Stories From Fibromyalgia Patients of Dr. Paul Whitcomb

I have received comments from other people about their experience as patients of Dr. Paul Whitcomb at the Fibromyalgia Relief Center. Since these stories are not immediately visible on my blog I decided to compile them into one post. If you have an experience that you would like to share, send me a comment and I will add it to this post. 

I too was a patient of Dr.Whitcomb and relapsed within a month of returning home from a 74 day stay in S.Lake Tahoe. Following all after care protocols and numerous conversation with Dr. Whitcomb once returning home provided no help whatsoever. This man claims to have "the cure" but "the Cure" is only temporary at best. I have struggled with depression and sadness as a result of my pain returning after such an expensive treatment plan. After seeing numerous doctors once back home ranging from chiropractic care, atlas orthogonal, reike, deep tissue massage nothing seemed to help. Fortunately, I came upon an article on cold laser therapy and the results have been tremendous and longstanding!!! I rated myself a 0% after 4 weeks of returning from Tahoe on a pain scale. After 6 weeks of cold laser therapy, I am at a 70% recovery rate pain wise. For me it as truly been a miracle and so inexpensive. $7.00 a visit and I am now going once every 3-4 weeks and have energy, stamina and sleep restored. I will never regret my friendships in S. Lake Tahoe, however, I would urge anyone who is contemplating going to see Dr. Whitcomb to reconsider. The time and expense is not worth it. Please investigate other options that have been provided here and STAY AWAY from Dr. Whitcomb and his so called "solving the mystery". The mystery is why is he still in practice. - Mary-Lynne Shank

Yes I too was a patient of Whitcomb's... I too spent a minimum of $10,000.00 I did get relief from pain while at the clinic. When you prepare to leave the clinic you are given a sheet of instructions of how to stay well. Pretty much it is essential to do very little for 6 months, should you over do it YOU WILL be afflicted with your symptoms slowly returning. I did pretty much did nothing for six months, other than walk do very light house work. Should I try to have a more normal life, my fatigue and neck pain would return. I understood that I needed to live in a very thin glass bubble.

I began to work for Whitcomb as a patient care rep. in the Anaheim office. Whitcomb wanted me to sign people up to be a patient at Tahoe. For which he would pay me $300.00 per paitnet that I signed up!!! And -- that I could really make a great income because they were going to do a huge marketing campaign - TV and all. GET IT??? I told him no that I did not want to sell (trick) people into coming to Tahoe for a short turn recovery. (My recovery was longer because I DID NO ACTIVITY) I told him my purpose for working was to help patients once they returned home, to remind them they must do very little to stay well. To be a patient outreach. I worked for his son Eric Whitcomb calling prior patients to see how they were feeling. The few that did stay well all seemed to have my home life style. Which was I did not work and had no children at home; so it was very easy for us to do nothing. But should they be tempted to do more activity a flair up surely would visit them.

Conclusion: PLEASE DO PLENTY OF RESEARCH PRIOR TO VISITING TAHOE. YOUR LONG TERM RECOVERY IS VERY VERY UNLIKELY. IT IS VERY LIKELY THAT YOU WILL SPEND $7,000 JUST FOR THE CLINIC (NOT INCLUDING AIRFAIR, HOTEL AND MEALS) ONLY TO BE ILL AT ABOUT A MONTH TO SIX WEEK MARK OF COMING HOME. I quit after 2 weeks - I can not really say what I saw and heard at the office - but it made my stomach sick. "It is my opinion" that Whitcomb is a master at charming very sick people out of their funds, and does not look back. BEWARE!!! - Susan Uribe

