Enter the Healing
The title above is a tribute to Stan Lee his titles of the sixties. :)
Below is a journal in reverse chronological order, describing the success (or failure, or both) of the guaifenesin protocol to reverse fibromyalgia as outlined in this book:
What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Fibromyalgia
You can comment on this journal by clicking here.
July 12, 2006 - Final Entry
To see further journal entries, go here:
http://thomasamckean.com/blogs/index.php
and click on "Guai Blog" at the top.
June 27, 2006 - Day: 44
Today I thought I would update this journal.
I think the low carb diet is doing more for me than the guaifenesin is. Of course, how would I know since I have been naughty as of late and have not been taking the guai like I should?
I am sure that the embarrassment of having to post that will get me back on the straight and narrow!
I ate a high carb meal today and it totally knocked out. I had to sleep for a couple of hours during the day. If I don't eat carbs, that doesn't happen.
Those of you who are fatigued during the day, try eating low carb for a while. The fatigue may be a carb sensitivity.
June 13, 2006 - Day: 31
Today is my first month on the protocol. The other day I went off of the HG diet and I sure did regret it! So if nothing else, this experience has been valuable so far in that I have learned that Thomas and carbs don't mix.
As I said in the previous entry, I do have more motivation, and I guess really I have more energy to actually get things done. It is good to look back at the end of the day and to realize that you have accomplished something. I like that.
I have increased my dosage to 600mg in the morning and 1200mg at night. I just started this a couple of days ago so I have nothing to report about it yet.
May 28, 2006 - Day: 15
I thought I would write an update since it has been a week. Not really much to report. I don't "feel" any different, however I do notice that I am getting a lot more done and that I am more productive.
Definitely a step in the right direction.
May 20, 2006 - Day: 7
Today is my first week on the protocol. I notice that lately I am very moody. I hear this will pass. Also "going" more than ever before (I had to get up TWICE last night! ACK!), hopefully this, too, will pass.
I think both of these are good signs. They mean I am cleansing the phosphates out and that is what I want.
Starting tomorrow, I go from 300mg twice a day to 600mg twice a day.
Things should start to get "interesting" sometime next week.
May 17, 2006 - Day: 4
The past two days I have been feeling kind of run down and lethargic. This is exactly what is supposed to happen in the beginning. But I can't tell if I am run down because of the protocol or run down because of the fibro.
Bummer.
May 15, 2006 - Day: 2
Today I noticed some mucus. Ew. It isn't so bad. Not yet, anyway. I have heard some people just have a horrible time with it in the beginning. Hope I am not one of them.
May 14, 2006 - Day: 1
Mother's Day, 2006. (Happy
Mother's Day, Mom!) I took my first mucinex and went off to church
like a good little boy.
This protocol has gotten off to quite a start. After church, some
people prayed for me and I even had a vision while they were praying.
It was kewl and scary all at the same time!
I saw muscles and joints and they were very weak. Then I saw these "dots" (they were brown dots but they were black in the center and around the edge), there were many of them, hundreds, thousands, whatever, and they were all coming out of the muscles and joints and then they were disappearing. Then I saw the muscles and joints get stronger and healthier.
And that was the end of the vision.
Now I am sure the spiritual among you will take that vision to heart, and the more worldly of you will tell me that the mucinex is giving me hallucinations.
Only time will tell which of you is right.
May 13, 2006 - Day: -1
My friend, Vicki, gave me a check for $15.00 and told me to buy a coffee grinder so I could grind the TUMS to make the toothpaste. I went to Wal-Mart, bought the grinder, and made the toothpaste. I wasn't sure what flaver I wanted, looked like I had the options of lemon, orange, lime, or cherry? I chose orange at random. Let's just say it is.....different. :)
One thing I realized after I made it was that I forgot to get the sugar free TUMS, so I am brushing my teeth with sugar. How stupid is that? :( I have ordered salicylate free toothpaste from two places, one is apricot flavored and one I think is cranberry flavored. Hopefully they will be better. The apricot should be here Monday.
I also bought a pill splitter because you are to try the protocol at 300mg 2x day at first but I can only find 600mg tablets. The splitter works great, though. So that isn't a problem.
Tomorrow: Everything changes.
May 12, 2006 - Day: -2
I am having problems finding the stuff I need. :( So I went to a yahoo e-group "guaifenesin") and found that the list on the www.fibromyalgiatreatment.com site is incomplete. I can use Pantene Pro V (in the white bottle) for shampoo, dial anti bacterial liquid soap, and I ordered some toothpaste from a couple of places but I think I will end up making my own from this recipe I found:
Get a
refillable tube from a camping supply store.
Mix together in a bowl 80 Sugar-Free Fruit Flavored Tums (not mint)
crushed (or you could use unflavored sugar-free antacid tablets and
add a few drops of artificial cinnamon flavoring);
1/2 cup baking soda;
1/4 cup glycerin (from your pharmacy);
1 1/4 T water.
This toothpaste doesn't contain flouride..
You can add a drop of a non mint fluoride gel or rinse, and use a
flouride rinse
afterwards (non mint). Mix well. Add a little more water if necessary.
Spoon it into the tube.
Today I want to do some laundry and the next two days I will be getting my downstairs in order because I don't want to have to deal with that when I am cycling. I hear it will feel like I have the flu for a while before it gets better.
Interesting article on this protocol can be found by clicking here, for anyone interested in just what this is I am doing. This was written by Dr. Devin Starlanyl, and a lot of people (including myself) tend to trust her writings.
Also today (and this was kind of kewl), I got my auricular clips in the mail. These are for use with a TENS Unit. Using the clips, you can do CES on the brain. I thought this might be a good thing to do during guai treatment. Today I had my first CES session and WOW. I feel so LOOPY! Like I did when I first started taking the neurontin. Oh yeah, I could get used to this. :) For those interested, I had a choice of my three TENS units, and I chose to use the TENS 6000 because, as you can see, you can seal the amplitude and other controls so you don't accidentally fry your brain. That's VERY important!!!
Got what I needed today. Shampoo, deodorant, soap and body wash. I have all of that. I'm pretty much ready at this point.
I also heard rumors today that "Wellspring Counseling" boasts a 90% cure rate with fibromyalgia. Might have to look into that... :)
May 11, 2006 - Day: -3
I am not sure where I got the notion to read this book originally. I know that I have lately been hanging out at some fibro sites and that may have something to do with it. I don't even know if this will work. The simple version is that you take guaifenesin (known more commonly by its brand name, "Mucinex") twice a day, and at the same time, you avoid all salicylates because they block the guai from clearing out the fibro.
This doesn't apply to what you eat, but it does apply to medications and what you put on your skin. So, being a Melaleuca member for so long, I have to rethink everything in terms of shampoo and toothpaste and soap and what not. Some people (mainly women who wear make up) have had a hard time adapting to this. Fortunately, my needs are easy and it should be easier for me.
I hear the symptoms get worse before they get better. And then they "cycle" a few more times and then the healing begins. I don't look forward to the cycles, and I do pray I have the discipline to keep with the program!
What is happening is the mucinex is clearing out not only the mucus (I can look forward to spitting a bunch of that out...UGH!), but also, without the salicylates, it clears out the phosphates that have gathered at the cellular level, which is what is causing the fibro to occur.
Today is Thursday. I have a couple more things to do to get ready, then if all goes well, I begin on Sunday.
