Hypothyroid Fibromyalgia
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| Fri, 11-26-2004 - 10:55pm |
For you guys who are talking about this and looking for info on the subject, They Thyroid Solution has an entire chapter devoted to it, include CFS and hypoglygemia. He talks about the overlapping symptoms of each in chapter 10. Here's some info:
"Fibro affects 5 percent of the population and accounst for about 20% of referrlas to rheumatologists, specialists in conditions characterized by inflammation ot pain in muscles and joints. As with thyroid disorders, this condition predominantly affects woemn, More than 80% of those who suffer from fibro are women. The usual age range is twenty to fifty.
Doctors refer to fiobro caused by hypothyroidism as "hypothyroid fibromyalgia" - as opposed to "euthyroid fibro", meaning fibro not caused by a dysfunctioning thyroid gland. Bearly 12 percent of all cases of fibro ae caused by an underactive thyroid. If hypothyroidism remains undiagnosed - but you have been diagnosed with fibro - and the fibro lingers, symptoms may persist even when the underactive thyroid is finally treated.
In 1990, the American Colege of Rheumatology issues criteria for the classification and diagnosis of fibro. These include: a history of musculoskeletal pain in several areas of the body for at least 3 motnhs and pain and tenderness in at least 11 of the 18 trigger point sites by finger examination. The aches and pains ofent persist, though they may wax and wane. You may become sensitive to pressure applied to painful spots and even to clothing. You may also suffer from headaches and morning stiffness and tiredness which can improve throughout the day and recur in late afternoon and evening. Fibro will typically make you wake experience nonrefreshing sleep. many say hthat their sleep is light and restless. The easy fatigability with miniaml exertion may alter the person's life at work as well as home. Several other symptoms may also be associated such as irritable bowel syndrom, urinary frequency, emotional distress, anxiety and irritability.
Before accepting the diagnosis of fibro withy our doctor, discuss other disorders with similiar symptoms, such as rheumatoid arthtirts, Sjogrens syndrome, polymyalgia rheumatica, polymyositis, and lupus.
Fibro - whether caused by an underactive thyroid or not, is not necessarily a crippling disease. There are ays to control the symptoms. Small doses of tricyclic antidepreesnats, such as Elavil, may be quite helpful to restore the quality of sleep and improve the pain and fatigue. A muscle relaxant taken in the evening may be helpful in improvoning aches and pains and sleep problmes. Achieving aerobic fitness and avoiding a sedentary lifestyle will gradulaly improve the symptoms. Excessive exercise, on the other hand, can make the symptoms worse. Massage has helped many patients. Recent research has shown that T3- Cytomel - administered at high doses, 120 mcg, daily, could resolve all symptoms of fibro and even cure the condition. However, high doses of T3 can produce adverse effects. Lower doses are beeter tolerated andmay help patients relieve some of the symptoms.
He also says that thyroid imbalance could be the precipitating factor or even the dierct cause of fibro and chronic fatigue syndrome. It is equally possible that these two condition could trigger an autoimmune reaction on the thyroid gland. This explains why some patients who are diagnosed with fibro may also be found to have an underactive thyroid gland. In some cases, treating the thyroid will improve the fibro, in other cases, the fibro takes on a life of its own and may not resolve after treatment of the thyroid gland."
me again - I'm sorry if there are a lot of typos in this. I don't have time right now to check them all!! If you want me to post his footnotes and sources for some of this stuff, I can do that tomorrow. I think he's pretty decisive about the connection. Hope this helps a bit. Cathy :)

Cathy,
Thank you so much for finding this! I am going to print it out and take it to my doctor on Dec 7th.
I feel like we've all made this incredible discovery and the medical community (who SHOULD be so much more advanced) is just now figuring it out! LOL!
dazed
Dazed
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Cathy..
This is great stuff... you can bet that i'll be taking this along to my doc too the next time I see him.
Thanks for posting this! Marley