Fibromyalgia and Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a hormonal disorder in which the thyroid gland under produces the thyroid hormone. The thyroid hormone is responsible for controlling metabolism. When the thyroid gland, located below the larynx in the throat, becomes inflamed the cells are damaged. Thyroid hormone production becomes disrupted and dwindles. This causes the metabolism to slow. The metabolism converts food into energy and determines how quickly energy (calories) is burned. Symptoms of hypothyroidism are weight gain or difficulty losing weight due to an abnormally low metabolism, sensitivity to cold, depression, mood swings, fatigue, joint and muscle pain, dry skin, and brittle nails. If hypothyroidism is left untreated it can lead to swelling of the face, hands, and feet, slurred speech, and roughness in of the voice. The voice is affected due to the swelling and inflammation near the larynx which is the voice box. Hypothyroidism is treated by thyroid hormone medications, such as Levothyroxine, to replace deficient thyroid hormones.

Fibromyalgia is a painful musculoskeletal condition. Its symptoms include moderate to severe pain in several muscle, soft tissues, ligaments, and tendons. Sufferers also experience intense fatigue. Fibromyalgia is sometimes confused with rheumatoid arthritis. Some patients of fibromyalgia say their pain subsides during the day and worsens as evening approaches throughout the night. Others endure intense, throbbing pain day and night. Fibromyalgia also causes sleep disturbances, numbness, headaches, difficulty exercising, and if often associated with irritable bowel syndrome. Treatment involves the implementation of a healthy lifestyle, pain killers, and anti-depressants such as Cymbalta. The cause of fibromyalgia is not currently official known.

Sometimes people develop fibromyalgia after a trauma, such as a car accident. Even though no injury was inflicted on some of the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and tissues during the trauma, they were aching with radiating pain. Dr. Lowe suggests that the trauma itself did not cause the fibromyalgia. After the trauma, people had to be sedentary, confined to a hospital bed or the sofa at home. As they lose muscle mass, if they were prone to hypothyroidism, they produced even less thyroid hormone. This caused an increase in fibromyalgia symptoms to a noticeable and severe level. Many patients Dr. Lowe has seen realized that they did, in fact, have the symptoms of aches and pains before the trauma but they were merely a nuisance rather than the debilitating pain they became after the accident.

Because some doctors are beginning to believe fibromyalgia is connected to hypothyroidism, thyroid hormonal replacement medications may be used to treat fibromyalgia. If symptoms of fibromyalgia lessen with this treatment it is likely that it is actually a symptom of hypothyroidism, but more studies are needed at this time

Dr. John Lowe; http://www.drlowe.com/

Colette Bouchez; http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/make-most-your-metabolism; WebMD

Fibromyalgia; https://www.google.com/health/ref/Fibromyalgia; Google Health

Hypothyroidism; https://www.google.com/health/ref/Hypothyroidism; Google Health