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Exercise
[Q&As are placed in reverse chronological
order. In other words,
the latest Q&As come first. Earlier ones are further down the
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October 29, 1997
Question:
Have fibromyalgia patients who have had significant improvement
using your protocol also been able to lose weight that was gained WITH the onset of
fibromyalgia?
Dr. Lowe: In two of our blinded studies, in which
fibromyalgia patients improved or recovered with the use of T3, there was no change in the
patients' average weight. In another of our studies, patients lost a significant average
amount of weight. (The average weight decreased from 136 lbs to 133 lbs.) Laboratory tests
indicated that only in one study did patients lose lean tissue mass, and the loss was very
slight. It is common for fibromyalgia patients to accumulate body fat after developing
fibromyalgia, and it is not unusual for them to lose the fat as they undergo metabolic
therapy.
If fibromyalgia patients are to markedly improve (including depletion of excess body fat),
however, they must engage in exercise to tolerance. Whereas before beginning metabolic
therapy many patients are not able to exercise, after beginning therapy their ability to
exercise without adverse consequences increases remarkably. The patients in our studies
did engage in exercise. In general, increased activity decreases body fat, but it also
increases lean tissue mass. Because lean tissue is heavier than fat, the result is that
the patient's weight loss during therapy is not proportional to the amount of fat lost.
Thus, using weight to assess fat loss during metabolic therapy can be deceptive.
Let me emphasize that taking thyroid hormone to lose weight—without consuming a
wholesome diet, taking nutritional supplements, and participating in regular exercise to
tolerance—is self-abusive. The patient doing so runs a high risk of detrimental
consequences. On the other hand, many fibromyalgia patients are hypometabolic due to
hypothyroidism or cellular resistance to thyroid hormone. These patients—by using
thyroid hormone, good diet and nutrition, and exercise—can improve their health in
many ways, including possible depletion of excess body fat. At the same time, by using
this regimen they decrease their susceptibility to potentially life-threatening
pathological processes, such as cardiovascular and liver diseases.
Jackie Yellin has asked that I add a comment from her. She has been a rigorous aerobic
exerciser her whole life. Until she began taking thyroid hormone as a treatment for her
fibromyalgia, losing weight was very difficult for her. Now, she says, she can lose weight
more easily as she exercises. But (and she said to emphasize the "but"),
she still has to exercise!
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