If you are a patient here, have you ever heard us talk about the acronym SHINE or the SHINE Protocol? I may have discussed it with you if you have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue but I may not have mentioned it to you if you come for weight loss or hormone management.
Although we more actively cover SHINE for our fibro and fatigue patients, we really do use SHINE on every patient. SHINE is an acronym that guides us when we are treating our patients.
The SHINE protocol comes from Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, who has written a number of books on fibromyalgia and fatigue.
The S stands for sleep. With television, computers, and the stresses of modern-day life, our average sleep time per night is six and three-quarters hours. Eight hours is preferred. One of the most effective ways to improve energy and mental clarity is to get eight hours of sleep. This is especially important for fibro and fatigue patients because their sleep center is very often not working properly. We have a number of ways to improve sleep like giving progesterone if progesterone levels are low and ordering sleep studies.
The H in SHINE Protocol stands for hormones. We look at many hormones here: thyroid, adrenals, sex hormones, and others. Many fibro and fatigue patients have NO energy. Thyroid hormone is like the body’s gas pedal. We try to return the thyroid to optimal function. Adrenal hormones help you handle stress and maintain blood pressure. When they are under-active, as can be seen with fibro and fatigue, we see fatigue, infections, hypoglycemia, poor stress management, and sugar/salt cravings. We have a number of natural supplements and even prescription medications to boost adrenals. Lack of testosterone can lead to erectile dysfunction in men and low energy, low libido, high blood pressure, and even diabetes in both men and women. We replace testosterone when needed. Lack of estrogen and progesterone in women can lead to insomnia, fatigue, headaches, vaginal dryness, loss of libido, and hot flashes. We only use bio-identical hormones to alleviate the symptoms above AND improve brain health, build strong bones, improve breast health and cardiovascular health.
The I stands for infections. Anything from sinusitis to irritable bowel can lead to a low immune system. Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue patients can have a poor immune system. We search for viruses, bacteria, parasites, and yeast that may lead to one of the reasons for chronic sickness. We have a number of ways to keep these infections at bay and allow the immune system to grow stronger, protecting the body from further illness.
The N stands for nutrition. Eighteen percent of our diet comes from sugar and another 18 percent comes from white flour. We are facing high-calorie malnutrition. This leaves a person overweight and exhausted. We have many tips for healthy eating, including Dr. Spurlock’s diet class every other Saturday morning. These classes are fun and informative AND NO COST! We believe healthy food is the best medicine.
E is for exercise. Lack of exercise causes deconditioning. Exercise can effectively help prevent or treat just about every health problem out there and it is critical for optimal vitality. Many of our fibro and fatigue patients need instruction on beginning exercise very gently and slowly until they begin to feel better.
Come see one of us so we can use the SHINE protocol on you so you can shine to the world!
Learn More About Our Fibromyalgia Treatment
Apart from fibromyagia and chronic fatigue, I have always been told the SHINE protocal can be used for other health and wellbeing matter. I am really lost whenever I attempt to google for more info, I ended at this website. Is there anything else that I should do to find out if SHINE protocal can be adopted for other health issueLLai
My daughter has chronic fatigue.
Since she was 13. She is now 15. I feel like her life is so hard. Please help.
Make sure you don’t do the exercise …. pacing is key .. look at MEAction.net non profit for resources – rule out POTS. Thinking of your daughter .
Hi, try having a look at Alex Howard and Toby Morrison on YouTube. They are inspirational re CFS 💗
You could check her ferritin. Even if hemoglobin is normal she could have iron deficiency.
