The Fibromyalgia Treatment Center, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation with a threefold mission:

• Raise money for research into the diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia;
• Educate the medical community and the general public about the nature, diagnosis, and treatment of fibromyalgia and its related conditions;
• Aid fibromyalgics in their search for health.

More than eight years ago a small group of fibromyalgics, all members of an online support group, were getting well following the Guaifenesin Protocol, the treatment regimen developed by R. Paul St. Amand, M.D. and his assistant Claudia Marek. Although their success was obvious, the medical community required more rigorous evidence. There was an obvious and urgent need for credible research in something other than expensive drugs to treat symptoms.

Fibromyalgia, often misdiagnosed, is not a new or rare disease. It is a debilitating and complex set of related symptoms and has been known by various names since the beginning of time. Conservatively, at least five percent of the US population is affected. At this time there are no specific diagnostic tests that "prove" its existence, although the condition has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a verifiable disease since 1990. To achieve a diagnosis practitioners and patients rely on a process of elimination via established testing techniques. This eliminates a slew of conditions with similar symptoms, but for many that degree of analysis is an unaffordable luxury. And, too often, patients are "dismissed" as depressed folks with psychosomatic complaints. Medical history is filled tales of real, treatable diseases that were originally dismissed as histrionic imaginings.

Fibromyalgia exists. It is genetic and there is no cure. However, like diabetes and other chronic illnesses it can be treated and managed. R. Paul St. Amand, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harbor UCLA, along with many other physicians across the US have successfully treated thousands of their patients using guaifenesin, an old and inexpensive drug. Although reams of clinical evidence exist on the success of guaifenesin in treating fibromyalgia, tightly controlled and credible research is required for full acceptance. This research could easily be done by a drug company, but since guaifenesin is now over the counter, and no company stands to profit from such a study. As a result,  it has been difficult to interest any corporation in undertaking the project. Hence, this organization was born. Our most important contributors to this multi-year project are fibromyalgia patients, their friends and families. The Fibromyalgia Treatment Center has now donated $300,000 to a research project at The City of Hope, Duarte, California.  Our first publication was made in June 2008 and there are two more papers in the works.  All progress will be posted on this site and our companion board: www.fibromyalgiatreatment.com/board.
 

So all this is about spreading HOPE!