Director of the Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Centers, Inc.]
Dr. Teitelbaum's October 14, 2009 free newsletter is now out. It includes:
SHOULD PEOPLE WITH CFS/FM TAKE THE SWINE FLU VACCINE???
There has been a lot of publicity regarding the Swine Flu. Unfortunately,
most of it has been sensationalistic, instead of educational and helpful. It
is important to put the Swine Flu in perspective.
The Swine Flu has been MUCH milder than the usual flu virus that hits the
world each winter, which normally kills about 30,000- 50,000 Americans --
almost all elderly and chronically ill each year. Because of this, there is
the usual yearly recommendation to get the flu vaccine. As of September
2009, the Swine Flu had caused a little over 500 deaths -- or only about 1%
as many as the normal flu -- though it would be hard to tell this from the
news stories. Sadly, the news media is learning that "fear sells." On the
other hand, truth is liberating.
The bottom line? It is reasonable for people with CFS and/or FMS to get the
flu vaccine, including the Swine flu vaccine, but not critical. For those
who get severely ill when they get the flu, it is reasonable to get the
vaccine. For those who get sick from vaccines or prefer to avoid them, it is
best to skip them. For everyone else, it is simply a matter of personal
preference. Still on the fence? Overall, I think the flu vaccine is a good
idea for those with CFS/FMS who frequently get the flu (at least 1 year out
of 3). Unfortunately, taking the swine flu may lower the effectiveness of
the regular flu vaccine (and vice versa), so I would still simply get the
regular flu vaccine instead.
MOST IMPORTANT WAYS TO AVOID THE FLU?
1. When it is going around, wash your hands after getting home from public
places. The flu travels by "hitch hiking" a ride on your hands (when you
touch surfaces touched by those with the flu) to catch a ride to your mouth
or nose. Wash your hands when you get home to send the virus down the drain.
2. Get your 8 hours of sleep a night and take a good multivitamin to
optimize your immune system. Especially important would be the zinc and
vitamin C. These not only help strengthen your immune system, but may even
determine if the vaccine works (optimal zinc is important for vaccines to
work).
3. If you catch a virus, take a Thymic Protein supplement as early in the
infection as you can to jump start your immune defenses. This is good for
children or adults, and I recommend keeping some in everyone's medicine
cabinet (the earlier in an infection you start it the better).
4. Another excellent treatment, if begun at the first sign of the flu
symptoms (day 1), is a homeopathic remedy called "Oscillococcinum." This can
be found not only in health food stores, but even in many supermarkets and
drug stores.
5. Meanwhile, avoid excess stress -- like watching over sensationalized news
reports. Remember, these are often geared to entertain and sensationalize
(which is what sells ads) -- not to give an accurate perspective.
CFS TO BE ON THE NEW DR. OZ SHOW!
My thanks to the hundreds of readers who left a comment at the Oprah website
about the Dr. Oz article in the September Oprah Magazine, which discussed
fibromyalgia and recommended our treatment approach. A few weeks ago, the
producers for the new nationally syndicated Dr. Oz TV show flew me to New
York to tape a 12-15 minute primary segment on fatigue, with a special
segment on CFS! This suggests the topics of CFS and fibromyalgia are now
being tested by Oprah's production company, and we'll be seeing more if we
keep sending in positive comments!
It will likely play as the first segment of one of the new Dr. Oz TV shows
in the next 3 weeks. We'll send an announcement of the date as soon as we
hear.
Stay tuned!!!
XMRV VIRUS FOUND IN CFS PATIENTS
A new study shows that a virus related to the AIDS virus, called "XMRV," is
present in a high percent of those with CFS and rare in healthy people. Many
of you have heard me call CFS the "Infection of the Month" club, because
there are many opportunistic infections present in CFS that are rare in
those with a healthy immune system. For example:
- HHV 6
- EBV
- Chlamydia Pneumonia
- Mycoplasma Fermentans
- Intestinal viral infections
- SIBO
- And even rare lung parasites
And these are just a few.
With so many different infections positive in CFS/FMS patients, it suggests
that the most likely problem is that the poor immune system function present
in CFS results in people picking up MANY infectious "hitch hikers." Some of
these are worth treating, and some will simply go away when the overall
process is treated with SHINE
(http://www.endfatigue.com/treatment_options/Shine_treatment_protocol.html).
But why is this article getting so much attention, even being picked up by
the NY Times (which has in the past called CFS the "Yuppie Flu"). I find it
interesting to watch the politics. For starters, as some nitwits out there
still like to make believe CFS is "all in people's heads," this study, along
with dozens of others, again confirms just what nitwits they are. But don't
expect a study in Science or the truth to sway their thinking anytime soon.
Perhaps eventually they will learn they can offer "coping counseling" CBT in
any severe disease (e.g., cancer, MS, etc.), without trying to invalidate
the physical nature of the illness and imply people are nuts because they
are ill.
Why else might this research get more attention? Could it be because the
AIDS drugs used for that virus cost over $10,000 per year (multiply by over
2 million in the U.S. alone with CFS = $20 billion = CaChing!), and I
suspect this will help to push it along. An exercise in how things work ;-)
In the meanwhile, it adds more to our understanding, and I encourage the
researchers' work. In particular, I would note that the WPI and Dr. Peterson
are excellent, and I hold them in high regard.
I simply recommend that we understand the background, so we can gain a
better perspective.
-----------------------------------
Other articles in this week's newsletter include:
* Regular Flu Shots Decrease Eeffectiveness of Swine Flu Vaccine
* Seasonal Flu Shot Some Help vs. Swine Flu?
* Virus Is Found in Many with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
* Viruses May Trigger Thyroid Illness
-----------------------------------
The full articles referenced above are available in Dr Jacob Teitelbaum's
free email newsletter, or can be read at
http://www.endfatigue.com/web-newsletters/nl_53c_10-15-2009.html
---------------------------------------------
Send posts to CO-CURE@listserv.nodak.edu
Unsubscribe at http://www.co-cure.org/unsub.htm
Too much mail? Try a digest version. See http://www.co-cure.org/digest.htm
---------------------------------------------
Co-Cure's purpose is to provide information from across the spectrum of
opinion concerning medical, research and political aspects of ME/CFS and/or
FMS. We take no position on the validity of any specific scientific or
political opinion expressed in Co-Cure posts, and we urge readers to
research the various opinions available before assuming any one
interpretation is definitive. The Co-Cure website <www.co-cure.org> has a
link to our complete archive of posts as well as articles of central
importance to the issues of our community.
---------------------------------------------
