My Diagnoses

    Introduction

      I am creating this page to give some basic information on three of the major conditions I have been diagnosed with. I call them major, as each one individually and collectively, have a huge impact on my daily life and activity level. When these conditions are in check, otherwise being properly treated and not flaring up, I feel normal and able to do regular activities. My goal, if possible, is to be able to be symptom free the majority of the time so I can get back to an active lifestyle and be able to enjoy the things I use to take for granted, like a good long hike or a bike ride, among many other things!


What is Fibromyalgia?

       For me fibromyalgia was the hardest diagnoses to accept. I had already been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome at the age of 15 after extensive trial and error of other conditions. I was also diagnosed with chronic depression at the time, which commonly goes along with chronic fatigue. The reason that this was a hard diagnoses for me, was that I have a few friends that do have fibromyalgia and I did not seem to be suffering from the same kind of pain that they have during flare ups. I did suffer from basic muscle soreness which is a symptom of chronic fatigue but never to the extent of needing pain relievers. 
     This last year however, especially during the tail end of 2014 my muscle soreness has been more, where there are days I feel as if I was literally ran over by a freight train. So far ibuprofen has been enough to help on those days, but my fear is the need of stronger pain relief and on going pain relief. I do not want to become dependent on pain relief medications, becoming an addict to any kind of drug is a huge fear of mine, as that I have seen from an early age what it can do to loved ones. In fact, I really do not like taking any type of medications for very long, for this reason alone, so when I grab for the ibuprofen you know it is bad.  

     Well none of this explains what fibromyalgia is, besides that your muscles and bones just hurt all over or sometimes in just certain areas. In a way it is similar to arthritis but not the same.

Here are how the experts explain fibromyalgia:
  • Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals. *Mayo Clinic
  • Fibromyalgia syndrome affects the muscles and soft tissue. Symptoms include chronic muscle pain, fatigue, sleep problems, and painful tender points or trigger points, which can be relieved through medications, lifestyle changes, and stress management. *WebMD
  • Fibromyalgia syndrome is a common and chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain, diffuse tenderness, and a number of other symptoms. The word "fibromyalgia" comes from the Latin term for fibrous tissue (fibro) and the Greek ones for muscle (myo) and pain (algia). *NIH
  • Fibromyalgia is a disorder of unknown etiology characterized by widespread pain, abnormal pain processing, sleep disturbance, fatigue and often psychological distress. People with fibromyalgia may also have other symptoms. *CDC

Mayo Clinic: Fibromyalgia
WebMD: Fibromyalgia
NIH: Fibromyalgia
CDC: Fibromyalgia


What is Chronic Fatigue?

      Chronic fatigue syndrome is just what it says, you have chronic fatigue that does not go away with rest and sometimes can get worse with physical, mental, and emotional activity. This condition is hard to diagnose as that fatigue is such a common symptom of so many other things. However with chronic fatigue, it can last for months on end without any reasonable cause and goes away just as mysteriously. 
     
     About a year after I was diagnose as a teenager, the symptoms would come and go, sometimes lasting a few days others months. To help with symptoms my doctor suggested a complete diet change. I was so desperate to feel better, and not so exhausted without any reason I gave it a try. So for close to 3yrs I became a vegetarian, though not a true vegetarian as I still ate eggs and fish. 

     After the first month I noticed a huge change. My flare ups did not happen as often, to the point where after about 2yrs I was basically symptom free, except maybe having one or two days of exhaustion after extreme conditions, which is basically normal and understandable. 

     Today I am no longer a vegetarian, however for many years I maintained a whole food type of diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and not much red meat along with regular exercise. This seemed to keep my chronic fatigue and depression in check and I was able to live a fairly normal active life for about 15 years with only mild symptoms occurring. I did have one or two larger flare ups on rare occasion, which would only last about a week but never longer than a month. 

     It has only been the last 4 to 5yrs that my chronic fatigue and depression have become a problem again. This of course can be due to the complication of other conditions combined with a few huge emotional life events that all occurred in a very short time period. Not to mention my diet and exercise have been completely derailed. 

