GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE HERD ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN FIBROMYALGIA & YOUR THYROID. I WENT TO SEE MY CHIROPRACTOR & HE SAID THAT HE READ AN ARTICLE FROM THE JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY ON LOW T-3 & T-4 THYROID LEVELS & THAT ONCE THAT WAS DISCOVERED THEY COULD TREAT IT & THE FIBROMYALGIA SYMPTOMS CLEARED UP ON 37 OUT OF 40 WOMED TESTED. HE SAID THAT YOU HAVE TO BE SURE & ASK YOUR DOCTOR TO HAVE THE T-3 & T-4 SPECIFICALLY TESTED. I'M GOING TO MY DOCTOR NEXT MONTH & I AM GOING TO ASK THAT IT BE DONE. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF ANY ONE HAS ANY INFORMATION OR KNOWS OF THIS? THANKS A BUNCH! JACKIE

Hey Jackie!

I do know that once you are diagnosed with one auto-immune disease, you can easily acquire another. The school of thought, so I have been told, is that if you can get the TSH, T-3 and T-4 levels normalized, the body in turn should be healthy enough to heal any other possible diseases/illnesses.

By all means ask your physician to test your thyroid and come back and let us know!

Maryan

Jackie,

Many people with FMS do have thyroid conditions as well, and vice versa. There is indeed a link, but, as with so many other things regarding this disease, it's not clear exactly what the link is and why it is so.

Please have your thyroid levels checked. Ask for a full thyroid panel if necessary. That includes all hormones.

Keep posting.

Hi Jackie,

GOOD QUESTION !! -- I asked my doc the very same thing and he did a COMPLETE thyroid test which included the ultra sound because my blood workup was coming back questionable.
It was found that I have nodules ( benign ) on my thyroid that was causing "some" problems and I was put on Armour Thyroid because Synthroid ONLY addresses the T-3 and NOT the T-4.

Ive been on this for approx. 1-1/2 yrs. and as far as the FMS goes -it hasnt changed a thing. What is has helped with to a degree of about 40-50% is the fatigue.

NEVER hurts to ask for testing and hope your doc obliges.

GOOD LUCK

Hello

I get most of my information for my Health Issues on the Internet! So what I am saying is just my own observation.

I have noticed that a good number of persons with Bipolar tend to have Thyroid issues. Strange, I know.

I was first diagnosed with Bipolar before being diagnosed with Hypothyroidism.

So am I understanding that the numbers that come back from the regular blood work to check thyroid levels, can also show if one has Fibromyalgia? I had a neighbor that was both Schizo-Affective and had Fibromyalgia.

Anyway, Thank You for the information on two important issues.


<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
diddysg

HI All! I'm new and I have FMS and also BI/Polar,OCD,PTSD,PD. No I am not crazy. But after
suffering w/ this disorders I finally found 1 GREAT G.P and 1 PSYS. that has my "so-called mental state" is so under control. Now after 8yrs
finally I have found or my G.P found a Specialist
(rhemy)who specializes in FM! yeah yeppie He is wonderful! There are 2 new drugs out and i have been on them for 1 month and I am starting to feel better (some) already. I will take some or a
little better then nothing anytime. Anywho he did tell me depression, your childhood such as sexual abuse,physical or emotional abuse had alot to do with developing FM. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Now I know why I have it.

It's true that childhood traumas and adulthood fibromyalgia seem to be related. It's not exactly the reason for the FMS, however.

It does seem to affect people with certain mental illnesses such as Depression, Bipolar disorder, PTSD and BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder). Mental illnesses are illnesses and can be treated just like physical illnesses. The idea of *crazy* is not one that I would encourage at this forum. I also hate the word *hypochondriac*.

I struggle with depression and hypothyroidism although I am diagnosed as Bi-polar. I have also been told I have PTSD and other things too. I often wonder about diagnoses that are en vogue, so to speak.

Remember: there are links and theories about FMS, but there are not many hard facts.

I don't know what my point is but I really don't want to get into theory that the root cause of FMS may be childhood trauma because I know that my childhood was difficult, but so were other people's and they didn't develop FMS. There's something more there.

