Guest Author - Jim Lowrance
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, a Department of Health and Human Services, has stated in their more recently updated information in regard to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) that it can potentially coexist with hypothyroidism. More specifically, they state that symptoms of CFS and hypothyroidism are similar and that when low thyroid hormone has been treated sufficiently, a diagnosis of CFS may still be included if the chronic (severe and ongoing) fatigue and other symptoms persist.
Other illnesses that were once though to be exclusionary to a diagnosis of co-morbid CFS are also listed in the CDC information including other hormonal disorders and autoimmune diseases. These type illnesses as well, if properly treated but not resulting in relief of symptoms matching those of CFS may also result in a diagnosis of the syndrome being co-morbid to these other illnesses. This is also dependent upon whether a patient is seeing a doctor who recognizes CFS and its potential to co-exist with other illnesses.
This is a very important consideration for doctors to recognize in my opinion because patients treated for chronic illnesses could very well also be suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I also believe and have mentioned in a number of previous articles, that CFS can be triggered by other chronic illnesses, especially the autoimmune types. Some medical research groups feel that CFS may itself be an autoimmune disease that causes a mild systemic inflammation and the same has been said of Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) in recent research conclusions. It has also been stated by medical sources that it’s possible CFS and FMS are the same illness that manifest differently, among people who have them. Some patients may experience the fatigue as a major symptom while others experience more of the muscle/joint pain but both symptoms are common to each syndrome. This possibility is strengthened by the fact that CFS and FMS have 75% crossover symptom-similarities.
Also worthy of notation, is the fact that both CFS and FMS patients are commonly found to be suffering from sub-clinical hypothyroidism, rather than full blown (overt) hypothyroidism. This too is an area that has been addressed by medical research groups in recent years and some experts believe there is a mild thyroid hormone deficiency in these syndromes that may not always be detected by blood lab testing. One doctor, who recently wrote a book on an elusive type of hypothyroidism, is Dr. Mark Starr M.D. who published a book on the subject called “Hypothyroidism Type 2”. See My Review on this book.
My interest in this area of the relationship of CFS to hypothyroidism comes from the fact that I am a patient who has been diagnosed with these illnesses as being co-morbid. My co-existing CFS became apparent after my hypothyroidism being properly and even optimally treated, did not relieve my CFS symptoms. I’m not alone in this and have in fact corresponded with other patients who’ve received the same diagnosis. Mary Shomon, well-known Thyroid Patient Advocate in fact has attested to a similar diagnosis and relates her experience in the book she wrote “Living Well With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia”.
We, who have experienced these co-morbid illnesses, look forward to further research and development of more specific treatments for CFS that is co-morbid to hypothyroidism and other illnesses.
