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Book Review of From Fatigued to Fantastic!: A Proven Program to Regain Vibrant Health, Based on a New Scientific Study Showing Effective Treatment for Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia

tatjana avatar reviewed A book with some terrific observations and ideas. on + 27 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4


I meet so many other women (I have yet to meet a man) with CFS/CFID/Fibromyalgia... usually compounded with other things like Lupus or Auto-Immune Arthritis... it was beginning to get a little uncanny. I live just outside Austin and know about 11 women with CFS/Fibromyalgia.
It's a huge percentage of the people I know out here... more than 10% certainly. I've started calling it the "Slow-the-hell-down" disease. The book doesn't address this, however... so I'm digressing.

The library in which I am employed got this book as a donation and I encouraged the acquisitions God to add it to the collection for the reasons I gave above. Naturally I was the first to check it out.

The man who wrote it comes from the interesting perspective of being a doctor *and* having CFS/Fibromyalgia. He basically sifts through each batch of symptoms and talks about some habits sufferers can cultivate to help themselves. He talks about the commonly prescribed drugs and how these drugs end up being piled one atop the other to treat side effects. He has an extensive and entertaining set of appendices that help you find businesses willing to ship you products that may be difficult to find in your area.

He talks about homeopathy and phyto-pharmacology (using plants). Some of it is a little outdated now, but anyone keeping even remotely up to date on scientific findings will know immediately what the scoop is.

The downside: His pronouncements of getting shots of vitamins (for example) among other things, completely ignore the very existence of resistant doctors... or doctors who are limited by insurance. The assumption is that we will create an unlimited budget to feel better. Getting acupuncture three times a week can cost almost $300 in my area. Who has $1200 a month hanging around for just that purpose? He doesn't address the very basic questions like: how to find someone who still gives vitamin injections. Another considerable downside is that Teitelbaum has taken advantage of a vaccuum in the market to create his own vitamin blends and proceeds to actively push them throughout the text. This is not done in an obnoxious manner, to be sure, but it definitely got a rolling of the eyes from my quadrant.

The skinny is: check it out from the library. There are some great habits to cultivate and some great resources to explore. Ditch the rest. Then call me and we'll go have a glass of wine and kvetsch.