DOES THIS REALLY WORK????I have spoken to people with fibromyaglia for over 17 years and I still hear the fear, frustration and doubt in their voices.We have all been through so much with this disease that I know that to some when they find this protocol they still think “Is this just another thing to try or is this going to get me well?” I do my best to give the reassurance that this did indeed “save my life” but since I am only one person with one voice I finally decided tot write my story so that those of you out there struggling will “know” that there is a way out of the pain and suffering and that you too can get your lives back as I got mine.This is not a book about me "per se" but rather a true story of how the insidious disease called Fibromyalgia nearly destroyed my life and how I persevered to not only get it back but how my life became better than I had ever dreamed it could be! It is a book to inspire those of you out there who are suffering terribly and to let you know that it CAN and will get better!If you are reading this book you know the devastation that Fibromyalgia can bring to not only you, the person suffering, but to anyone and everyone who is close to you. There are so many dynamics that need to be dealt with when you are chronically ill and in pain day after day. Add to that people, including your own family at times not believe how sick you are or can be heart breaking. When I first got sick no one had ever heard of this disease let alone how to help me. My parents and sister simply didn't believe I was in the excruciating pain I was in and basically thought since I had always been highly emotional that I was blowing my situation out of proportion.Then of course there are the doctors that you drag yourself to, one after the other. They too tell you there is nothing wrong with you and that maybe you should “talk" to someone! I lost one of my favorite doctors who said that to me. When enough people tell you that there is either nothing wrong with you or that you are doing it to yourself you begin to wonder if indeed it "is" you!Oh yes, then there are your friends who can't understand how you could be so lazy or undependable and for the most part think you are a hypochondriac even though you can't pick yourself up off the floor to go to the store to get food and water .Nope, there is no compassion for people with this disease. There are no visits, no flowers, no get well cards, no sympathy and after awhile no phone calls. There you are with just "you" and symptoms from excruciating pain, unbearable fatigue, a brain that can't operate terrible headaches and stomach issues that never stop and the fear and isolation that go along with all of it. You are in this alone.If you are married or living with a partner or your family you have the added burden of guilt because of what you are putting them through but you can't help it. At one point I wound up in the hospital. A psychiatrist came to see me. When I explained what was going on and how depressed I was he said to me "Andrea, if you weren't depressed I would be more worried about you!"Did I think about suicide? You bet I did! However, I was determined to find out what was wrong with me and I wasn't going to quit until I did! I don't give up and it's a good thing I didn't because I found what I was looking for and I am here to tell you what it was and how it saved my life.GUAIFENESINMELISSA CONGDON, MDThe guaifenesin protocol is a fibromyalgia treatment pioneered by fibromyalgia specialist Dr R Paul St Amand. There is no medication (yet) that has ben shown to make the Syndrome disappear but Dr St Amand, an 85 year old fibromyalgia specialist (who Himself has the syndrome and who has been woring with fibromyalgia patients for 50years) may have found a way to reverse the illness.Dr St Amand believes that patients with FM are probably missing an enzyme needed by the kidneys to effectively remove excess phosphate from the body. Phosphate is an Inorganic chemical that is constantly being produced in our bodies and is necessary for energy production. When levels in the bloodstream get too high the kidney cannot Decrease the level due the defective enzyme and the phosphate along with the calcium and water is deposited in “nodules” throughout the body. This can explain why so many different organs are effected in FM. This is why patients can have irritable bowel syndrome, body pain and dizziness all within the same illness. Since the right amount of phosphate is crucial to the production of energy this can explain why FM patients can feel so tired.Dr St Amand has measured that guaifenesin used in FM patietns at the proper dose Removes phosphate from the kidney. Used over time guaifenesin removes the Phosphate from the nodules and the patient’s symptoms decrease. Eventually, the symptoms disappear as the illness is reversed which is something no other treatment regimen can show. He has used guaifenesin which is the active ingredient in the over the counter medication, Mucinex successfully since 1992 in patients as young as 2 years of age.In 1995 a double blind placebo study was done at the University of Oregon where the Results indicated that patients with fibromyalgia who took guaifenesin experienced no. Benefits over patients who used the placebo (sugar pil). However, this was before the Blocking effects of salicylates on guaifenesin were known. Since then Dr St Amand teaches his patients how to avoid salicylates and the success rate of the programl is as high as 95% if the protocol is administered by practitioners personally trained by him such as myself.This study is probably the reason why many doctors do not use the guaifenesin Protocol, do not think highly of it and may discourage you from trying it. However, many doctors and health care professionals throughout the country have successfully treated their FM patients with the guaifenesin protocol. I have been trained in the administration of the guafenesin protocol.I have spent time with Dr St Amand, learning how to map (palpate nodules) and do guaifenesin. I believe the protocol can have great benefit. When I trained with him I saw firsthand the wonderful improvement patients can make using this safe over the counter medication. The drug had no side effects and can be used with most other FM medications. The Idea of reversing the illness is the best possible outcome we have until there is a cure.