Wow, of all places, I read about this in the costco "Healthy Living" magazine you get for free at their pharmacy. Ironic, I know, to get a healthy living magazine at the same place you are getting prescription pills.

But in this month's magazine, lo and behold, an article entitled:
"Tired? Foregetful? The culprit could be your thyroid". Here's what it says, in a nutshell:

1.when the thyroid is not producing enough T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine), hypothryroidism occurs. (Note: I am curious to see whether T3 is related to iodine, which lack of causes goiter, a neck bulge...in which case simply making sure you get enough iodine might improve things)

2. hypothyroidism, according to the article, is typically caused by an autoimmune disease. When levels of T4 are low "all the body's processes begin to slow, from the brain to the bowels. This can cause a variety of symptoms, including fatigue, intolerance to cold, loss of appetite, constipation, depression, difficulty losing weight, muscle cramps, and hair loss...brittle fingernails and dry skin....sounds a lot like many of the symptoms of PD to me.

More: women are more likely to suffer from this than men, and are at greater risk during pregnancy, after giving birth (Conductor71, this may be you), and around menopause. The risk also increases with age.

You can treat hypothyroidism with T4 supplements, which should diminish symptoms 6-10 weeks. You can tell if you have this with a blood test, and also, by self exam: look in a mirror and watch your throat as you swallow...if you notice any bulges or protrusions when you swallow, you could have hypothyroidism.

I found it particularly interesting that insufficient T4 levels causes all body processes to slow...this is what I think of as "aging", everything slows down.

I've been hypothyroid since I was 16 years old - dx'd with Hashimoto's. On thryoid supplements 40+ years now.

Jean

adddingI've been saying this for years to the point of thinking reserach has some sexism involved.

two pregnancies in early thirties - nursed each for two years [at night]

menopause began after second pregnancy - mid to late 30s

diagnosed hypothyroid

motor symptoms of pd, but now realize i had most of the pre symptoms including stress of raising a family

diagnoses of pd

how couldn't there be a connection? poisoned in hawaii before it all began.

That's three people here on the forum....Paula, do you take thyroid supplements also and if so, which ones and for how long?

synthroid but generic now - levothyroxine - for life. It's a prescribed medication so I don't think of it as a supplement. It was one in a string of health issues that i can't help but associate with pesticide poisoning and parkinson's.

Very true - synthroid and levothyroxine are medications and not health food supplements. I merely meant that due to low output of my thyroid gland, for the past 40 years I have had to supplement my thyroid gland's output by taking synthroid or levothyroxine. I hope this clears up any confusion about my earlier post.

Jean

Make that 4 people on this forum.

I am convinced that during my recent stress meltdown that I was slipping from a sub-clinical state to an active hyperthyroid one. The following symptoms are fromthe Mayo clinic site with my comments-

Symptoms:
Hyperthyroidism can mimic other health problems, which may make it difficult for your doctor to diagnose. It can also cause a wide variety of signs and symptoms, including:

* Sudden weight loss, even when your appetite and diet remain normal or even increase
* Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) — commonly more than 100 beats a minute — irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or pounding of your heart (palpitations) My pulse approached 100 during the period from its usual 75 or so.
* Increased appetite
* Nervousness, anxiety and irritability I had a minor panic attack during this time.
* Tremor — usually a fine trembling in your hands and fingers Worsened.
* Sweating Several instances.
* Changes in menstrual patterns
* Increased sensitivity to heat Worsened.
* Changes in bowel patterns, especially more frequent bowel movements Yes. Almost daily from every two weeks.
* An enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), which may appear as a swelling at the base of your neck
* Fatigue, muscle weakness Had extreme bouts which continue.
* Difficulty sleeping Yes but sporadic.

Older adults are more likely to have either no signs or symptoms or subtle ones, such as an increased heart rate, heat intolerance and a tendency to become tired during ordinary activities. Medications called beta blockers, which are used to treat high blood pressure and other conditions, can mask many of the signs of hyperthyroidism. The same might be true of PWP.
In addition I noted signs of increased metabolism – hot flashes and slightly elevated body temperature. Several times face flushed enough that my wife noticed it. Most worrisome were spikes in blood pressure as high as 200/120.

I am becoming more and more convinced that there is something important here. Thyroid problems are slippery little devils at best.

