When I was on the Guai protocol, I joined an online guai support group, which helped tremendously. They had lists of various products that were safe (no salicylates). They also showed common ingredients that were or were not safe. Members were very responsive with questions.
Still, it was a huge commitment to follow the protocol, and for me, it bred paranoia because you have to be just so careful. It's not that way for everyone, particularly men, I think, who typically don't use as many products as women.
You don't have to worry about the salicylates in your diet and the food you eat, and least not in the first instance.
Dr Kurtland told me that
you only have to avoid salicylates in cosmetics, lotions, vitamins, supplements and acetylsalicylic acid in pain medications. You don't have to worry about salicylates in food (except perhaps teas, as tea is high in salicylates).
See:
Quick Check For Salicylates.
More comprehensive list of salicylates to avoid can be found
here.
The Guaifenesin Protocol
To do the guaifenesin protocol, you follow this salicylate-avoiding protocol while taking guaifenesin. You start with a dose of 300 mg of guaifenesin twice daily for a week, and if you feel worse (eg, with flu-like fatigue), this indicates that the guaifenesin protocol is working, so then you remain on that dose level. This 300 mg x 2 dose level apparently works for 20% of fibromyalgia patients.
If you don't start to feel worse after a week on that dose level, then this indicates the guaifenesin is not working, so you then need to increase your dose of guaifenesin to 600 mg twice daily, whence the protocol will start to kick in for a lot more patients. Apparently 80% of fibromyalgia patients will feel the protocol kick in at either the 300 mg x 2 dose level or the 600 mg x 2 dose level.
Reference:
The Guaifenesin Protocol - Fibromyalgia Treatment Center
The remaining patients who do not respond may need a higher dose level still, and Dr Paul St Amand then goes up to doses of 900 mg twice daily, or even 1,200 mg twice daily. Reference:
Information on Guaifenesin
The general idea is that you find your lowest therapeutic dose level of guaifenesin. Once you have found it, you then stick to that dose level.
Only if all the above dose levels of guaifenesin fail to get results, do you then start to look at your diet, and then try to remove the foods high in salicylates. But this is a last resort.
Theory of the Guaifenesin Protocol
Dr Paul St Amand hypothesized that fibromyalgia patients may be unable to properly excrete phosphates from their kidneys (it is the
proximal tubules of the kidneys that excrete phosphates).
The theory is that this leads to calcium phosphate deposits building up to harmful levels in the muscles, joints, brain and other areas of the body.
These calcium phosphate deposits are similar to the tartar buildup you get on teeth, and indeed, when Dr St Amand noticed that his fibromyalgia patients had increased tartar build-up on their teeth, this alerted him to the calcium phosphate issue.
Taking guaifenesin causes the kidneys to excrete more phosphate, and so should reduce these excess calcium phosphate deposits.
Salicylates block the action of guaifenesin in the kidneys, which is why major sources of salicylates must be avoided while undertaking the guaifenesin protocol.
Interestingly, I started getting a significant build up of tartar on my teeth as soon as I caught the enterovirus that triggered my ME/CFS. Prior to catching that virus, I almost never had tartar build-up.
I tried the guaifenesin protocol myself some year ago, but did not notice any benefits at that time. Though I only kept to low doses of guaifenesin, because I got diarrhea side effects at higher doses.
Some Links To Guaifenesin Protocol Info
The phosphate retention theory
Treatment: the protocol
How the healing process occur with Guaifenesin
The Guaifenesin Protocol - Fibromyalgia Treatment Center
The Truths and Myths of the use of Guaifenesin for Fibromyalgia, by Mark London
Treating Fibromyalgia With Guaifenesin
Guaifenesin protocol - Wikipedia
Guaifenesin Protocol — How Can I Tell If I'm Blocking Guaifenesin?
Q&A Session with R. Paul St. Amand, MD
Can One Slow the Progression of Fibromyalgia Without Guaifenesin?