Feel free to reach me. There are sooo many natural things that can help our bodies. Moderation is key. And the FDA w big pharma have been trying hard to regulate natural supplements for decades. I have Systemic Lupus (SLE), Fibromyalgia, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease w Polymyositis, Endometriosis, non-alcoholic fatty Liver Disease, I’ve even had autoimmune pancreatic reactions and the worse ME/CFS. I was once an athlete, singer/song writer, recording artist, and once I finally became successfully pregnant, I was diagnosed with Lupus. My kids have NEVER met the real me. Super sad, I couldn’t carry them, take them to the park, movies, and I almost ended up in a wheelchair. I’m a good patient though. I take my meds, see my doctors but, NONE of them gave crap about my fatigue which was destroying my life. as I seemed to be disappearing into thin air. It’s like one day waking up in a totally different body that doesn’t answer to you. I couldn’t work, enjoy my kids or time w them, I fully isolated from society, and they’d just tell me I should see a therapist. BUT, it wasn’t psychological, my body was just carrying all these things around. So, I researched, researched, and researched, got my full diagnosis 15 years after my initial and my new doc. Dr. Brodsky, definitely validated my concern, but, he doesn’t handle ME/CFS. Very few docs do. The ones who do, charge an arm and a leg. So, I guineapigged myself, tried everything I could think of good and bad. Then one day, I literally had a dream that I should take magnesium. So, I tried it, I learned about the SHINE protocol, but didn’t even have energy to go through w it. So, I eventually figured out what magnesium was best for muscle recovery and that was my main issue and why I was so tired. Different magnesium’s help different things. It’s one of the most important elements inside our bodies. I bought some magnesium malate for the mornings and I was super sick at first. Couldn’t stop pooping, I lowered the dose and eased back up. Then, I added psyllium husk and ashwagandha, and super magnesium at night. The first three weeks were hell, by week 4, it started getting a bit better. I am near feeling like my old self again. I pray that I live long enough so that my kiddos can meet the mom they’ve never known. So, don’t listen to the nonsense on this vid. Just try things out in moderation. These things take time. Never take more than you should.
musenangel@yahoo.com
Please add the following subject line:
Help me w CFS/ME.
I hope that you adopted the SHINE protocol from Jacob Teitelbaum. I didn’t see in your description anywhere that it was first created by Dr. T.
He states that in the opening paragraph, last sentence!
would like to know all foods ,supplements for the shine prtocol,fighting SBO,LEAKY GUT and all the acociated health isues such as auto immunune allergic to everything,night shadfes,crucifers and b vitaminsa,green tes red clover
very intrested in the shine and of course insomnia all of this 15 plus yrs
tired of getting my hopes up and wasted money on books that do not work,thanks
I TOTALLY feel you! It also took me 15 years. I still haven’t fully applied the SHINE protocol, but I’m half way there. It starts w supplements. I don’t sell anything, but no one should go through what we go through. My email is musenangel@yahoo.com. Use subject line:
Help me w CFS/ME.
Nightshades are not bad for everyone by the way. There’s so much bad science out there! Every single body is different and one must do what works for them. I can gladly share what works with me.
I am glad to read here for the 1st time that physical exercise is encouraged with this illness, whereas in everything else I heard about it before, they said it was bad for us who suffer from it. I have been living with the chronic fatigue syndrome since I had a stroke (in the form of a sinus vene thrombosis) six years ago at the age of 60. Most of the day I am laying on the couch but I’m in the lucky situation that I have a husband who takes care of me and does almost everything for me. This gives me the opportunity to use the little energy which is left after the basic things like taking a shower, getting dressed, eating (he cooks of course), sometimes some private administrative work etc. for about 50 to 60 minutes of physical exercise, of course getting up just before and laying down again immediately after. It is doing me good. My body was used to very much sport before, mainly long distance in cross-country skiing or mountaineering. I also raced in marathons. But I think also others with this illness could benefit from some exercise. I encourage you to try. Just start slowly and for very short periods of time. Even though almost the whole former life is gone, this gives me at least a little bit of joy.
Exercise kills me. Lol! I was also an athlete, but the problem with protocols is that no one protocol is for everyone of us. Working out like I used to is certainly my goal, but, I work 9-5 and I’m a single mom. I need a hubby like yours! Lol! I am glad you have his support. 🥰