causing symptoms so researchers do not accidentally study people who
do not have a specific disease with people who do. In clinical
situations however, it is quite possible that there are many
overlapping conditions, disorders and diseases - all in one body.
Sometimes it is difficult to determine which came first the chicken or
the egg. Many researchers hypothesize that discrete conditions may
well be grouped together because they have core symptoms in common.
Although convenient until more knowledge is gained, this means it is
more difficult to determine which subsets are meaningful.
Thyroid Disease in Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
By Adrienne Dellwo, About.com Guide September 21, 2011
Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are multi-system illnesses.
They hit you hard in multiple ways, and confuse doctors of all
specialties because not everything can be explained by the one system
they focus on.
In recent years, a new term has been gaining acceptance --
neuro-endocrine-immune. That reflects the scope of these illnesses
accurately and conveys their complexity.
Still, we don't tend to get a lot of information about the interplay
of the systems involved. With fibromyalgia, a lot of the focus in on
neurology. In chronic fatigue syndrome, you hear most about the immune
system. The "endocrine" part tends to be forgotten.
The Endocrine Connection
Endocrinology deals with hormones. Remember that we have a bunch of
hormones, not just the ones related to gender. The grand over-seer of
your metabolism and how your body uses energy from food. It controls
bone growth and muscle function. It plays an important role in lung
and heart function, mood, and -- something we recently discussed here
-- the health of your hair, skin and nails.
If you have fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, odds are you've
got problems in at least some of those areas. You probably won't be
surprised to hear that a huge percentage of us have thyroid problems,
and that they can exacerbate our symptoms.
Some experts believe that our conditions start with thyroid
dysfunction. Now and then, you even come across someone whose symptoms
disappear once they get proper thyroid treatment. However, many more
of us have proper thyroid treatment and don't improve, and some have
no diagnosable thyroid problems at all.
My personal belief is that this theory is probably accurate for a
large subgroup of us, and I think it's important for all of us to have
our thyroid function tested regularly. (And really, any marginally
competent doctor should test for thyroid problems in someone
complaining of fatigue, aches and memory problems.)
Thyroid Problems & Resources
Thyroid function is complex, and while research pretty clearly
demonstrates that it's somehow involved in our illnesses, thyroid
disease does need to be diagnosed, treated and managed separately.
My About.com colleague, Thyroid Guide Mary Shomon, has extensive
information available on her site.
To find the articles that may be relevant to patients:
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2011/09/21/thyroid-disease-in-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.htm
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