 Here are how the experts explain chronic fatigue:
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome is a complicated disorder characterized by extreme fatigue that can't be explained by any underlying medical condition. The fatigue may worsen with physical or mental activity, but doesn't improve with rest. *Mayo Clinic
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS, causes you to feel so tired that you can't complete normal, daily activities. While chronic fatigue syndrome has no known cause and is difficult to diagnose, its major symptoms can be treated. *WebMD
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder that causes extreme fatigue. This fatigue is not the kind of tired feeling that goes away after you rest. Instead, it lasts a long time and limits your ability to do ordinary daily activities. *NIH
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS, is a debilitating and complex disorder characterized by profound fatigue that is not improved by bed rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity. Symptoms affect several body systems and may include weakness, muscle pain, impaired memory and/or mental concentration, and insomnia, which can result in reduced participation in daily activities. *CDC
WebMD: Chronic Fatigue
NIH: Chronic Fatigue
Mayo Clinic: Chronic Fatigue
CDC: Chronic Fatigue

What is Type 2 Hypothyroidism?

     Type 2 Hypothyroidism is a type of hypothyroidism that is currently highly controversial in the medical community. Because of this, highly regarded medical sites, such as the ones I have been citing, do not have any information on it. However, they do all say the basic same thing about what hypothyroidism is, so I have inserted a paragraph from the Mayo Clinic. 
  • Hypothyroidism (under active thyroid) is a condition in which your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough of certain important hormones. Hypothyroidism upsets the normal balance of chemical reactions in your body. It seldom causes symptoms in the early stages, but, over time, untreated hypothyroidism can cause a number of health problems, such as obesity, joint pain, infertility and heart disease. *MayoClinic
     So what is type 2 Hypothyroidism? Well it is basically just hypothyroidism, with all the physical symptoms, and can not be detected by normal thyroid blood tests. These tests are widely used to determine whether or not there is an imbalance of thyroid. The majority of medical doctors solely rely on blood test before treating any type of thyroid condition. The problem with solely using blood test is that a huge number of people are not being diagnosed for proper thyroid imbalance. Which left untreated long enough can lead to other health problems in the future, like the ones mention in the paragraph above. Most of the articles I have found refer to a book by Dr. Starrs, "Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic".

Here are some inserts of what I have been able to find on Type 2 Hypothyroidism:

     Classic (Type I) Hypothyroidism is an inherited disorder that is known to affect about seven percent of the American population. Caused by the thyroid's failure to secrete adequate hormone levels, it is typically diagnosed early in life through blood tests. However, there is a far more prevalent form of the disease (some say up to 50-80% of the population) that cannot be detected with blood tests and is therefore ignored by modern medicine: Type II Hypothyroidism, or thyroid resistance.  In his book, Starr explains the differences between Types 1 and 2:

•    With Type 1 Hypothyroidism, the thyroid does not produce sufficient amounts of hormone to maintain “normal” blood levels of hormones, which in turn will maintain normal blood levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) produced by the pituitary.
 
•    With Type 2 Hypothyroidism, the thyroid gland produces “normal” amounts of hormone, but the cells are unable to utilize the hormone properly. Some experts call this thyroid hormone resistance (which may be regarded as similar to insulin resistance, or Type II Diabetes). *Hormonal Health and Wellness

Other Diagnoses

     Among the top three diagnoses above here is a list of both physical and mental conditions I have been diagnosed with over the years. 

 Physical:

  • Hypoglycemia (pre-diabetes)
  • Polycistic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
  • Adrenal Fatigue
  • Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
  • Asthma
  • Chronic Bronchitis
  • Arthritis (diagnoses October 2015)
  • Degenerative Disc Disease (diagnosed February 2016)
  • Herniated Disc Fragment/Pinched Nerve (diagnosed February 2016)

Mental:

  • Chronic Depression (now labeled as Major Depression 2016)
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Anxiety (General Anxiety 2016)
  • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Here are links to different sites that can help explain these various diagnoses:


What They All Have in Common

    Well as I mentioned earlier, each one individually or collectively has an impact on my daily life and activity level, just a few more so than others. They also all have overlapping symptoms to some degree, which has made getting the proper diagnoses difficult. Most of my diagnoses can be treated with diet and exercise, so basically a lifestyle change, which will help improve all of them. 

      The difficult thing is that a few of my diagnoses need individual treatment like my thyroid, which needs medication. The problem with this is figuring out what symptom is caused by which diagnoses to best treat that particular problem. I do not want to take medication, if I can help it. 

      Another common trait that most of them have is that they are hormone related. Which indicates I must have some hormone unbalances going on. The question to that is did the diagnoses cause the hormone unbalance or did the unbalance cause the diagnoses? That is like asking what came first the chicken or the egg. 

      I am one that likes to go to the source of the problem instead of just putting a temporary band aid on to treat the symptoms. On occasion a band aid fix is needed if the symptom is too much for me, yet again I firmly believe there has to be a better way than pharmacutical medicines. 

Other Articles of interest:

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