If you suffer from Fibromyalgia and you have not had a proper Thyroid evaluation, then you are not being treated correctly for your Fibromyalgia. The reason; many, not all, but many Fibromyalgia sufferers are experiencing thyroid dysfunction and don’t even know about it.
They don’t know because the average medical doctor either doesn’t check, or does not know how to properly evaluate the thyroid gland. The overwhelming majority of medical doctors will only run a TSH test. Based upon the results of this one test, they will decide to prescribe thyroid hormone replacement drug therapy. This is entirely incorrect. Medical doctors know that by doing this your thyroid gland will eventually burn out, and you will require a lifetime of steadily increasing doses of thyroid replacement hormones. But this is what they are taught to do…often times by the very drug companies whose thyroid drugs the doctors prescribe.
The Fibromyalgia sufferer, as well as any other Thyroid patient, or anyone for that matter currently on thyroid replacement therapy needs to be aware that there are six (6) different patterns of thyroid dysfunction. The only way to find out exactly which pattern you might be experiencing, and how this might be a major contributing factor to your Fibromyalgia, is by running a complete thyroid panel.
Most patients wanting answers about their Fibromyalgia, and who come to my office bringing prior lab tests usually only have had their TSH levels checked. I find the same thing is true regarding thyroid patients who come to my office.
A complete Thyroid panel includes not only the TSH marker but also 7 other tests! By not having a complete thyroid panel performed you cannot gain perspective of the whole picture.
So what are the 6 patterns?
1. Primary Hypothyroidism
2. Hypothyroidism secondary to Pituitary Hypofunction
3. Thyroid under conversion
4. Thyroid over conversion and decreased TBG
5. Thyroid Binding Globulin elevation
6. Thyroid auto-immune dysfunctions.
To complicate matters even more, two or more patterns may exist at the same time! Therefore, thyroid problems can be extremely complex if you don’t have the right information, or if your doctor doesn’t know how to interpret this information. If you don’t test, you just don’t know. If a complete thyroid panel isn’t performed, and you have an underlying thyroid disorder, is it any wonder why the medical treatments that you have been receiving for your Fibromyalgia have not been helping!
One other very important item to mention is that of the 6 different patterns of thyroid dysfunction, there can be 30 different mechanisms that cause the thyroid gland to malfunction and only one of these patterns is helped by thyroid replacement therapy!
If you are tired of the mental fuzziness, tired of the pain, tired of the depression, tired of the inability to lose weight, tired of being told its in your head or tired of the chronic fatigue, and tired of living your life in isolation…….. Maybe it’s time to find out what really is going on.
Ask yourself the following questions:
– How has your chronic health condition affected your job, relationships, finances, family, or other activities?
– What has it cost you in time, money, happiness, sleep?
– Where do you picture yourself in the next one to three years if this problem is not taken care of soon?
– What is it worth to you if we could help improve your condition?
If you’re really serious about the possibility that there could be an effective Fibromyalgia treatment for you or your loved one, call our office at 561-627-2747 and tell us that you are interested in setting up a case review.
You will be glad you did.
Dr. Berl Michel, DC