Myers' Cocktail

Myers' Cocktail or the Myers is a nutritional therapy containing vitamins and minerals administered by IV. The creator, Dr Myers, passed away in 1984 without fully describing the treatment. Since then a modified version of the treatment he invented known as the "Myers' Cocktail" has been administered by other doctors, despite a lack of clinical trials or evidence of effectiveness. It is promoted for various illnesses including acute migraine, asthma attacks, fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, acute muscle spasm, upper respiratory tract infections, chronic sinusitis, and seasonal allergic rhinitis (inflammation in the nose caused by hayfever). A much small number of patients have tried the Myers' Cocktail for congestive heart failure, angina, chronic urticaria, hyperthyroidism, and dysmenorrhea, and some "relatively healthy" patients have also used it with the aim of improving their overall wellbeing for short periods of time.

Contents

Myers' Cocktail consists of:

• calcium gluconate
• calcium pantothenate
• magnesium chloride
• B vitamins:
  • Thiamine (vitamin B1)
  • vitamin B6
  • vitamin B12
  • B vitamin complex but excluding folic acid
• vitamin C

Myers originally included dilute hydrochloric acid, but this is no longer included in the Myers Cocktail.

Theory

Myers's Cocktail is a complementary/alternative medicine and is not a focus for current research in ME/CFS or fibromyalgia. Myers passed away in 1984, which was before the 1988 publication of the first diagnostic criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome. At that time, myalgic encephaolomyelitis (M.E.) was recognized but fatigue was not considered the hallmark of the disease.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.