I am also a former patient of Dr. Whitcomb. First of all, let me say this...BUYER BEWARE...he is a very charming man and makes everyone feel like they are special and that he really cares. It took me a long time to come to the conclusion that the only thing he cares about is his bottom line. The first time I went to his clinic I spent two months there. I left Lake Tahoe thinking I was cured and continued to feel well for a month after returning home. That was it...one month...then all of my symptoms returned with a vengeance. I followed his after care instructions to the letter, but was made to feel by his staff that I must have done something to make my neck "slip" which caused the relapse. I returned for one week last December, because Dr. Whitcomb said he had a new technique that he was teaching his patients to use. With this "technique" he said his patients were staying well after returning home. What a joke. The technique is nothing more than pressing up on the occipital bone and does nothing. It was during this visit that I brought to Dr. Whitcomb's attention that just about all of my fellow patients had relapsed. I told him about one patient, a young 33 year old women, who was using a walker again because she was so sick. He told me three times during the week that he was going to call her, but never did. That just about says it all. That second trip to his clinic was very difficult for me. I saw the hope on the faces of the patients in the waiting room that they, too, were going to be "cured". They reminded me of the wonderful group of people I spent two months with in his clinic, many of whom are now close friends. I knew that most of them, like us, had traveled a long distance to be there and were spending money they did not have. It broke my heart to know that they were being taken advantage of by a man who knows that his patients do not stay well.With that said, Dr. Whitcomb is still advertising and traveling to promote his clinic. On a recent television program that was broadcast on a Christian television station he stated that follow up care is rarely needed. This is simply not true and he knows it. - Robin Storms

Wow how amazing to find your site! I attended the Tahoe CRACK CLINIC in April of this year. After 3 weeks there I realized what a RIP OFF this place was. There were 25 plus people there. Some had been there 4-6 months!! I kept an eye on everyone and no one seemed to be getting better. Good days and bad days...what was new? I have suffered with FM for 35 years and have tried a LOT of things so I am extremely intuitive. After 3 weeks what I surmized was that this was the biggest SCAM I had ever fallen for. How could I possibly have believed that having my neccracked 3 X a day would cure Fibro??? WOW that website is a DOOZIE - that is all I have to say!!! It grabs you by the heart, makes you cry, and touches every emotional nerve you have! Dr. Whitcomb is a MASTER of manipulation. Why would someone who supposedly have FM himself deceive others??? I am here to say that is exactly what he is doing. And he is doing a DAMN GOOD job of it! First you see the site and realize you are not alone. Then you flip out the credit card or cash in your retirement and head to Tahoe. Once there you are stuck in a room with people who understand every ache, pain, complaint, and feeling you have - sooo you feel "understood" and accepted. You feel as tho you are in a warm and safe cocoon! Not to mention in a beautiful setting and AWAY from the stresses of life! And if anyone is caught talking negatively the group is scolded as a whole. You are brainwashed from the minute you walk in the door and in a very "controlled" environment. Once you are there 8 weeks and not better then they say you need to be there 10 weeks. I heard yesterday that there is a woman still there from when I was in Tahoe in April... That is 5 MONTHS!!!

When I made my decision to leave after 3 weeks I was called all kinds of BAD and negative things. 5 others left as well. Now we are in contact with the sweet and desperate souls that stayed the duration and they have all regressed back to sick. Now the are just SICK and BROKE! I still have a bill of $2,500 I am paying off and I want to scream every month I pay the $300! For WHAT?? Dr. Whitcombs exotic vacations? Oh and speaking of exotic. While I was there one of the (very successful) patients had lunch with Dr. Whitcomb to discuss "growing" his business. He has now confessed to me that Dr. Whitcomb was talking about moving the clinic to COSTA RICA!! Geeeeeee I wonder why? Could it be because people are catching on to his SCAM??? I wish this information could be announded on public news... This man needs to be put out of the business of preying on desperate and TRUSTING individuals. - Regretfully, Jacque Simmons

