Hi,
I have been wanting to post about this for a while, I am really surprised that there is no thorough discussion of thyroid illness on this forum.
I have been reading a lot lately about the work of Dr John Lowe and Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield. They are two of the most outspoken members of a number of physicians around the world who argue that a type of hypothyroidism, known as Thyroid Resistance or Type II Hypothyroidism is largely responsible for CFS and Fibromyalgia.
Thyroid Resistance is the inability of your cells to properly respond to thyroid hormone. It is analogous with Insulin Resistance / Type II Diabetes.
The most important thing I want to get across to people is that this cannot be detected with blood tests. If all of your thyroid blood tests are normal, that does not mean you are not hypothyroid. So how do you know?
That brings me to the second thing I really want to stress: the best indicator of hypothyroidism is the presence of symptoms along with a low basal temperature. It has been shown that this is a far more accurate prediction of your metabolism than thyroid blood tests. All of you on this forum have the symptoms because they are the same symptoms as CFS/Fibro (including classics like post-exertional fatigue and alcohol intolerance). How many of you also have a low basal temperature? This poll would indicate most of you:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/show...s-Your-Body-Temperature-Rethinking-98.6/page5
I hope everyone who falls into this bracket will consider the possibility. I fall into this bracket and have begun taking thyroid hormone. So far I am on about 4 times the dose of a typical hypothyroid sufferer. This is far more than enough to make a healthy person hyperthyroid, and yet I feel no different, which to me is proof positive that thyroid hormone is not getting into my cells.
For those of you not aware, thyroid hormone is what is responsible for energising every cell in your body, so it is not difficult to explain the miriad symptoms of CFS/Fibro as being the result of thyroid insufficiency.
It is also interesting to consider the history of diagnosis. Doctors used to diagnose based on symptoms and temperature, and treat with natural thyroid hormone. In the 80's, the TSH blood tests and artificial hormones began to be marketed. The result was that less people were being diagnosed as hypothyroid and hence "CFS/Fibro" emerged (as we all know around the same time). We should not see the "thyroid" community as being different to our own - we all have the same symptoms.
Finally I would also like to point out that there is money to be made by companies who both market the blood tests and sell the artificial forms of the hormone as treatments. Really this is just a money-making scheme: sell a test that predicts nothing and sell a drug that corrects the test. Genius. No wonder the American Society of Endocrinologists receives $1million a year for "educational" purposes. Anyway this is another story.
Remember - ignore your blood tests!
I hope I have convinced some of you to explore this possibility further.
Best wishes,
Mark
EDIT: Dr peatfield says in his book that approximately 30% of his hypothyroid patients have a history of Mono. Mono itself can induce hypothyroidism, as it attacks the colloid tissure of the thyroid.
I have been wanting to post about this for a while, I am really surprised that there is no thorough discussion of thyroid illness on this forum.
I have been reading a lot lately about the work of Dr John Lowe and Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield. They are two of the most outspoken members of a number of physicians around the world who argue that a type of hypothyroidism, known as Thyroid Resistance or Type II Hypothyroidism is largely responsible for CFS and Fibromyalgia.
Thyroid Resistance is the inability of your cells to properly respond to thyroid hormone. It is analogous with Insulin Resistance / Type II Diabetes.
The most important thing I want to get across to people is that this cannot be detected with blood tests. If all of your thyroid blood tests are normal, that does not mean you are not hypothyroid. So how do you know?
That brings me to the second thing I really want to stress: the best indicator of hypothyroidism is the presence of symptoms along with a low basal temperature. It has been shown that this is a far more accurate prediction of your metabolism than thyroid blood tests. All of you on this forum have the symptoms because they are the same symptoms as CFS/Fibro (including classics like post-exertional fatigue and alcohol intolerance). How many of you also have a low basal temperature? This poll would indicate most of you:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/show...s-Your-Body-Temperature-Rethinking-98.6/page5
I hope everyone who falls into this bracket will consider the possibility. I fall into this bracket and have begun taking thyroid hormone. So far I am on about 4 times the dose of a typical hypothyroid sufferer. This is far more than enough to make a healthy person hyperthyroid, and yet I feel no different, which to me is proof positive that thyroid hormone is not getting into my cells.
For those of you not aware, thyroid hormone is what is responsible for energising every cell in your body, so it is not difficult to explain the miriad symptoms of CFS/Fibro as being the result of thyroid insufficiency.
It is also interesting to consider the history of diagnosis. Doctors used to diagnose based on symptoms and temperature, and treat with natural thyroid hormone. In the 80's, the TSH blood tests and artificial hormones began to be marketed. The result was that less people were being diagnosed as hypothyroid and hence "CFS/Fibro" emerged (as we all know around the same time). We should not see the "thyroid" community as being different to our own - we all have the same symptoms.
Finally I would also like to point out that there is money to be made by companies who both market the blood tests and sell the artificial forms of the hormone as treatments. Really this is just a money-making scheme: sell a test that predicts nothing and sell a drug that corrects the test. Genius. No wonder the American Society of Endocrinologists receives $1million a year for "educational" purposes. Anyway this is another story.
Remember - ignore your blood tests!
I hope I have convinced some of you to explore this possibility further.
Best wishes,
Mark
EDIT: Dr peatfield says in his book that approximately 30% of his hypothyroid patients have a history of Mono. Mono itself can induce hypothyroidism, as it attacks the colloid tissure of the thyroid.