Hypothyroidism

Lesson 2: Common Thyroid Dysfunctions and Related Conditions

Autoimmune Disorders: Part 2 - Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

In the last section, we became acquainted with some autoimmune diseases that have a direct or indirect link to thyroid conditions. In this section, we’ll deal with two more autoimmune diseases, Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

By the end of this section, you should be able to:

Let’s begin by attempting to define both Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which is also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis outside of the United States.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in the soft, fibrous tissues of the body, i.e. the muscles, ligaments and tendons. Receiving a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia is not easy. In order to even begin to consider the possibility of this disease, most patients must demonstrate pain and/or tenderness in at least 11 of the 18 pressure points. The pain must be chronic and a patient must demonstrate a history of it for a period of at least three months.

The pressure points are usually palpated (felt) by a specialist. (I saw a rheumatologist to confirm my diagnosis). The points are located in the: neck, lower back, shoulders, chest, rib cage, knees, arms (elbows) and buttocks. Pain and tenderness are often felt in other areas too. (I often struggle with tender ankles and a sore jaw).

Fibromyalgia pain can mimic that of arthritis and the symptoms of the syndrome are similar in many other conditions. The diagnosis of Fibromyalgia is basically one of exclusion. That means you’ve probably tested negative for lots of other conditions first. (In my case, I was negative for MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gout and a few other disorders).

Symptoms include: widespread pain, achiness, fatigue, brain fog or confusion, sleep disorders, memory impairment, muscle twitching, diarrhea and constipation, swollen extremities, skin sensitivities, dry eyes and mouth, and a whole lot more. That’s what makes it so hard to pinpoint. The symptoms are a shopping list of many other disorders, aren’t they?

To learn more about Fibromyalgia, there are a lot of places you can turn to. I recommend you start with Fibromyalgia Network News located at http://www.fmnetnews.com/. (It also has great CFS info too!)

Another difficult disease to pinpoint is CFS, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Even the name is hard to pin down because it’s called ME or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis internationally. It used to be known as CEBV, or Chronic Epstein-Barr Virus.

Like Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is difficult to define and diagnose. It, too, often becomes a diagnosis of exclusion, after certain criteria are met. In this case, a person must feel unrelenting fatigue that is not alleviated by rest. The episode of ‘fatigue’ must last for longer than six months. Even light physical activities can cause the CFS patient extreme weariness.

Other symptoms of this syndrome include: gastrointestinal disturbances, mental fogginess, muscle weakness, migratory joint pain, forgetfulness, irritability and more.

You may decide to check out this article, What is CFS? for more information.

Now, how are these three linked? Well, in many cases, patients with some thyroid dysfunction (usually of the autoimmune variety which we will deal with in the next section) also have CFS or FMS (Fibromyalgia Syndrome).

All three disorders, according to this “Physician Interview: Richard Shames, M.D., on Treating Thyroid Dysfunction, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia” at Fibromyalgia Support.com, deal with thyroid dysfunction and adrenal imbalances.

He also mentions another point of similarity between the three: they are difficult to treat for many physicians. Endocrine disorders such as these usually are.

Therefore, with CFS and FMS it’s truly difficult to tell from the symptoms and the causes just how closely they relate to the thyroid. Research needs to be improved to make these gray areas darker.

We have established; however, that:

• FMS, CFS and Thyroid diseases are often difficult to diagnose and treat,
• many of the symptoms of these disorders overlap, including but not limited to, pain, fatigue, and muscle weakness,
• these disorders affect woman at a much higher rate than men,
• the conditions are chronic but not necessarily life-threatening (in most cases),
• and, the misunderstandings and misconceptions about these disorders can lead to misdiagnoses and mismanagement in care.

If you’d like further reading on these topics, you may check out the links within this section or skip to the bibliography in Section 7.

  1  2  3  4  5  6  7