How did the use of guaifenesin for FMS come about?
R. Paul St. Amand, MD., a California Endocrynologist, treated FMS patients with the gout medications probenecid and sulfinpyrazone. In 1995, he switched to a weaker and more benign urocosuric medication called Guaifenesin because of its safe effectiveness, even for children. The original Guaifenesin Protocol primarily used the Sustained Action (or Long-Acting) forms of guaifensin. These typically came in 600mg tablets. Individuals would begin the protocol by breaking one of these tablets in half and taking 300mg in the morning and 300mg in the evening. After a week, if an increase in some symptoms did not occur, then the medication was increased to 600mg morning and evening, and so forth, until the correct ‘cycling dose’ was determined by a ‘tolerable’ increase in symptoms. (see link for guai treatment protocol). Medical professionals utilizing the original protocol claim that 70% of their patients ‘cycled’ on the 600mg or 1200mg regimen, and 30 percent required higher doses. Many are