Make that 5...I am also Hypothyroid and have been on Synthroid for 20 yrs. About 5 years ago suffered from Hyperthyroidism for about 6 months for no explained reason. I was diagnosed 2 years later with PD.

Suzie

Laura found literature that says one can be dx hyperthyroid and then it changes to hypothyroid....which is another match in my background. i have never had any noticeable symptoms of thyroid disease. Doctor found it was enlarged during a routine exam and i had a scan.

i wish pd was as easily treated - never gave the thyroid much thought.

oh and i know of one male pwp on this forum who had his thyroid removed if we are counting. Also wonder who had early onset menopause, and nursed their children. [if you don't mind sharing] perhaps age at which we had children is a factor. i waited till my 30s.

this is interesting because we suspect autoimmune components and thyroid is auto immune disease right? [thought i read that somewhere]
so pd could have come first. or i picture pd formed like a storm. Storms start under similar conditions, but no two are alike. Some become hurricanes or tornadoes, others just thunder and lightning or rain. some move faster than others. Degrees of damage vary. etc

this is off topic but while in the science mode i'm going to put it where science readers are. the rest is a summary of science needed for the book.

at what point do we start apoptosis and what is that alpha synuclein's normal function? when do we begin to self destruct? Are we injesting something from someone else's body in our water? are we full of fungus - i recently read that fungus and cancer look alike - hard to tell the difference. i have a recurring fungus so maybe we should take a tally of those who have fungus in their system. fungus can become cancer; what else can it do?

so what came first to cause an autoimmune reaction so serious as to shut down or overstimulate the thyroid?i knew a girl growing up who took the iodine. i think i'll look her up on facebook and see how she is doing today.

there isthe possibility and this has been theorized, that whatever pd is could have come first. maybe pd really is just being poisoned with chemicals; then it's a real crap shoot. we are all taking in different chemicals...rick mentioned soot, i grew up with soot from the steel mills always on the window sills - you wipe them and it comes right back and pd is high in pittsburgh of course. There is a nuclear power plant nearby too;we attended the 4th of july carnival and fireworks where the towers of the nuke plant are last week..it's very clean compared to the steel mills.

somehow we end up losing smell, [not everyone tho] slowing up of everything which points to mitochondria, then there are neuro transmitters .....i think if i was playing pin the tale on the donkey, i'd aim for the metabolism and endocrine system and the acetycholine neural pathways, based on what i've researched so far. Dopamine is responsible for much of our strange behaviors, our strange appearance, our off and ons, our addictions, but it also helps restless legs, which i also had off and on growing up and just hated it. Is restless leg defined - do they know the origin? That sounds like a transmitter imbalance but i haven't looked it up.

And i haven't even mentioned genetics. i am glad we are exploring the thyroid because it is a symptom of poisoning. People who live near toxic sites or radiation exposed exhibit thyroid abnormalities. My mother had to have her thyroid removed; gosh do I know anyone at home [pittsburgh] who isn't on thyroid med?

I am writing on neural transmitters for the book and we have set an August 15 deadline for all writing. so if you have any information on neuro transmitters please post it or send me PM. They are all important but pwp may as a whole lack GABA, which is all your emotions to simplify it and hardly do it justice,have too much acetylcholine, which i suspect until someone proves differently can poison our own brains. it's in the literature that it stops dopamine production. Have you ever seen an advanced patient who shows motor symptoms more than cognitive?I cannot verbally communicate after a certain amount of dopamine is in my system. i am befuddled thru and thru. perhaps in the elderly, our acetylcholine decreases, which helps the dopamine, but makes us mostly look demented or cognitively impaired. motor stops progressing - i can't remember if i actually heard someone say that but let me know if you have a source.

We're not doing this to show our stuff. This is pure patient empowerment and some of the activists are getting very very tired. Forum members are who itis about and science must be up to date so post what you see that is relevant please till aug. 14.... this will be r first complete [well sort of] draft and we already have to update some of our work.

This forum is a lifesaver. No reason we can't save the world. hah it's sinemet ramble hour. I lose all sense of time but find this whole thing - the human body computer - so fascinating. We'd love to have a draft to show at the wpc so guest writers on your mark...we need you now.

thanks and if you have questions kindly start a new thread. my last efforts are going to be hitting at the science so this thread is related enough hopefully to put this here.keep the science coming.

suzie that was perfect timing = your first statement validated mine , whiich was actually provided by laura.