Unfortunately, I was also a patient at the Whitcomb clinic from March-May 2008. The first Sunday I was home, I had a severe flare and cried all day and night. I was devastated. I picked myself up and thoughtit's ok, the treatment worked, that was just a fluke. However, just like everyone has said at this post, if I did any, any activity a flare was sure to follow. I did not/could not believe that this compassionate man as well as Dr.Brady and his staff know exactly what is happening and they are still preying on all of us sick people who are desperate. All I did was use my retirement money to stay in a run-down hotel (away from my family) hoping/praying that this was finally the answer. That I would have a life again!!! I will never never regret the wonderful fri ends I made there but I am so saddened that we have all been abused by this clinic. Once the reality hits you, you are devastated/embarrassed, you don't know what to tell your family, because they as well as you had put their hopes in this treatment. My pain is now back just like before, and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do next. No wonder everyone thinks we "the fibro's" are all crazy. I would, too, If it was someone else. But it's not someone else, it's me/it's us. We have got to stick together, support one another (because no one else understands) and stop.stopfibro.com.(thanks jacque) It makes me so mad everytime I research fibro, their site pops up. How heartbreaking!!! That others will fall prey to this scam unless we can stop them or get the word out. - Lori Fleming

I was treated by Dr. Whitcomb 3 years ago and the improvements were also temporary. I was treated for almost 4 months, he also wanted me to come work for him. I did receive a treatment called Atlas Profilax 2 years ago which is a one time treatment which puts the atlas in place at the one time cost of $250. This is what Dr. Whitcomb is trying to achieve with his treatments but at a extremely higher cost and about 100 adjustments. Dr. Whitcomb knows about the Atlas Profilax treatment and had it personally done and recognizes that it does get the atlas in. - Lena Walker

Comments

[Lori Fleming]

Unfortunately, I was also a patient at the Whitcomb clinic from March-May 2008. The first Sunday I was home, I had a severe flare and cried all day and night. I was devastated. I picked myself up and thought it's ok, the treatment worked, that was just a fluke. However, just like everyone has said at this post, if I did any, any activity a flare was sure to follow. I did not/could not believe that this compassionate man as well as Dr.Brady and his staff know exactly what is happening,and they are still preying on all of us sick people who are desperate. All I did was use my retirement money to stay in a run-down hotel (away from my family) hoping/praying that this was finally the answer. That I would have a life again!!! I will never never regret the wonderful friends I made there but I am so saddened that we have all been abused by this clinic. Once the reality hits you, you are devastated/embarrassed, you don't know what to tell your family, because they as well as you had put their hopes in this treatment. My pain is now back just like before, and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do next. No wander everyone thinks we "the fibro's" are all crazy. I would, too, If it was someone else. But it's not someone else, it's me/it's us. We have got to stick together, support one another (because no one else understands) and stop.stopfibro.com.(thanks jacque) It makes me so mad everytime I research fibro, their site pops up. How heartbreaking!!! That others will fall prey to this scam unless we can stop them or get the word out.

[Denise Newman @ Fibromyalgia Remedies]

I have been reading more about this clinic, and I am so glad that I found this site.
Thanks to all of you for being honest, and open and saving others time, money and heartache while searching for a cure for this chronic and painful disease.

Denise

[Laura]

I recently attended a free seminar on Fibromyalgia and Neurological Symptoms. The Dr. was explaining the "Whitcomb Technique" and actually performed it on me in front of a classroom full of adults with Fibro. The pain was immediately gone from my neck just as described as Dr. Whitcomb has written and the video I saw with the woman who stutters and can't say certain letters illustrates. I was actually shown a PowerPoint show of statitics, very upsetting information, and short video of the before and after. I signed up for a free checkup to see if I "qualify to be in this exciting study" which of course I did. I was then told I would have to pay $45 per treatment, have at least 4 treatments in a week and sometimes multiple treatments in a day, and I could not give up for at least 4 weeks. I was told it would help if I gave up my massage therapy and any other thing that I do to treat the pain. I was given a financial credit application of some Care Co. so that I can make payments since my health insurance won't cover his treatments. Thank goodness bells were going off in my head about why am I hearing the words study, lucky enough, investigational, etc. so much and if it was so great why is it not being offered at low or no cost or like other studies you are paid to participate if you meet the qualifications??? I will not be going to Dr. Pyne in Easton, Massachusetts, so that I can be ripped off only to feel bad again once the 1-2 months of treatments are over. Thank you all for your comments.

