Hi
I have been researching about osteoarthritis and cartilage damage and have found a couple of studies suggesting that these can be caused by thyroid problems and auto immune diseases rather than the normal wear and tear explanation. Not sure I quite understood this:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
But presumably if there is a link then we should be able to improve/ reverse the problem with better thyroid treatment? Or am I just wishful thinking?
Anyone got a handle on it?
Thanks
This is an excerpt from one of TUK's deceased Advisers:
" The typical person who takes thyroid hormone for hypothyroidism or thyroid hormone resistance does so forever. As long as the person takes enough thyroid hormone for him as an individual and not too much, there's no harm in taking it for life. Keep in mind, of course, that T4 replacement therapy keeps few patients well; instead, it keeps many chronically ill and predisposed to premature death. (I encourage you to read our official denouncement of T4 replacement therapy.) So good health is likely only when a patient uses a thyroid hormone preparation that contains both T4 and T3, and when the dose is adjusted according to tissue responses and not TSH levels.
I believe that taking thyroid hormone on a lifetime basis may enable one to stay healthier and live longer than otherwise. I say this because with advancing age, the incidence of hypothyroidism (and probably thyroid hormone resistance) increases. Tragically, doctors fail to diagnose many of these cases. As a result, the health of the undiagnosed aging persons steadily deteriorates. Because of this failure of modern medicine, the argument has merit that aging people who want to remain healthy should take thyroid hormone prophylactically.
web.archive.org/web/2010103...
This is another excerpt from the same link:-
"November 23, 2001
Question: Thank you so much for the information on your website! I've had untreated hypothyroidism for five years. I have most of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, but the worst is my muscle weakness and pain. My doctor says my TSH is "high-normal." Because of that, he says my symptoms can’t be caused by hypothyroidism and he refuses to prescribe thyroid hormone. Instead, he diagnosed me with "fibromyalgia" and referred me to a rheumatologist who confirmed that diagnosis. The rheumatologist gave me an antidepressant and ibuprofen. These haven’t helped at all. Both my doctor and the rheumatologist said my muscle symptoms can't be caused by hypothyroidism. I showed my doctor a list of hypothyroid symptoms from Mary Shomon’s website, and the list contains muscle problems. But he still won’t listen. Is there anything I can do to convince him, or should I just find another doctor who’ll listen?
Dr. Lowe: You’re right and your doctors are wrong: Muscle problems are common among patients with untreated hypothyroidism. (They're also common among patients with untreated thyroid hormone resistance.) The most common muscle problems are weakness and excess muscle tension. The muscle tension often activates trigger points that refer pain. In the most severe and rare form of muscle involvement, called "Hoffman’s Syndrome," muscles become enlarged and stiff.
Thanks Shaws. So are you saying osteoarthritis and cartilage problems come from the effect of undertreated hypothyroidism? Therefore by improving treatment it might be possible to improve it?
Dr Lowe stated the above and he was also Director of the Fibromyalgia Research Foundation before his untimely death. This is another excerpt:
Dr. Lowe: It’s obvious why your doctor doesn’t understand the connection between hypothyroidism and what we call "fibromyalgia" symptoms—she gets her information from misguided rheumatologists. I trust that the rheumatologists she knows, as most, are well-intended. Largely, though, rheumatologists have been misled by the rheumatology researchers who originally—and valiantly—spearheaded the study of fibromyalgia.
Those rheumatology researchers, throughout their thirty-year study of fibromyalgia, made a crucial mistake: they unquestioningly accepted as true a false belief perpetrated and perpetuated by the endocrinology specialty. That belief is that measuring the TSH and thyroid hormone levels infallibly identifies patients whose bodies are under-regulated by thyroid hormone. According to this false belief, if a patient’s levels are "normal," then too little regulation by thyroid hormone can’t possibly be the cause of any symptom he or she complains of.
The fact is, however, TSH and thyroid hormone levels are highly unreliable indicants of whose body is under-regulated by thyroid hormone. The levels are so unreliable that the testing should be abandoned as the standard method for identifying such patients.
web.archive.org/web/2010103...
The other topics on this link may also be helpful.
Is there a link between fibromyalgia and muscles to arthritis/ cartilege problems?
I cannot say as I'm not medically qualified. I do know that hypo affects all of the body.
Maybe look into your vitamins/minerals and make sure they're optimum. This link may also be helpful and I've found this mineral very helpful.
"Musculoskeletal conditions- Fibrositis, fibromyalgia, muscle spasms, eye twitches, cramps and chronic neck and back pain may be caused by Mg deficiency and can be relieved with Mg supplements.
Nerve problems- Mg alleviates peripheral nerve disturbances throughout the whole body, such as migraines, muscle contractions, gastrointestinal spasms, and calf, foot and toe cramps. It is also used in treating central nervous symptoms of vertigo and confusion.
arthritis
Hypothyroidism or not?
Hypothyroidism? 
