Fibromyalgia

Thank you for posting. It's a long 'to do' list ! I was diagnosed with Fibro by a Rheumatologist in 2000 before the Hashimotos diagnosis in 2005. The improvement in my health was so good over time - by following various pieces of advice concerning the thyroid and learning how to fine tune my treatment.

I have always supported the concept that Low T3 is a big part of the condition. I am T3 only. However over the past few weeks muscles around major joints have flared up more than usual and are causing discomfort. The girl who does my massages often comments - the Fibro you do not have - well.....

Back to the list ! More fine tuning to be done !

Ensure you get your adrenals checked by a saliva test, Genova do this. If the adrenals are low then you will stress the body even more and cause more pain.

Thank you. Yes I have had my adrenals checked and if anything they are very slightly above range - possibly due to the inflammatory process of Crohns and Hashimotos I was told by my Physio/Acupuncturist

I also have trapped sciatic nerves on both sides which cause lots of inflammation too and problems - thanks to spinal surgery in 2007.

My FM symptoms improved from taking NDT & eating a clean diet.

A very interesting post, Thankyou. It backs up what I have already realised without any help from my GP. I have got as far as gluten, thyroid, vitamin deficiencies, I am working on candida and adrenal function. Now I know that I have more to add to that list. It's gonna keep me busy, but I won't give up all time that I know wellness is achievable.

Thanks PR4NOW - a great link. (Wishing you a happy/healthy 2016).

Thanks shaws. Wishing you the same! PR

I was diagnosed with fibro myalgia. I could not tolerate any of the medications my gp prescribed. At times I could barely walk and was in constant pain. After many years of suffering, I read an article on the net that stated 80% of patients diagnosed with fibro were mis-diagnosed. They are actually suffering with a vitamin D deficiency. I asked to be tested - my gp was very surprised that no one had thought of it before. I was found to be deficient and have been taking vitamin D supplements since.

I got my life back !! I had been seeing a physio for my muscle problems. She was also very surprised that vit D deficiency could cause my problems.

I was diagnosed with hypo thyroidism almost twenty years ago. I still get muscle aches and pains associated with that but I am no longer disabled.

There seems to be a total lack of understanding by health care workers of the problems vitamin deficiencies can cause.

It's nice to see that someone is at last on the ball.

A very well informed doctor. "One size fits all" conventional doctors are keeping/making people ill.

I had thyroid surgery just over 40 years ago and have been on thyroxine since. I developed fibromyalgia probably two decades ago but only started being treated for it around 10 years ago...was told it was neurological. After reaching rock bottom with symptoms, including such chronic fatigue that I had no quality of life, I decided to research - and discovered a lot of the things Dr Myers talks about. By making changes that focused on thyroid health - improved my diet (to include an anti-inflammatory focus), cut out gluten, goitrogens, fluoridated water; take selenium, probiotics and B complex - I improved quickly. Got rid of all my fibromyalgic pain, brain fog, am sleeping much better, have much more energy, lost weight. (I also discovered Dr John Lowe's research - he had been curing people of fibro by curing their hypothyroidism.)

The root cause of fibromyalgia has been uncovered by Dr J C Lowe, a scientist in the USA who was my doctor for many years. It has been scientifically proven.

It is a thyroid/adrenal problem where insufficient T3 enters the receptor sites on the cells. You cannot tell this by blood tests alone as you are only measuring the blood serum levels and the TSH is near to worthless to diagnose this.

I have no thyroid gland and I was left on T4 only monitored by the TSH for a long time until I fell into a coma state for 18 months. I could not move out of bed only occasionally to go downstairs but to venture out was almost impossible. I had to crawl to the bathroom. I lost days, months, I really didn't know where I was. Lost most of my hair and was covered in Fibromyalgia, my diagnosis, ME, CFS and Fibromyalgia. My GP just sent me to a psychiatrist as he didn't know what to do with me. The psychiatrist told me immediately it was a huge hormonal upset and told my doctor quite bluntly.

I wouldn't give in and due to the help of a sleeping tablet that eased the pain I found Dr Peatfield. He took me off T4 altogether and I started on T3 only as he said it wasn't converting to T3. The first tablet was amazing, it literally "woke me up" but only for seconds. The reason, my receptor sites on the cells had "gone to sleep". I kept on a dose of 25 mcgs for a long time and gradually I could walk again but still painfully.

I did extensive research on the net and found Drs Lowe in the USA. I managed to get there and they treated me. I was advised to take increasing amounts of T3, 6.25 mcgs every 5th day as Dr Lowe explained that this was the only regime that would stimulate the receptor sites. (I was monitored regularly) I had an ecg and also adrenal function test carried out. I had massage on the sort points all around my shoulders and ultra sound on a continuous beam. I was told to exercise as much as I could, exercise to tolerance they told me and in the hotel I swam and went on a treadmill. It was excruciating but I did it as I wanted to feel free of pain. I stopped the increased dose when my pulse was back to normal and the pain was subsiding.

