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This video explains how poor thyroid hormone function can exist, even with perfectly normal thyroid blood tests.

Here’s more information about thyroid hormone function.

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So far, I’ve discussed the fact that fibromyalgia is caused by any combination of several underlying conditions and although a “shotgun” approach to a fibromyalgia diet can be used pretty effectively, when it comes to choosing the appropriate supplements, it is important to narrow down the underlying causes of the individual’s fibromyalgia symptoms as much as possible. In Part 1 of this series, I explained how where you tend to gain weight gives clues as to where problems are occurring in the body that may be participating in fibromyalgia symptoms. In Part 2, I began discussing the different types of chronic fatigue and associated symptoms that give further clues of what exactly is going wrong. In Part 2 I focused on the sources of constant fatigue. In this part, I’m going to continue the discussion of fatigue by reviewing the sources of intermittent fatigue.Intermittent fatigue is any kind of fatigue or low energy that varies from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and/or in association with certain foods, exposure to pollens, etc.. There are several potential causes for intermittent fatigue, but probably the most common cause is adrenal stress. The adrenal glands are small glands that sit atop each kidney. Though small in size, these glands are extremely powerful and important to health. Among other things, the various hormones produced by the adrenal are invloved in blood pressure control, heart rate, inflammation control, regulation of the kidneys, and control of fat storage in the abdomen. The adrenals are the primary glands involved in our reactions to stress. The more stress in your life (even if it’s “good stress” such as getting married, buying a house, etc.), the harder the adrenals have to work.Basically, the adrenals are designed to get us ready for “flight or fight” - the readiness to protect ourselves in a stressful situation. In pre-industrial societies, stress is often very much in the form of real threats to life and limb that require physical exertion to deal with, but are often short in duration. In the modern world, the stress tends to be most often in the form of emotional exertion, and often goes for wekks, months, or even years without ever really being resolved. This chronic stress over the long run wreaks havoc with the adrenals. The fatigue pattern most commonly seen with adrenal issues is usually one of extreme tiredness and mental fogginess in the morning and late afternoon, with periods of more normal energy and mental functioning in-between. Other signs and symptoms include cravings for salt, cheese, chocolate, and sweets, a tendency to get lightheaded when standing up too quickly, a tendency to get sick easily, nervousness/anxiety, the formation of a fat pad across the upper back, dark circles under the eyes, reddish stretch marks, and facial hair in women.Another common source of intermittent fatigue is that which is related to low blood sugar. Blood sugar-related fatigue is usually seen in association with meals, with good energy right after eating, and then tiredness setting in within an hour or two. This is most common with poor meal choices - primarily eating high-carbohydrate foods. There are fibromyalgia supplements that can help with this pattern, but it is usually also necessary to follow the fibromyalgia diet that I have previously recommended in order to prevent excessive swings in blood sugar levels.In some women, fatigue may be associated with the hormone swings that occur during the menstrual cycle and/or due to transient anemia due to blood loss with the menstrual cycle. In some cases, intermittent fatigue may also be due to blood sugar control issues that occur because some women eat more sweets and carbs at “that time of the month”. If you are careful with your diet during your period and still get fatigue issues, then hormones or anemia are likely to blame. The simplest way to figure it out the main problem is to get an inexpensive blood test (a CBC - complete blood count) for anemia. If you get your blood checked right at the end of your main menstrual flow and you don’t have anemia, we can then assume the problem to be estrogen (hormonal balance) by the process of elimination.

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In Supplements For Fibromyalgia - Part 1, we discussed how it is necessary to figure out what underlying conditions are producing your fibromyalgia symptoms before we can figure out what supplements and natural remedies will work best for you.  In part 1, we covered that carrying excess weight and, more importantly, where on the body we carry our excess weight is the first major clue in figuring out the specific underlying problems involved. 

In this post, I’m going to begin discussing fatigue and other symptoms that further point to which organs, glands, and systems of the body are involved.  Most people with fibromyalgia have fatigue/low energy, but fatigue can be caused by a number of different underlying causes, and will manifest in different ways and in association with different symptoms.  How fatigue manifests and what other symptoms are present with it give big clues as to what problems need to be addressed to help a given individual’s fibromyalgia symptoms.

For the sake of simplicity, we’ll start by considering two basic patterns of fatigue:  constant and intermittent.  Constant fatigue remains pretty much the same over a long period of time and does not vary significantly with time of day, meals, or any other factor.  In other words, you feel pretty much the same all day, every day.  Intermittent fatigue changes with time of day, time of month, meals, life events, and other factors.