[Stephanie]

I am considering a similar treatment by a doctor named Gene Martin in San Mateo, California. Has anyone had any experience with him?

[Mark Patson]

I tried the Dr Max Powers HGH Spray -

I have fibromyalgia and went to a lecture at the Oregon Health Sciences University to learn the latest research. They had studied people with FMS when they were exercising & discovered that unlike normal people, FMS sufferers do not show increases in Human Growth Hormone levels when they exercise. This is why exercise is so difficult & exhausting for us.

They discovered that large doses of HGH virtually cured this condition. But the necessary dosage would cost about $800/mo. After the lecture I foundthe Dr Max Powers HGH Sprat at my local natural foods store and, although the dosage is far less than any prescription, I thought I would give it a try.

It took about 4 weeks to start noticing a difference, but then there was substantial improvement. My pain levels are not affected by this dosage, but my energy levels are up dramatically. I am now able to do yoga daily, which does decrease my pain level, and to do cardio workouts 2-3 times a week. Exercise is one of the best treatments for FMS. I have been using this product for 2 years now, including a 4-month break from it to make sure it was still making a difference.

A friend of mine researched the Dr Max HGH Spray formula in this product after discovering that HGH is not legally available w/o prescription - and this does seem to be working for me.

[scarlet]

Hi my name is scarlet pittman,I was a paitient of dr.whitcombs back in Dec 2007-Feb 2008 i was very sick while i was there nd yes did get worse when i got home i really thought i was going to die the pain was beyond words and i ended up not being able to eat much more than celery. I had given up mentally then emotionally and it took its tole that then my body began to shut down. BUT then i found out about the toxins in my body, i went from pain to living again ,from 192lbs to 133lbs i feel wonderful and have had no symptoms since aug -2008.
yes it is easy to be angry as i was to ,from the money spent to the no symptom releif but just as chemo and radiation doesnt work for all cancer patients i guess this doesnt either. My heart goes out to everyone that is still suffering every moment of the day and i am saddened at the whole situation, but i do beleive that dr.whitcombs approach to this was to truly help others because he believed it helped himself and wanted to return to the world the releif it brought him.
i have also after having to take matters in my own hands come to understand that our bodies get sick because our systems are acidic and not alkaline.
all i can do is offer to everyone what helped me and hopefully it may help you also.
avatar testing for toxic releif- i found that when i was tested for this that i had murcury poisoning in 7 of my organs and when i detoxed the metals from my body my symptoms left.I also now try and eat a more alkaline diet to keep my system balanced .
if you feel that my story can help you , you culd try and investigate it on your own the things i have done ...
and always remember to release the anger you have inside and offer forgiveness as there is freedom emotionally, mentally, and physically.
i do not claim this will help you also but its worth a try !
lots of love to everyone that suffers from this invisable crippling ....
scarlet pittman

[Darden Burns]

Hi Scarlet,

Thanks for commenting on my blog. When I started my blog I had 2 goals. First to let people know the other side of the Whitcomb story before they made a big investment of time and money to go to Tahoe. And second to be a positive vehicle to share information about treatments that are helpful. The Whitcomb chapter of my health search is long over. Fortunately I have discovered treatments that are facilitating my own recovery. Did you check out the opening post of the blog and other posts? Each one of us is individual but I truly believe that we can all recover. The trick is finding the treatment or combination of treatments that work for each of us. I am happy to hear about your recovery!! Could you send me more information about your treatment protocol and specifics that might be helpful for others?

Best wishes, Darden

[Susan Aaron-Smith]

I was treated by Dr.Whitcomb in 2007 and was in the office for 9 weeks. When I first learned of this treatment, I was bedridden for 20 years. all the typical symptoms of Fibromyalgia and I was told that there was nothing to do but live with it. Three years later, I'm still fine and am working and leading a normal life. Perhaps not everybody responds but I sure did and am forever greatful. He literally gave me my life back.

