I don't often discuss the side effects of Hashimoto's disease, as I try and keep my focus on important things in life and fight through symptoms as they arise. Lucky for me I get the added disease cocktail of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue! I try and fight these two added lovelies with lots of B12, Ibruprofin and extra Cytomel(T3). I am pretty successful most of the time, until I have a "crash". A crash is a period of time where I have to force myself to do everything, and mornings are an exhaustive nightmare. Sleep is not restorative and depression sets in. Focusing becomes impossible as I fight with my mind and body to get through each day.
It is tough interviewing during these crash times. It takes everything I have to show up and be ready with my portfolio. The interviewer has no idea what a fighter I am. It is difficult to be patient with their ridiculous questions which have nothing to do with the job at hand. The bigger questions employers should ask are: Is this person smart and adaptable? Will this person be easy to get along with and have a good attitude? Do their references have great things to say about them? Pretty much, that's it. My resume is filled with software experience, yet a future employer will get stuck on one software I don't know. Isn't all software just entering information to produce something? It isn't rocket science. I remember going to work for NAMC and not knowing a thing about "Smartsoft" and the phones keep ringing off the hook. I decide to help by picking up the phone and opening the software on my desktop. I am always able to figure out the users problem and fix it without training. This blows my bosses away.
My new bosses at NAMC are so insanely busy that on my first day all they have time to do is point to my desk area where a computer is in a box. They can't stop long enough to get me set up. I set up my own computer and wander the halls of NAMC asking for the head of IT. When I find him and tell him I am setting myself up, he laughs and sends a technician with me back to my desk. The technician is impressed and calls the phones guy over. In a half hour I am up and running. My bosses think this is amazing and hilarious. Hey, wear a short enough skirt or the right top and guys will follow you anywhere to help you do just about anything. Of course from then on my bosses always answer my questions with, "You figure it out - you're smart!"
When I was a manager I hired people from the places I would go as a consumer. One employee I hired was a waitress in a restaurant. I watched how hard she worked, how well she multi-tasked, how pleasant she was and I gave her a business card and told her to call me. She didn't know a thing about computers or mortgage banking. She ended up being one of the best employees I ever had. She didn't even know how to put together a resume. I trained all myemployees that I pulled in from other places. They were all better than the employees I inherited from the previous boss. So much for that structured interview process...
So back to this crash time ... see how easily I get off subject ... its that focus thing. But there is some new information I have come across and for those of you reading this blog with thyroid issues I want to provide the following information:
Kent Holtorf, M.D., on Effective Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia
ImmuneSupport.com
02-21-2003
By Kent Holtorf, M.D.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM) are illnesses that often coexist and affect millions of Americans. Symptoms vary amongst individuals and commonly include severe fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive problems (commonly called ‘brain fog’), muscle pain and multiple infections. Unfortunately, many individuals and physicians continue to deny that these syndromes are legitimate diseases.
The medical literature is, however, very clear that these are legitimate diseases and individuals with these syndromes have measurable hypothalamic, pituitary, immune and coagulation dysfunction. These abnormalities then result in a cascade of further abnormalities, in which stress plays a role.
The pituitary and hypothalamic dysfunction results in multiple hormonal deficiencies that are often not detected with standard blood tests, and autonomic dysfunction, including neurally mediated hypotension.
The immune dysfunction, which includes natural killer cell dysfunction, results in opportunistic infections and yeast over growth, making the symptoms worse. Recent studies have shown that the coagulation dysfunction is usually initiated by a viral infection and has genetic predisposition. This abnormal coagulation results in increased blood viscosity (‘slugging’) and a deposition of soluble fibrin monomers along the capillary wall. This results in tissue and cellular hypoxia, resulting in fatigue, and decreased cognition (brain fog). Neurotransmitter abnormalities and macro and micro nutrient deficiencies have also been shown to occur with these disorders.
