D-Ribose For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia

Today on facebook we posted a question from one of our followers, Denise. She was diagnosed with fibro a few months ago and was asking for tips and things to try for dealing with fibro. One of the commentators mentioned how she takes D-Ribose and it how it has really helped her. Since I hadn’t heard of this prior, it intrigued me to do some research for today’s post. Here is what I found

The Case Study

CFS & Fibromyalgia syndrome are associated often with impaired cellular energy metabolism. Studies have shown D-Ribose help to increase cellular energy synthesis in heart and skeletal muscle. This particular open-label uncontrolled pilot study by the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers, of Dallas TX to was done to evaluate if D-ribose would improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia and CFS.

Forty-one (41) patients with a diagnosis of FMS and/or CFS were given D-ribose, a naturally occurring pentose carbohydrate, at a dose of 5 g t.i.d. for a total of 280 g. All patients completed questionnaires containing discrete visual analog scales and a global assessment pre- and post-D-ribose administration.

Results

D-ribose, which was well-tolerated, resulted in a significant improvement in all five visual analog scale (VAS) categories: energy; sleep; mental clarity; pain intensity; and well-being, as well as an improvement in patients’ global assessment. Approximately 66% of patients experienced significant improvement while on D-ribose, with an average increase in energy on the VAS of 45% and an average improvement in overall well-being of 30% (p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

D-ribose significantly reduced clinical symptoms in patients suffering from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Further Research

If you have been reading this blog for very long you know I don’t like to leave things up to just one study. I like to dig deeper and find out what real life people are currently saying about treatments. So I have looked through forums, groups, pages, sites seeking out what people are saying about taking D-Ribose for CFS and Fibromyalgia.

D-Ribose Increases Energy

A recent study published in The Open Pain Journal revealed that taking D-ribose daily gave a average energy boost of 61% in patients diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There were also improvements shown in sleep, pain, mental clarity and overall well-being.

dragonfly618 Says:

” DRibose works on the cellular level to fix one of the causes of all our problems. It is the “D” in our DNA. Over time our bodies may become unable to either produce or use the DRibose that our bodies are supposed to be making. DRibose is needed to complete the ATP cycle that is essential for our bodies to be able to reach a deep enough level of sleep for our bodies to repair our muscles. This is the base cause of fibromyalgia symptoms. Supplementing with DRibose allows our bodies to function properly .Research has found DRibose helps about 69% of the fibromyalgia patients who try it.

It takes a full 6 week trial to be able to see if Dribose is going to be helpful to you. I have seen so many changes in my life since first trying it two years ago. I now sleep better, have more energy and less pain. I went for a nine pain level down to a two on most days. Bad days rarely go over a five. I call that remarkable!“

Ohnoflo Says:

” I’ve been on it for about 3 months. It has increased my energy level, especially in the beginning, significantly. I started on it for fibro, and my total lack of energy. What ended up happening that I didn’t anticipate, is it got my blood pressure under control. I went from taking 2 pills a day to 1/2 pill a day, and I anticipate being off of blood pressure meds within the next couple of months.”

What Dosages of Ribose helps fibromyalgia?

If we look at the research, it looks like 10-15 grams per day seems to be the optimal dosage for assisted with fibromyalgia pain. Personally I’d recommend starting with less than this for the first few days to see how you feel and then slowly increase until you get to 10-15 grams. Right now, I haven’t seen any proof that you would need more than 15 grams of ribose per day to help with fibromyalgia.

Side Effects?

Well I am not a Doctor or Health Professional so my advice is to always consult with your Doctor. I would assume since ribose is a sugar, it should be pretty safe to take within healthy people. In theory you could argue that ribose may cause a rise in insulin which could cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Also, consider that it could interact with diabetes medications.

What do you think?

I would love to hear thoughts from our community? I am sure our readers would love to hear your experiences and whether D-Ribose played a role in helping with your fibro pain. Keep in mind, every case and everyone is different. What works for one might not work for another. Do your research and consult with your Doctor before starting anything new. The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

References: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17109576, http://www.benthamscience.com/open/topainj/articles/V005/32TOPAINJ.pdf, dailystrength.org/c/Fibromyalgia/forum/3388762-dribose,