Dr. Jay Goldstein's Top 23 Drugs for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

Dr. Goldstein believed ME/CFS was a disorder of disturbed central nervous system processing and he developed a unique protocol for treating it.

He also wrote three books in the 1990's and in 2004: "Betrayal of the Brain: The Neurologic Basis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia Syndrome, and Related Disorders" and "The Limbic Hypothesis" and Tuning the Brain".

Erica Verillo describes how he worked

"Typically, when Dr. Goldstein saw new patients, he would test them sequentially with minute quantities of many psychoactive drugs in order to 1) identify the source of the problem, and 2) establish which drugs would be most effective.

Click to expand...

This method allowed Dr. Goldstein to assess the patient rapidly, and at minimal cost. Dr. Goldstein halted sequential trials when the patient was “virtually asymptomatic.” Dr. Goldstein claimed that using this protocol most patients were dramatically improved in one or two office visits."

Click to expand...

He retired from practice in 2003.

Dr Jay Goldstein's Top 23 Drugs For ME/CFS Treatment

Drug | Time to Onset of Action | Duration of Action

(1) Naphazoline HCL 0.1% eye drops | 2 - 3 seconds | 3 - 6 hours
(2) Nitroglycerin 0.04 mg sublingual | 2 - 3 minutes | 3 - 6 hours
(3) Nimodipine 30 mg oral | 20 - 40 minutes | 4 - 8 hours
(4) Gabapentin 100 to 800 mg oral | 30 minutes | 8 hours
(5) Baclofen 10 mg | 30 minutes | 8 hours
(6) Oxytocin 5 to 10 U intramuscular, or twice daily;
OR: Syntocinon 1 or 2 puffs three times a day | 15 minutes - 72 hrs | 12 - 24 hours
(7) Pyridostigmine 30 to 60 mg oral | 30 minutes | 4 - 6 hours
(8) Hydralazine 10 to 25 mg oral | 30 - 45 minutes | 6 - 12 hours
(9) Mexiletine 150 mg oral | 30 - 45 minutes | 6 - 8 hours
(10) Tacrine 10 mg | 30 minutes | 4 - 6 hours
(11) Risperidone 0.25 to 0.5 mg | 45 - 60 minutes | 8 - 12 hours
(12) Pindolol 5 mg twice a day | 15 minutes - 7 days | 12 hours
(13) Lamotrigine 25 to 50 mg four times a day | 30 - 45 minutes | 24 hours
(14) Sumatriptan 3 - 6 mg subcutaneous | 15 - 30 minutes | 16 hours
(15) Ranitidine 150 mg twice a day | 1 hour - 1 week | 12 - 24 hours
(16) Doxepin HCL elixir 2 - 20 mg at bedtime | 1 hour | variable
(17) Sertraline 25 to 50 mg every day before noon;
OR: Paroxetine 10 to 20 mg every day before noon | 1 hour - 8 weeks | 1 - 2 days
(18) Bupropion 100 mg three times a day | 30 minutes - 8 weeks | 8 - 24 hours
(19) Nefazodone 100 to 300 mg twice a day | 2 - 8 weeks | 24 hours
(20) Venlafaxine 37.5 to 75 mg twice a day | 1 - 4 weeks | 24 hours
(21) Glycine powder 0.4 grams per Kg of body weight daily in juice;
OR: Cycloserine 15 to 20 mg four times a day | 1 hour | 24 hours
(22) Felbamate 400 mg | 30 minutes | 6 - 8 hours
(23) Lidocaine 200 to 300 mg