Gulf War Syndrome, which is almost identical to CFS and FM, was found to have a parallel cause. The cause was determined to be from multiple vaccinations under stressful conditions in susceptible individuals. These vaccines, which are viral mimics, resulted in the same coagulation cascade and the deposition of fibrin monomers, resulting in the same tissue hypoxia that occurs in FM and CFS. As a result, these multiple injections are being discontinued by the armed forces.
Current research suggests that many triggers can initiate a cascade of events, causing the hypothalamic, pituitary, immune and coagulation dysfunction. The most common initiating cause is a viral infection, which is very commonly Epstein-Barr Virus, Cytomegalovirus or HHV6. These are found in 80% of CFS and FM patients. Many people with these syndromes can pinpoint the onset of the disease(s) to a viral infection that never got better. Also, stress seems to be a contributing factor. Effective treatment, with 80 to 90 percent of individuals achieving significant clinical benefits, can be achieved by simultaneously treating the above problems that an individual is found to have.
The mix of treatments needed varies from patient to patient. There are some abnormalities that are common. For instance, close to 100% of individuals with these syndromes have low thyroid. This is, however, usually not picked up on the standard blood tests because the TSH is not elevated in these individuals due to pituitary dysfunction. Many of these individuals will also have high levels of the anti-thyroid reverse T3, which is usually not measured on standard blood tests. In addition, the majority of individuals can also have a thyroid receptor resistance that is not detected on the blood tests. Consequently, thyroid treatment, especially with timed release T3, is effective for many patients. T4 preparations (inactive thyroid) such as Synthroid and Levoxyl do not work well for these conditions.
Adrenal insufficiency and growth hormone deficiency are also very common with these disorders, and supplementation with these hormones can often have profound effects. As with thyroid testing, these deficiencies are, unfortunately, usually not detected with the standard screen blood tests and require more specific testing.
When an individual is found to have one of the viruses discussed above, these can be treated with resulting improvement in symptoms. There are a number of drugs, including anti-viral medication, that are currently undergoing phase III clinical trials at clinics, including ours [Hormone and Longevity Medical Center], for FDA approval in the treatment of FM and CFS.
Although a concept that is sometimes uncomfortable and foreign to traditional medical styles of thinking, the need for multiple interventions is effective when an illness affects a critical control center (such as the hypothalamus), which impacts the multiple systems noted above. Unfortunately, there is not a single treatment that reverses hypothalamic dysfunction directly. Thus, this situation is different from illnesses that affect a single target organ and which can be treated with a single intervention.
For example, pituitary dysfunction itself often requires treatment with several hormones. This effect is multiplied in hypothalamic dysfunction, which affects several critical systems in addition to the pituitary gland. An integrated treatment approach based on simultaneously treating the above problems is significantly beneficial in CFS and FMS. Individuals with these devastating syndromes can “get their lives back” despite the fact that they were previously told, “There is nothing that can be done,” or “It is all in your head.”
Kent Holtorf, M.D.
***
The above article shows why, even though I am better because of the Armour, symptoms of CFS and FMS still pop up from time to time. These better doctors are expensive and don't bill insurances. This is another reason why I need a different job so that I can afford the rest of the care to get completely well. It is that damn chicken or the egg thing. I need to be well to do the job and I need the job to be well. It has been suggested that I apply for State Disability, but I am afraid if I allow myself to get out of the game, I won't get back in. When we were first married my x husband was on disability before his back surgery. I hated it. The bureaucracy is a nightmare to deal with.
I am determined to beat this thing and get my career back. I will not consider anything less. A local doctor that is a friend has bugged me to live in his lower home, but again, giving up my independence and the home that Brian has known is not an easy decision. This is the fighting redhead in me.
My heart goes out to all of you reading this blog who also deal with this disease and battle the same issues. I hope through the years I can show you that we do make it and overcome the physical obstacles we deal with. We must never give up.
Until next time-
C
http://journals.aol.com/rapieress/Aweekinthelife/
http://www.aweekinthelifeofaredhead.com