The pain in the muscles of fibromyalgia is due to calcium irons staying in the muscle cells. When the thyroid and adrenal glands are balanced then calcium irons flow through the muscles continuously, however, when these calcium irons do not run freely through lack of thyroid hormone they stay in the muscle and the effect is a contracted tight muscle, this in turn sends pain signals into the central nervous system. This is fibromyalgia. There is no other way to ease this disease as you have to look at the body scientifically and put back what is missing. Undo what has ceased up.

Dr Lowe has scientifically found a cure for this disease and has written papers on it.

I left there and came home and continued the regime. Now I am well, I ice skate, ski, run, I do everything I want and I owe my life and health to Dr Peatfield and Drs Lowe.

There is a cure, it's totally false to say there is not. I am living proof and there are hundreds of his patients that will tell you the same.

His book "The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia" (1231 pages) by Dr John C Lowe is excellent but can be quite complicated to understand if you are a lay person but a doctor would understand it easily. I think every doctor in the UK should read it as their knowledge of thyroid and adrenal issues is non existent. All they do is look at the TSH and use T4 only and it's so wrong. Eventually the patient will go on to develop these "new" diseases, the heart will suffer, vascular disease will set it and a whole host of other diseases. I would never have gone through this nightmare if they had understood that these diseases do not actually exist, they are a set of symptoms given a name but the root cause is low T3 in the thyroid receptor sites on the cells.

This is the BEST POST EVER !! My daughter has' undiagnosed ?!?' fibro and has been tested by my homeopath and was found to be low in T3. I gave her some of mine and it really helped. Why are doctors SO blinkered - surely we know our own bodies!! I hope that she can find a source of T3 as she doesn''t have a hope in hell of it being prescribed. What is your situation?

Thank you - Ging

I would love to phone you for a chat.

Hi thank you. I just think people should know the truth about these "new" diseases. It didn't happen so much years ago as they used natural thyroid more widely and that as you know contains all 5 thyroid atoms.

I get my T3 from Mexico, Cynomel, well I did but now apparently it's out of production, must email them today to see if it's coming back online.

They just won't do this procedure in this country as they don't understand the cause. What beats me is that they send men on the moon and they can't work out how the body actually works. It's archaic to say the least. I will mail privately.

I quite agree with you - however a couple of years back I was thrown off the Fibro Action forum for suggesting the connection with the thyroid and holding my line when challenged

Don't worry about it, just get well! At the end of the day it doesn't matter what people say, you pain is what needs to be got rid of! You could see Dr Peatfield maybe that would help as he is excellent on the matter.

I saw Dr P many years ago and remain in touch. Have just taught a yoga class - so cannot be too bad !! Dr P said my adrenals were fine

OMG! I can't believe they threw you off! I have just written a really strong post on the Fibro Action Forum about a reply to this post by one of their admin dissing the article and admin has also deleted the link to the article! (I was going to repost it there but realised that Oldbones had beaten me to it). Surely the point of a forum is to debate differing - and perhaps unorthodox - views and allow the readers to make up their own minds? I regret that I find the FAF rather disappointing as it seems dominated by light-hearted banter (which we do need sometimes, I admit) rather than concrete advice. This forum has been much more useful!

A great post, thanks. Are you a member of the Fibromyalgia Forum on this website? If so, have you posted this on the forum? I think the members would find it very useful!

Hi I went up to just over 100 mcgs but then overstimulated and gradually came down. Now I am taking 37.5 mcgs as my receptors are working fine but I do now take 75 mcgs of T4.

Check that your adrenals are ok as if they are not then it won't push the T3 into the cells. I take some cortisone and it helps but you must be tested to show you have a deficiency. Also check your iron. Dr Lowe increased by 6.25 mcgs every 5th day, he said that this was the best regime according to his research.

I now go to a doctor in Belgium in Dr Hertoghes clinic as they do testing very thoroughly and look at you not just the tests. Hope this helps

Goodness me that's a large dose. I started on 25 mcgs and then worked up increasing 6.25 mcgs until my pulse before rising was over 70 and symptoms had gone, however, I did have massage, ultra sound and exercised to tolerance.

Starting on that dose would crash your adrenals if they weren't well supported. Mine were ok then. Also did your doctor do an ecg to check your heart?

You really must get your adrenals checked out, saliva is best and Genova do an Adrenal Profile test.

No Dr Lowe explained to me that one dose is best as the exercise is to stimulate the receptor sites on the cells and by trickling it in during the day you won't "wake" them up so one dose is best.

I think your lack of overstimulation could be due to low adrenal reserve.

Yes a lot of people need a very high dose but luckily I didn't, now I'm ok on the low dose but the doctors think it's too much as I have a surpessed TSH, which really means nothing, it's the symptoms and other readings that count.

Also muscles are stimulated by thyroid hormone so you need a good muscle response, ie tap your knee when bend over the other, it should spring back but not too wildly as this is an indication of overstimulation. Also check your iron. Hope this helps.