Constant fatigue is usually related to thyroid problems, anemia, and/or  chronic infections (especially intestinal yeast and parasitic infections).  When there is an underlying thyroid issue (not necessarily low thyroid hormone, as explained in my post about the thyroid), the body is unable to efficiently burn calories for the energy the cells need to perform their functions.  This results in fatigue and weight gain, and also may manifest in the form of low appetite (because you’re not burning calories, you aren’t neurologically stimulated to eat), or cravings for quick sources of blood sugar, such as sweets, bread, pasta, and cereal.  In addition, thyroid issues typically cause a sensitivity to cold temperatures, and a tendency to have cold hands and feet.  Another common indicator of thyroid issues is brittle hair and fingernails and thinning hair (including body hair).  People with poor thyroid function also may develop a thickened tongue that actually widens to the point where indentations form along the side of it from pressing against the teeth. 

Anemia (lack of adequate numbers of normal red blood cells) will also produce constant fatigue, because the lack of blood cells means that the body cannot get adequate oxygen to the brain, muscles, and other tissues.  The same thing happens with respiratory and heart disorders because the lungs must oxygenate the blood and the heart must pump it throughout the body.  Heart and lung problems are usually detected on most medical evaluations and are usually not diagnosed as fibromyalgia, but certain “sub-clinical” anemias can go undetected in some cases and may factor in to cases diagnosed as fibromyalgia.  For example, someone might have a blood test that shows them to be borderline for anemia, but still in the normal range.  If that person also happens to be extremely sedentary, a heavy smoker (smoking decreases blood oxygenation) and/or happens to be a particularly large individual, that combination of factors can result in a shortage of oxygen to the brain and tissues, resulting in constant fatigue, and often muscle pain as well. 

Chronic infections related to constant fatigue are most often due to yeasts and parasites, as they tend to rob the body of nutrients.  While viral and bacterial infections usually show up on standard blood tests (except in very long-standing infections), yeast and parasitic infections may not, particularly if they are localized to the GI tract.  Yeast infections are often related to poor diet, particularly diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.  In addition to fatigue, people with yeast issues will tend to have constant, major cravings for sugar.  Consuming sugar and carbs usually results in intestinal bloating, as the yeasts produce gases when they are given sugar to feed on.  Parasites will tend to cause constant, severe hunger for just about any kind of food.  Most people who have parasite issues have a history of travel to Asia, South America, Central America, or Mexico, but parasites can also be acquired from pets and occasionally other people (requires close personal contact in most cases).  Detection of both yeast and parasite infections can be difficult, but the symptoms above are definite clues, and both yeast and parasite infections tend to make the infected more susceptible to other infections, particularly of the GI tract.  So, if you’re fatigued, hungry all the time, and have a lot of episodes of gastrointestinal viruses and bacterial infections, there’s a good chance that yeast or parasites are to blame.  Think yeasts if you primarily crave sugar and carbs and also bloat when you eat those foods (bloating from fatty foods is usually tied to liver and gallbladder problems). 

That covers the main sources of constant fatigue, with the exception of those with major sleep disturbances, which will be covered in a future part of this series.  If your fatigue and other symptoms matched the thyroid description, make a note of that, particularly if you also have the thyroid weight pattern.  I’ll be discussing various approaches you can take with that problem in the very near future. 

If you aren’t sure about anemia, the simplest way to check for that, and for common types of infection is through a “CBC” which stands for complete blood count.  This is a relatively inexpensive test that you can get through your family doctor, or you can also usually get it done in any metropolitan area at a testing lab (look online or in the yellow pages for “laboratory services”).  Anemia will show up as various abnormalities in things like the red cell count, and stats like MCV and MCHC.  I’ll discuss more about what these mean in the near future when specific supplement recommendations are discussed.

Besides the symptom pattern described, there are more advanced tests for yeasts and parasites.  These usually need to be ordered by a licensed physician, can be unreliable, and can be pretty expensive.  Since the treatment recommendations I’ll be making for these problems are inexpensive and harmless to use if you don’t happen to have these issues, I suggest considering testing only if the remedies I will be recommending in an upcoming part of this series prove ineffective for you. 

So, make a note of what, if any, of the constant fatigue causes seem to apply to you and later in this series, we’ll be discussing supplements and other natural remedies for each of these problems. 

In the next part of this series, I’ll cover the causes of intermittent fatigue. 

 Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for the rest of the “Supplements For Fibromyalgia” series.

****To View The Other Parts Of This Series, Click On The Links Below****

Part 1     Part3     Part 4     Part 5     Part 6

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