SA, SR and LA are one and the same. SA does NOT stand for short acting. It indicates "sustained action." SR signifies "sustained release" and LA, "long acting." All of the 600-mg tablets on the market are manufactured so as to have an early release followed by a slow release in an attempt to maintain blood levels for about twelve hours. The usual dosage for patients with bronchitis, asthma, chronic sinusitis, pneumonia etc. is 1200 mg twice daily designed to cover them for a full twenty-four hours.

Short acting preparations that are being sold over-the-counter (non-prescriptive) immediately dissolve and last about 3-4 hours, perhaps a bit more depending on the individual. This is why Robitussin and other cough preparations are given every four hours. Thus, a short-acting medication will have a quick and fleeting impact. There would be from 12 to 16 hours of 'uncovered' time wherein little if any is left in the system. Will that work for some people? This you will need to decide for yourselves. Will it work better? Not that we have seen.

Our protocol is an evolutionary one developed over forty-three years. We have steadily used long acting medication and have evolved the recommended dosages on that basis. Altering our protocol especially in unmapped people leaves an individual at the mercy of chance and their own interpretation. The only ally they have is time and that will require a cyclic grouping of better days that slowly accumulate proving efficacy of dosage.

Also, contrary to postings, Guaifenesin is almost totally absorbed and is soluble in water (every tablet we have checked so far). All seem to work well and we have seen no difference between STANDARD brands. There is one warning. The FDA found the Company that makes Q-bid guilty of insufficient dosage in seven of their products including their Guaifenesin. We have personally used it for over two years as has my staff and my wife without a problem. We have maintained our state of clearing.

We spend our working lives with nothing but fibromyalgics. We map each and everyone on each visit. We witness progress and failures from blocking agents. However, once the dosage is established, it holds well unless some blocker has been introduced. Our statistics are solid. As we learned in an earlier study the figures continue about the same in our continuing, second one.

We are now redoing the numbers with currently 1,523 consecutive patients (and counting). At 300 mg Guaifenesin twice daily, 16% of our patients reverse. At 600 mg twice daily, another 63% begin recovery. Thus, by the time we reach that amount, 63+16= 79% of patients are underway. Another 11% start reversing at 1800 mg. That means that by that time 90% of our patients are improving. That leaves only 10% who need more. The numbers are slightly changed from our earlier study. We suspect mint in children's toothpastes was the difference.

Thus in summary, if some of you must make changes in our protocol do so but we cannot sanction them. Some of you are not easily blocked, others are horribly sensitive to salicylates. We have had 5-6 patients over the years improve on only 300 mg Guaifenesin daily. If you have a gambling spirit you are certainly free to follow your urge. For those who desire the greatest chance of success, our protocol remains as originally stated. We will only alter it as we see a need we can perceive in 100 or so patients including 15-16 new ones we see each week.

We have one great advantage. For eight hours each working day we are face to face with nothing but these fibromyalgics. We listen to their inputs, observations and are in an excellent position to judge both the credibility of the observer and the legitimacy of the observations. Each time, a map is made to confirm those and any suspicions raised by the patient. Add this to the hundreds of phone calls parried and interpreted by my staff each of whom is a trained observer and fellow sufferer from fibromyalgia. Is it safe to say that no one has this level of experience?

Respectfully.