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Citrus
Butterfly© Photograph by Celeste Cooper
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It’s
been said that thyroid disease is occurring at an alarming rate and that could
certainly be true. According to the American Thyroid Association, more than 12
percent of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid condition during their
lifetime. An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease,
and up to 60 percent of those with thyroid disease don’t even know they have
it. So, there's no time like the present to raise awareness, It’s January!
Thieves
I
wanted to cry when I read Hypothyroid Mom’s™ article, Hypothyroidism
Broke My Brain. I live with Hashimoto’s (an autoimmune disease where my
body attacks my thyroid) and fibromyalgia. These two things robbed me from a
lucrative and much loved career as a registered nurse. I was once the head of a
training center for the American Heart Association, someone who wrote
continuing education programs for the Missouri Nurses Association, someone in
charge of hospital-wide education, and a board certified emergency nurse. It’s
not about all that, but that I thrived in that environment—until—I didn’t. Fatigue,
cognitive dysfunction, constant headache and insomnia was swallowing me whole. A neuropsychological exam scored
me in the bottom 10% of cognitive function when related to my peers with equal
schooling and age. Five years later, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and
seven years to diagnosis of ME/CFS. It was another ten years of symptoms I was
sure would kill me before the cause was finally identified, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I have often thought it was very possible there was more than a casual connection between FM, ME/CFS and my thyroid. I have also though it possible thyroid resistance was a precursor to this autoimmune thyroid disease that is still somewhat of mystery because I can swing suddenly and drastically between hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
The
problem is that thyroid problems are generally not considered a big deal, that
is, unless it is happening to you. And that’s why it’s important to raise
awareness.
Is it any wonder
we are perplexed?
Hashimoto’s
thyroiditis, one minute we are climbing the walls, a nervous bundle of energy
with our heart racing in our ears, pounding until we have a headache, the next
minute it is completely done, leaving us with extremities that resemble cooked
spaghetti. Both cause extreme fatigue, one because the body is metabolizing
overtime, the other because it isn’t metabolizing well at all.
Over
this last year, I went from extreme hyperthyroidism with symptoms lasting well
over a month to extreme hypothyroidism, all within two weeks, and will labs to
prove it. I dropped like a rock in a bottomless pit, but the endocrinologist
didn’t believe it. My rheumatologist is the one who got the confirming blood
work. Now, I have a standing order for thyroid labs to be drawn anytime I feel
the shift, so it can be treated appropriately.
That’s Not
Nearly the End of It
In
an article I wrote last January (2017), Fibromyalgia
and Thyroid Dysfunction,
I
relate the symptoms of thyroid dysfunction and pose the question, “Is it fibro
or thyroid dysfunction?” The answer is yes. It can be one or the other, or
both. Thyroid dysfunction can make fibromyalgia symptoms worse when they
co-exist or it can lead to a misdiagnosis of fibromyalgia. You can read the
full ProHealth article, here.
Thyroid
problems are generally not considered a big deal, that is, unless it is
happening to you.
The Many Faces
of Thyroid
There
are many diseases of the thyroid, but those with the closest relationship to
fibromyalgia are hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and thyroid
resistance. I hope you will take a minute to read my latest article for
ProHealth, Thyroid Resistance and Fibromyalgia, it could offer an “ah, ha” moment.
If
you suspect thyroid problems after reading the articles at ProHealth, keep at
your doctor; don’t give up, so you don’t lose your mind!
Additional
Reading:
In
healing,,Celeste
Celeste Cooper / Author, Freelancer, Advocate
Think adversity?-See opportunity!
~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
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All blogs and comments are based on the author's opinions and are
not meant to replace medical advice.
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