If You Have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome…
. . . you should have your thyroid level checked. There’s a strong correlation:
Nineteen patients (73%; 31 hands [68%]) displayed symptoms of CTS; of these, 16 patients (25 hands) had clinical examinations consistent with CTS. Only 6 of the 16 patients with clinical CTS (7 of 25 hands) had electrical studies that supported a diagnosis of CTS. All these symptomatic patients were biochemically euthyroid. All control subjects had normal electrical study results and normal sensibility testing. Two [control] subjects had positive clinical [CTS] examinations, giving a [CTS] false-positive rate of 4%.
Apparently treatment of the thyroid condition can make CTS — often treated with surgery — go away, speaking of misguided operations.
Hypothyroidism is so common I suspect an environmental cause, just as the fact that acne is common suggests an environmental cause. One kind of evidence for such a thing would be finding a group of people living unusual lives (e.g., New Guinea highlanders) with unusually low or unusually high rates.
Via Natural News.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Two things: Vitamin D deficiency and Iodine deficiency.
Google either one and you’ll find a lot of references.
I’ve been taking thyroid for years for hypothyroidism. When I upped my Vitamin D intake to 2,000-4,000 IU/day, I found I could cut my thyroid dose in half. (And I’ve also not been sick in over two and one-half years, to which I attribute the D.)
August 27th, 2009 at 5:42 am
Yes, iodine deficiency. The incidence of hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s) has apparently dramatically increased in the U.S. over the past 100 years. Guy Abraham M.D. has written a lot about the connection.
August 28th, 2009 at 2:12 am
Thanks, Charles and Dennis. That’s very important.
August 28th, 2009 at 2:34 am
I was also diagnosed with hyperthyroidism recently, so I have been taking medications and stuff. After a few months, I will undergo a series of tests to see if it all worked out or if i need surgery.
August 28th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Fear of salt (iodine deficiency = hypothyroidism) + fear of fat (increased refined carbohydrates = obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.) + fear of the sun (Vitamin D deficiency = depressed immunity, depression, hypothyroidism) + fear of bacteria (depressed immunity) = pretty sucky health for modern humans.
And if you look at the iodine and Vitamin D effects on thyroid, then combine that with the increased sugar-based calorie increase…that;’s not a good combo.
We’ve created a perfect storm here, doncha think? It would be hard to design an environment that would more efficiently lead to bad health.
September 19th, 2009 at 6:08 am
[...] In an earlier post I wrote, “Hypothyroidism is so common I suspect an environmental cause.” In fact, I suspect that all common diseases are caused (= made much more likely by) differences between modern life and Stone-Age life. Since then, thanks to comments and email, I have learned more about hypothyroidism. According to Dennis Mangan, it has become a lot more common during the last 100 years, which implies an environmental cause. The most common type of hypothroidism is called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. It is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks the thyroid, damaging it. A reader with hypothyroidism wrote me: When I was first tested for thyroid levels, part of the test (which I think is standard protocol) was to test the level of antibodies to thyroid. My levels were off the charts. [...]