Health Care

By: Alien

Thyroid disease is considered a comorbid condition for headaches and migraines. This means that although it occurs independently of the headaches it still can intensify them and can also make treatment much more complex. A comorbid condition may have an enormous effect on the provision and success of medical treatment.

Thyroid diseases, including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, are among the conditions now known to often coexist with headaches and migraines.

Female Hormones

A great deal of research focus in headaches involves the connection between headaches and female hormones when, in fact, endocrine hormones are also extremely important in headache aetiology. Genuine migraine headaches are not directly caused by thyroid disease. The abnormal high and low levels of thyroid hormones that are characteristic of thyroid disease can, however, intensify migraines. Any disease of the thyroid gland can impact virtually every organ in the body so it is not surprising that headaches are often intensified when a person also suffers from thyroid disease.

Thyroid disease is also much more likely to occur in women than men and when you take into account the effect of female hormones on headaches, women can be hit particularly hard with intense headache pain. The effects of thyroid disease on menstruation itself further compound the problem and can alter headache and migraine patterns.

Hypothyroidism results from an under-functioning thyroid gland. Some of the symptoms of thyroid disease include:

* Fatigue
* Weight gain
* Weakness
* Altered menstrual cycle
* Constipation
* Hair loss
* Muscle pains

Hyperthyroidism results from an overactive thyroid gland. Migraines may be prompted through an increase in oestrogen levels noted in people who suffer from hyperthyroidism. Eye problems experienced with a hyperactive thyroid can also lead to headaches and migraines, with pain centred around the eye area. Other symptoms that may be present in hyperthyroidism are:

* Fatigue
* Weight loss
* Sweating
* Altered menstrual cycle
* Greater frequency in bowel movements
* Anxiety
* Fast heart beat

Handling Headaches and Thyroid Disease

If you suspect that your headaches may be related to thyroid disease, you should see your doctor. He or she will likely have blood tests performed to determine endocrine hormone levels and to rule out any other disease states that may be causing or affecting your headaches.

For hypothyroidism, treatment usually involves a daily dose of synthetic thyroid hormone. For hyperthyroidism, there are a couple of anti-thyroid drugs available that your doctor will likely prescribe for you. Treatment depends on the level of the disease as well as other factors such as your age. If your periods have been irregular due to thyroid disease, correcting your hormones will likely help get your menstrual cycle regulated and this may also help to improve your headaches. Beta-blockers may be prescribed in addition to a primary thyroid drug, and these are also effective in treating headaches.

Immediate Relief

For immediate relief, you can usually safely take over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen but do check with your doctor first. Although alternative therapies that are focused on relaxation may be helpful, if it is determined that you have thyroid disease, you will most likely have to take medication. Any treatments for stress can still provide benefits but can't replace synthetic hormone thyroid medication. Fortunately there have been enough advances in thyroid treatment that you can generally expect to get your symptoms under control, including your headaches.

Thyroid disease involves over or under-stimulation of the thyroid gland and can intensify headache patterns. If your headaches are a symptom of thyroid disease, controlling your thyroid through medication should help.

Alien writes for Migraine symptoms. He also writes for home remedies for headaches and depression treatment

Article Source: http://www.eArticlesOnline.com

by: James Lowrance

Patients who are diagnosed with hypothyroidism and are being treated for it with hormone replace therapy, can sometimes have other imbalances that hinder the effectiveness of the treatment. Things such as adrenal hormones being low, ferritin/iron, Vitamin B-12 etc…, can cause thyroid hormone treatment, to be less effective in patients with imbalances of these and is why thorough blood and saliva testing of all levels may need to be done, to find any problems that prevent the treatment from working as well.

That is a phenomena, that happens commonly to thyroid patients who start hormone therapy but some people in the medical field act as if they don't know this happens and some people attribute it just to your body adjusting to the meds.

Mild to moderate symptoms from adjusting, should be expected but severe reactions, especially ones that last for weeks and longer, in my opinion, can mean you have other hormone imbalances or chemical imbalances (like low ferritin, cortisol etc...) needing addressed and if they are not, the thyroid hormone will just serve to intensify the imbalance. For example; even the thyroid med makers have notations on their medication-inserts, websites etc..., that states "untreated adrenal cortical (cortisol) insufficiency, can worsen after beginning thyroid hormone therapy". This just means that it too needs addressed in order not to create an even more severe imbalance. I don't believe when patients have a bad reaction to their thyroid med, that they necessarily have CFS or Fibro but it can mean they have a degree of hypoadrenalism/adrenal fatigue (sub-clinical) or some other hormone or chemical imbalance that also needs corrected. For some patients, it can even be something like a B-12 deficiency (pernicious anemia).

My Endo only concluded CFS in me for example, through a combination of tests, symptoms/manifestations and a process of elimination. I not only had consistently low cortical but also an unreliable TSH, in correlation with my thyroid hormone levels, constantly swollen lymph nodes, an EBV (virus) count that was 10 times the upper normal cut off, etc.........

I feel for most thyroid patients, they are experiencing a more easily correctible problem, like adrenal fatigue or low ferritin, low B-12 etc..., rather than it always being co-occurring CFS but I also believe if the problem is severe and ongoing, they need to consider all possibilities.

Sometimes we need to get blood chemicals tested, B-12 levels, adrenal hormones, sex hormones etc..., tested, to zero in on what a problem might be, if thyroid treatment is not relieving severe symptoms. Mild to moderate symptoms commonly happen to thyroid patients but ones as severe as those of CFS/Fibro, definitely need investigated, otherwise it affects the patient's quality of life.

When you go through a Dr. Office or Hospital Lab, to get tested for “adrenal fatigue", they seldom ever check for anything other than true "adrenal insufficiency" because most simply do not believe in the existence of "adrenal fatigue", which is a sub-clinical form and much more common. If they want to rule out adrenal insufficiency, they usually do so with what's called an "ACTH Stimulation Test" and if this test reveals that your adrenal glands still respond to stimulation by the ACTH hormone, they believe this rules out any low adrenal problem. The fact is however, that very few people with adrenal fatigue, will fail the ACTH Stimulation Test but they still have adrenals that are not functioning normal and need to take supplements to correct it.

Tests that can reveal adrenal fatigue, are both blood cortisol and saliva cortisol tests, that are taken at several times during a 24 hour period. Another adrenal hormone; "DHEA", can also be tested because it and especially cortisol, are the major adrenal hormones.

If you hear saliva tests are not as accurate as blood, this has been proven repeatedly by research, not be true. Saliva tests, are as accurate as blood, for testing the "free levels" of the hormones and have been used in US Gov., hormone studies and are also recognized by major Insurance companies including Blue Shield, as accurate tests for hormones.

There are companies that offer these tests on the web but many Pharmacies also offer these.

When thyroid hormone replacement therapy does not seem to be working as it should, these other possibilities should also be considered and tested for.

source:searchwarp.com