The SHIN Approach and Treatment Protocol

Understanding The SHIN Approach to CFS/FM Treatment

In his 30 years of clinical experience, and in his landmark study on Effective Treatment of CFS/FM, Dr Teitelbaum has found that his SHIN approach to treating CFS/FM is successful in the vast majority of patients. The SHIN Treatment Protocol is a list of the more common treatments for CFS/FM.

SHIN represents four areas of health issues that need to be addressed when creating a treatment program.
These health issues and their roles in treating CFS/FM are as follows:

• S = SLEEP: Get adequate sleep, preferably eight to nine hours a night. Sleep replenishes the body's energy and heals its muscles. Inadequate sleep will leave you exhausted and in pain.
• H = HORMONES: Get tested for hormone deficiency and treated if needed. Hormone deficiencies can contribute to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
• I = INFECTIONS: Get treatment when symptoms of infections occur. The lack of restorative sleep in CFS/FM leads to dysfunctional immune systems. Underlying viral, bacterial, bowel, sinus and yeast infections are common and can be a contributing cause or result of CFS/FM.
• N = NUTRITONAL SUPPLEMENTS: Optimal nutritional supplementation is essential. Many nutrients can be depleted as a result of CFS/FM. B-12, magnesium, Acetyl L Carnitine and glutathione, as well as your basic A, B, C and D vitamins need to be supplemented at a level that your average over the counter multivitamin cannot provide.

See the SHIN Treatment Protocol that Dr. Teitelbaum used in his own practice and his study. This protocol is used worldwide by practitioners who want to effectively treat CFS/FM, as well as patients who want to start natural remedies on their own. You can print it and use this as a guide with your practitioner to tailor your treatment regimen to your specific symptoms. Click here to see the SHIN Treatment Protocol

What to Expect

It takes an average of six weeks to begin to feel the benefits of your treatment. During this time, you should chart important information about your treatment progress, such as dates when you start or stop individual treatments, and their effects. For most of you, CFS/FM took months to fully manifest. It can also take several months to get well.

Although the SHIN protocol gives you the fastest path to healing, keep in mind that total recovery can take several months to over a year. You should remain on the treatment program until you are feeling consistently well for six months or more (with no back-sides). After that, you can taper off the program by discontinuing one treatment every one to two weeks. The gradual tapering is recommended so that you can make sure a particular treatment is no longer needed.

Although it isn't usually necessary, any or all of the treatments can be used forever without harm. Many patients choose to continue several treatments long term after stopping the majority of them. Reading your body’s signals and taking your practitioner’s advice are your best tools in determining which treatments should be continued to remain well.