
http://www.fibromyalgiatreatment.com/team.htm
Copyright © 2005 Carol Stous Hetler. All rights reserved.
Contact Carol at: chetler@satx.rr.com