I have been treated for about 2 years with T4 (Cytomel) and would like to direct you to www.drlowe.com for a good explanation. My thyroid test always come out "normal" but the theory is that while my body produces enough thyroid I do not absorb the T4 correctly. There is also some good information in the April 2004 Fibromyalgia Network newsletter (pg 10-13). The symptoms of hypothyroidism match many of those for I have for Fibro (and some I have but didn't connect to the Fibro) including exhaustion, impaired thinking, difficulty staying warm, low body temp, weight gain (despite reduced appetite), constipation (slow digestion), dry skin/acne prone, dry brittle hair (mine was falling out), low blood pressure, and high cholesterol (from the Fibromyalgia Network article). You do need to be careful and monitor the dose closely, making changes when necessary.
Just thought I would weigh in on this one, although it is still a theory, it is helping me!
Christina Seeger, Portland, Oregon

Thanks for the link, Christina. It makes a lot of sense.

Mary Shomon, who is about.com's thyroid guide (http://thyroid.about.com), has her own web site at http://www.thyroid-info.come and she's got lots of great info on the link between fms/cfs and hypothyroidism.

I haven't done any reading up on this subject yet. I am curious though. What is the difference between the hyper and hypo of the thyroid and what are the syptoms of both.

I too hate the word hypochondriac. Now doctors are switching to "somatize" because most people don't know it means basically the same thing. So watch out for that word ....

Definitely a connection between Thyroid and one version of FMS.

When Thyroid / Temperature is off, Hyaluronidase cannot control the viscosity of Hyaluronan. It is too thick and the natural flow is disrupted.

You think of this as all the clear fluid in your body.

Please read www.FibroFix.com. It's an all free site. Tells complete list of symptoms with descriptions, how to test, diagnose and successfully treat FMS, CFS and RLS.

Ask questions and get answers, too.

Anne

Hypo is when your body does not produce enough thyroid hormone, and hyper is when there is too much. I have been hypothyroid for at least 15 years, before I was diagnosed with FMS. It fluctuates a lot so I need frequent blood tests. I find that it doesn't have any affect at all on my FMS. I have read that most people with FMS are also hypothyroid, so if you haven't had the test, I would ask for it. Being hypothyroid can make you fatigued, overweight, dry skin, hair falling out, and high cholesterol.

I've had my thyroid tested ALOT! LOL I used to be in the low/normal range, but that was when I was on synthetic hormone replacement therapy. Once I stopped that and turned to a natural one, I've stayed right in the normal range.

Hello, I am new here & I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I go from hypo to hyper very quickly. My endo doesn't think all my problems are thyroid related. She wants me to see a Rheumatologist. I have awful symptoms. The main 1 being my head. I am so confused, can't think straight, anxiety through the roof, I have this awful feeling in my head & it's constant. I have had a brain MRI & it was ok.
Have any of you with fibro had these symptoms? I can't stand it much more! Any help would be great! Thanks, hypot

Depression, anxiety / panic, obsessive / compulsive, and procrastination are signs of a seritonin problem in FMS.

Signals are not getting from your brain to your body correctly.

Read www.FibroFix.com If you have that cluster of symptoms, and it came with the FMS, talk to your doc about taking an ssri med - at night.

The site is all free and tells how to reverse the symptoms of FMS on a daily method.

Anne

Hi Hypot,

Hypothyroidism is actually a symptom of fibromyalgia. It's a huge mimic as well. Brain fog is a symptom of both fibro and hypo. My fibro is mainly caused by thyroid resistance-which means that my body makes enough thyroid hormone but it doesn't reach where it needs to be. My doc has me on Armour thyroid and it helps tremendously. If I don't take it, I'm an "airhead"! Depending on which medicine you're on, you may not need synthroid or some other thyroid replacement, but T-3 therapy which comes in the form of Armour and cytomel. You can see Mary Shoman's book on Living Well with Fibromyalgia and CFS. It will have a detailed discussion on T-3 therapy and how it relates to fibromyalgia.

Thanks I will check out the thyroid and see if it helps,with having so many dieases its hard to tellbut will look into it.

Dr. Stephen Langer has some excellent info on the relationship between Fibromyalgia and the Thyroid.