What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia Fatigue

October 1, 2003
St. Amand and Marek, the authors of two books on fibromyalgia (e.g., What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia) present their theory (a word the authors emphasize) on the cause of fatigue associated with fibromyalgia along with a solution for it. Drawing on their experience with thousands of patients at their fibromyalgia clinic at UCLA, they propose that fibromyalgia is caused by a single malfunction at the cellular level that robs individuals of a source of their energy: ATP production. Since low blood sugar, obesity, and diabetes (among other factors) apparently compound the problem, their solution involves strict, low-carbohydrate diets combined with exercise. They provide recipes, diet plans, and other suggestions and resources for the fatigued fibromyalgic. Evidently, the authors have not reported their findings in the traditional medical literature, so health professionals are unlikely to know of, or believe in, their theory. Therefore, the title could be true-doctors may indeed not tell their patients any of the information here. This book fits your collection if you can accommodate patrons frustrated with current medical care and looking for alternative answers to fibromyalgia fatigue.-Joanne Rich, Health Sciences Lib., Univ. of Washington, Seattle

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.