Hypothyroidism and TMS?

[avik]

Hello all-

Thanks for reading.

I have noticed that over the past couple of years, more and more people around me are getting diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and are being put on serious meds.

More specifically, my little sister was diagnosed 5 years ago and more recently, one of my best friends.
My sister "started" with your basic TMS issues...chronic pain, sinus issues, allergies, fatigue and IBS and it (in my mind) has graduated to fibromyalgia-type issues and now Hypothyroidism.

My ENTIRE family has TMS, in one form or another. All 7 of us.
If the cat could talk, i think she'd complain about one chronic problem or another.

Ive battled some very serious TMS equivalents for over 15 years and everyone in my family either has some digestive issue, chronic fatigue, insomnia or a chronic pain issue.

Knowing now how serious TMS can get when untreated, I cant help but think the two are inexorably tied to one another. Also, whats suspect to me is that a lot of the people I know who now have Hypo, all had chronic/TMS-type issues that gradually led up to their Hypo diagnosis.

Has anyone seen and/or read about any correlation between TMS and Hypo?

 

[Ellen]

Hi avik,

One of the many diagnoses I received prior to realizing I have TMS is hypothyroidism. I was treated for it with medication, but it didn't help because I have TMS. I think it is something that people should rule out if they have the symptoms of hypothyroidism. If the medication makes you feel better and your symptoms disappear, then it is likely the right diagnosis. But know that there is a controversy among the medical community about what constitutes low thyroid function, and different doctors will diagnose it differently. It seems to be somewhat of a fad right now. I have several friends who have gotten the diagnosis recently, but the medication didn't help them. I think it's because they have TMS. The symptoms can look similar.

Wishing you and your family the best.....

 

[Forest]

Interesting post, Ellen, and an interesting question, @avik. Good to see you, by the way.

I searched through the Kindle versions of Dr. Sarno's most recent three books, and the word "hypothyroidism" only appears once - in a contributed chapter from The Divided Mind. Specifically, Douglas Hoffman, MD, wrote, "From an epidemiologic perspective, physical triggers are central in shaping the nature of psychosomatic disorders. The unconscious mind strives to present symptoms that are legitimized in society. It wants to be taken seriously! Therefore, a pain disorder arising from a physical trigger serves to legitimize the psychosomatic one. For example, carpal tunnel syndrome may occur from a structural cause such as pregnancy, hypothyroidism, or uncontrolled diabetes. But these are not common causes, and furthermore it does not explain the epidemic proportion that carpal tunnel has occurred recently in our society. Thus, the carpal tunnel syndrome from a structural cause (an uncommon occurrence) becomes the template for the disorder to occur with relative frequency as a psychosomatic disorder." (page 307 or 308) In the quote, Dr. Hoffman seems to be lumping hypothyroidism with pregnancy and uncontrolled diabetes as genuine physical ailments (i.e. "structural").

With that being said, just about every condition out there is, to some degree, a mindbody condition because mind and body are inextricably linked. I think it can be helpful to distinguish between conditions that are directly caused by unconscious emotions (TMS and its equivalents) and other conditions where "unconscious emotions may play a role in causation, but are not the only factor." Dr. Sarno draws this distinction in page 3 of The Divided Mind and I think he is absolutely right to do so. He gives several examples of "not the only factor" type of disorder in chapter 8 of The Mindbody Prescription, including sections on autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disorders, and cancer. Strictly speaking, though, he is very clear that these conditions are neither TMS nor TMS equivalents, but, rather, merely "psychosomatic" or "mindbody" in the sense that unconscious emotions may play a role in them rather than being a direct cause.

(I lay all of this out with quotes and even a diagram on this wiki page: http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Terminology_for_TMS )

Given that hypothyroidism was only mentioned once in the three recent books and given that it was mentioned as a structural condition, that might mean that Dr. Sarno agreed with Dr. Hoffman that it wasn't TMS or an equivalent. After all, hypothyroidism has been a very well known condition for a long time and Dr. Sarno's books are very thorough about TMS and it's euqivalents. Of course, this doesn't at all mean that it can't have a mindbody component and perhaps a large one. If your family tends to be prone to TMS and it's equivalents, then maybe people are likely to have other conditions where unconscious emotions play a role. (this is bad news for me, as I'm the same way.) Perhaps this explains some of the correlation that you've noticed.