[Betty Treadway]

I ,too was treated by Dr. Whitcomb in May of 2007. When I got home, it was about 4 weeks and then the pain in my neck and shoulders was unbearable. It wasn't until I had extensive blood work done at the Dallas Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Center when they found Epsteins Barr, HHV2 and 6 Camydia and some hormone imbalances. But their treatment (many expensive supplements) wasn't quite cutting it.So I went back to another Dr. that I had tried a few yrs. before. I should have not given up with his protocol so quickly. His name is Dr.Brice Vicery. He's called the "Protein Dr." He has a patented Amino Acid product among other supplements that work to rid these viruses. I had West Nile virus (from the nasty mosquitos in Texas), I had Osteoporosis, Epstein Barr and even a uterine tumor. They are all gone. I've been with him a yr. now and am almost pain free.The appointments are free via telephone but the supps can be pricey.He tests by Kinesiology over the phone!He is an expert at it I assure you. Website: www.supernutrient.com~~ Darden! I remember you, you were in my group and played the piano beautifully!

[Angela K]

It seems this torch is now being carried on by a new person, Dr. Gene Martin who has a facebook page called No More Fibromyalgia. I asked the chiropractor some questions on their fb wall yesterday (for public viewing) and said the doctor's claim of knowing what caused fibro sounded very similar to the Whitcomb Technique. I then asked what exactly he did in treatments for $8,000-$10,000! I was blocked from their page and all my posts were deleted.

[Abram Ingram]

Thanks for one's marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you may be a great author.I will always bookmark your blog and will eventually come back sometime soon. I want to encourage one to continue your great writing, have a nice weekend!

[Lindsaylohnn]

Fibromyalgia attacked my body more than 10 years ago after knee surgery. I was in a wheelchair for about six months, and I used a cane for another six months. I did not even know how to walk anymore. I fought the fibromyalgia with a lot of pain pills and tears. I was on so many medications that it damaged my stomach lining. Learning to break the cycle wasn't easy because it was painful. It caused tiredness and depression. To this day, I am no longer on meds, and I live a new life with a new career. I have no more depression. It tries to creep in, but I fight it off through prayer. I have bowel problems, this pain that pain, etc., etc., etc. I find that when I help others and talk about it, it brings hope to others. Learning to stop the cycle is a battle. But there is hope.

Lindsay Lohnn
Findyourdrug.com

[louise d.]

I need information about Dr. Gene Martin.
Has anyone had (or heard of) a negative experience with him? I don't know if I understand his treatment and do not want to spend the time, money or go chasing after the wrong treatment.
I am in too much pain.
Thank you, Louise d.

[chiropractor drummoyne]

I hope they can find a fast remedy for this.

[Cat]

Be smart and beware of snake oil salesmen...profit rules the roost...if there were a cure we'd all hear about it...research snake oil and the placebo effect...

[Anne]

I, too, am curious about any information anyone has about Dr. Gene Martin in San Mateo, CA. Has anyone been to see him or have info about his techniques? I am concerned that he uses the same or similar practices to Dr. Whitcomb. Thank you so much...

[Critical illness cover]

Fibromyalgia symptoms can be difficult to understand, especially if you or a loved have not yet been diagnosed but suspect you might have the disease, or if you or someone else has recently been diagnosed with the condition. As a patient or the loved one of a patient, it's important for you to understand the disease and all of its symptoms, and this guide has been designed to help you get the basic information you need. In order to best live with a devastating disease like fibromyalgia, you're going to need all the understanding you can get.

[chirolink]

Chiropractor in Red Rock, Nevada providing outstanding chiropractic care to the area. Also provides diagnosis and treatment for car accident injuries.

[Chiropractor Kansas City]

Thanks for one's marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you may be a great author.I will always bookmark your blog and will eventually come back sometime soon. I want to encourage one to continue your great writing, have a nice weekend!