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Supplements

 

Supplements are not the heart of treatment, but they may be used to optimize health and may produce modest improvement in some symptoms for some people.

As described elsewhere on this site, the most important treatment of CFS and FM is acceptance of the illness and adaptation to it by means of lifestyle change, which focuses on pacing and includes other adjustments such as stress management.
 
Dr. Lapp has developed three tests that any vitamin, supplement, or nutraceutical must pass before he recommends it::  
  1. It must be safe
  2. There has to be a scientific basis for its use
  3. A majority of individuals who use them must benefit
Based on these criteria, he has found 10 supplements that qualify. They are listed and described in an article on the self-help progam website.  
 
Dr. Lapp advises that people try only one new supplement at a time, keeping it if it works and dropping it if it is ineffective. He also suggests stopping the use of a supplement for several weeks once a year to test whether it is still effective. If you experience no change in symptoms during that time, you can save yourself some money by dropping that substance.
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