Anyway, good to see you and I hope that your family does better.

Best of luck to the cat, too.

 

[Zumbafan]

I had thyroid problems in my early 20's, around the time my parents divorced, and mum remarried. I look sad in her wedding photos. When I discovered the work of Louise Hay several years ago, I looked up what she had to say about the thyroid. "I never get to do what I want to do. When is it going to be my turn?". Those words resonated with me as my two younger brothers both had partners, and mum was getting married for the second time...I was single!
I took medication for about 18 months, during that time met my husband, and then my blood tests settled down, so it was OK to stop treatment. Looking back it makes sense to me. I have been married 33 years.
I also mention I trained as a Pathology Technician when I left school, so was used to facts and figures so to speak, yet learning about mind body in later life seemed a natural progression, with no resistance.
I hope my story helps someone else in uncovering their own desires.

 

[Ellen]

Here is a good article from the Atlantic on hypothyroidism and the current controversy on diagnosis and treatment.


http://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...t-common-diseases-still-so-mysterious/385256/

 

[Helenback]

I was diagnosed w. Adrenal two years ago (this effects thyroid, pituitary, pineal glands etc.) . I barely kept my job. Low energy, insomnia, food allergies, chronic muscle spasms, chronic back pain etc. I tried every therapy, PT, acupuncture, feldinkrist, dry needling, hormone replacement, not to mention the 300.00 monthly supplement expence. 6 months ago I was told I had candida. 2 weeks ago, I read Dr Sarno's book and I am 80% better..in just 2 weeks.. This is the NEW "modern medicine."
Tms is related to the immune system.

 

[sandysnow]

Hello all-

Thanks for reading.

I have noticed that over the past couple of years, more and more people around me are getting diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and are being put on serious meds.

More specifically, my little sister was diagnosed 5 years ago and more recently, one of my best friends.
My sister "started" with your basic TMS issues...chronic pain, sinus issues, allergies, fatigue and IBS and it (in my mind) has graduated to fibromyalgia-type issues and now Hypothyroidism.

My ENTIRE family has TMS, in one form or another. All 7 of us.
If the cat could talk, i think she'd complain about one chronic problem or another.

Ive battled some very serious TMS equivalents for over 15 years and everyone in my family either has some digestive issue, chronic fatigue, insomnia or a chronic pain issue.

Knowing now how serious TMS can get when untreated, I cant help but think the two are inexorably tied to one another. Also, whats suspect to me is that a lot of the people I know who now have Hypo, all had chronic/TMS-type issues that gradually led up to their Hypo diagnosis.

Has anyone seen and/or read about any correlation between TMS and Hypo?

I agree. I think it is all down to the stressful environment that we live in. I was fortunate enough to find John Sarno for back pain, many years ago. I have a very difficult family member who I am unable to help as the problem for them is a personality disorder. I think repressing my anger/emotional distress and helplessness brought on that situation. The pain was indescribable, and I would scream with pain anytime somebody would try to help (chiropractor etc). I spent a fortune and then read this wonderful man's book. As I was turning the pages in my garden, I could feel the vice grip slowly melting. Proof positive, this is the mind sealing our mouth and manifesting pain. The circumstances did eventually break my forty year marriage and the fallout was hypothyroidism which then went on to Hashimotos, which is the body attacking itself. TMS moved around my body before and I would sometimes feel pain in my ankles, my knees and so on, and each time I chased it out of one place, it popped up in another. I am very very open to believe that we can bring these conditions on ourselves. Repressing emotions is a deeply unhealthy thing to do, and I have been doing that, much of my life. So strange when you know that in the allopathic world, they separated the brain from the body. We now of course know, the gut is the second brain and they talk to each other. At times, I wish I could break of lines of communication to try and heal.

 

[Looking for space]

There were 6 in my immediate family, I have one sister, two brothers, father 86 and well, mom deceased in 1998 but the entire family has hypothyroidism....EXCEPT for my 52 yr. Brother that has MS, and ALS. Now my oldest niece has it, so, hopefully I will learn more about it here on the TMS wiki....

 

[Barkis]

I am so called subclinical hypothyroid but was told that I don’t need meds. Interestingly the test came back negative for antibodies which is usually the defining feature. I’m convinced that mindbody symptoms (TMS) is the culprit. If I lived in the USA they would have me on meds.

