Trial of D-Ribose

Feeling a little better today but still had bad OI and very limited stamina. The boys are both doing well, though, and the sun is still shining (the rains come tomorrow), so I'm not complaining. I love the sunshine!!!

I'm trying something new, for the first time in a while. I've been in such bad shape this winter that I held off on trying anything new, waiting (in vain) for some kind of steady state. At my last visit, my Lyme doctor (I got Lyme last year, on top of CFS) suggested I try D-ribose. I already had a bottle at home, so I decided to give it a try. It's a sugar that our cells need in order to produce energy, one of many energy pre-cursers in short supply in those of us with CFS. It's also supposed to help with exercise intolerance, which would be the ultimate ecstasy for me right now, as my stamina is terrible.

Here's a recent study of using D-ribose for CFS that had excellent results. The most comprehensive information I found on treating CFS with D-ribose was in this article on Dr. Teitelbaum's website. Many of you remember that I had some major problems with Dr. Teitelbaum's appearance on the Dr. Oz show where he talked about CFS. I do strongly object to the way he portrays CFS in his writings and public appearances - his burring of the line between chronic fatigue and CFS, his overzealous promises of recovery (which we all know is not that simple), and his promotion of his own line of supplements. HOWEVER, all that said, he is knowledgeable about certain aspects of CFS, and his website does contain some good information (if you can get past the sales pitches).

In my own limited experience, I haven't had much luck with other energy supplements I've tried. I think it's because the problems with our cells not producing energy efficiently are effects of CFS, not causes. The root causes lie in our dysfunctional immune systems, our messed up autonomic nervous systems, and our poorly functioning endocrine systems, and I believe that energy supplements won't have much effect until those underlying problems are dealt with. Unfortunately, no one yet knows how to fix our dysfunctional immune systems, though treating underlying infections seems to help.

So, I'm interested to see if the D-ribose helps at all, but I'm not too optimistic. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. Most studies show it takes about 10 days to see results; I just started on Friday. I do suspect that it's already interferring with my sleep - I've had trouble sleeping at night the last couple of nights and falling asleep for my nap today. I'm going to try changing my dosing schedule to see if that helps.

I'm very interested to hear whether anyone else has tried D-ribose and what your experiences have been.

P.S. Did anyone catch House last night on TV? The featured patient was an obsessed blogger!