Posted by Another Bob on April 27, 1999, at 12:36:55
In reply to Re: fibromyalgia, posted by Elizabeth on April 24, 1999, at 0:23:15
>Recent studies have suggested that fibromyalgia is a sleep disorder -- pain, depression, etc. are symptoms of underlying condition.
Dr. Martin Scharf in Cincinnati has recently published data showing that patients who take GHB (gammahydrodxybuterate) have reduced alpha intrusions in their sleep and actually get slow-wave sleep -- and relief from pain.
GHB is a naturally occuring substance (no reported side effects), but it's not an ideal drug (must be given in gram -- as opposed to milligram -- doses,and it has a short half-life so it only provides 2-4 hours of sleep (patients usually redose in the middle of the night and sleep through.
Scharf has been treating people (mostly narcoleptics) with the compound for over a dozen years and claims significant success.
Now for the bad news: the federal government frowns on GHB (has been accused of being used as a date-rape compound). Legal in Europe, GHB is used for anesthesia, narcolepsy, drug/alcohol addiction. I'd steer clear of the folks on the Web who will sell you the chemicals to make GHB (and who claim it's a cure for everything from itching to impotence).
Martin Scharf can be reached at the Tri-State Sleep Disorders Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Good luck.
poster:Another Bob
thread:5041
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990401/msgs/5357.html