 

[TrustIt]

I agree. I think it is all down to the stressful environment that we live in. I was fortunate enough to find John Sarno for back pain, many years ago. I have a very difficult family member who I am unable to help as the problem for them is a personality disorder. I think repressing my anger/emotional distress and helplessness brought on that situation. The pain was indescribable, and I would scream with pain anytime somebody would try to help (chiropractor etc). I spent a fortune and then read this wonderful man's book. As I was turning the pages in my garden, I could feel the vice grip slowly melting. Proof positive, this is the mind sealing our mouth and manifesting pain. The circumstances did eventually break my forty year marriage and the fallout was hypothyroidism which then went on to Hashimotos, which is the body attacking itself. TMS moved around my body before and I would sometimes feel pain in my ankles, my knees and so on, and each time I chased it out of one place, it popped up in another. I am very very open to believe that we can bring these conditions on ourselves. Repressing emotions is a deeply unhealthy thing to do, and I have been doing that, much of my life. So strange when you know that in the allopathic world, they separated the brain from the body. We now of course know, the gut is the second brain and they talk to each other. At times, I wish I could break of lines of communication to try and heal.

it's my understanding that hashi's leads to hypo, rather than the other way around. i was diagnosed with hypo in 1996 but refused medication. i have recently been diagnosed with subclinical hypo. antibodies are high but tsh is in the normal range and t3 and t4 are normal. this means subclinical hypothyroidism. none of it really ever concerned me. i don't buy that "the thyroid is attacking itself"...something just ain't right about that imho! all that said, i never believed in these diagnoses even tho i had not heard of tms back then. discovering sarno,i have been recently working on several tms issues (sinus/post nasal drip, ibs, (migraines gone) & anxiety. i do not have a single symptom of thyroid problems...not one. i even LOST weight b/c of the worry/stress of these other things resulting in orthophobia and awful anxiety. what a horrible journey THAT was! i have wondered many times why it seems EVERYONE was suddenly "allergic" to wheat/gluten, dairy, even eggs. all seemed faddish to me. i am very encouraged with my progress with tms work. i fast overcame my food issues. migraines completely resolved over a year ago. pnd better but persists. ibs appears to be gone, tho when stressed i will feel a bit of pain. nothing like i use to have that would keep me up all night in searing pain over my entire torso. but i did conclude it is NOT about food which has made life so much more enjoyable! so...this...keep trusting that this is a mind game and find exactly what works for you - if it's journaling, a tms counselor, screaming or crying, talking softly to your body...anything to FEEL THOSE EMOTIONS! there are many suggestions on this forum.

all the best in your successful journey!

 

[TrustIt]

it's my understanding that hashi's leads to hypo, rather than the other way around. i was diagnosed with hypo in 1996 but refused medication. i have recently been diagnosed with subclinical hypo. antibodies are high but tsh is in the normal range and t3 and t4 are normal. this means subclinical hypothyroidism. none of it really ever concerned me. i don't buy that "the thyroid is attacking itself"...something just ain't right about that imho! all that said, i never believed in these diagnoses even tho i had not heard of tms back then. discovering sarno,i have been recently working on several tms issues (sinus/post nasal drip, ibs, (migraines gone) & anxiety. i do not have a single symptom of thyroid problems...not one. i even LOST weight b/c of the worry/stress of these other things resulting in orthophobia and awful anxiety. what a horrible journey THAT was! i have wondered many times why it seems EVERYONE was suddenly "allergic" to wheat/gluten, dairy, even eggs. all seemed faddish to me. i am very encouraged with my progress with tms work. i fast overcame my food issues. migraines completely resolved over a year ago. pnd better but persists. ibs appears to be gone, tho when stressed i will feel a bit of pain. nothing like i use to have that would keep me up all night in searing pain over my entire torso. but i did conclude it is NOT about food which has made life so much more enjoyable! so...this...keep trusting that this is a mind game and find exactly what works for you - if it's journaling, a tms counselor, screaming or crying, talking softly to your body...anything to FEEL THOSE EMOTIONS! there are many suggestions on this forum.

all the best in your successful journey!

Meant orthorexia not orthophobia in above post.