Thyroid diseases - additional complications (part 1)

People who struggle with thyroid disorders often suffer from additional health conditions that are mistaken for separate problems. It can be incredibly daunting for anyone to receive multiple diagnoses. Not only are you overwhelmed by the feeling that something is wrong with you and you can’t heal, but you also live with the fear that something else will happen to you as well – the fear that being diagnosed with autoimmune thyroid disease makes you more likely to develop other autoimmune diseases.

Don't let these worries weigh on your mind anymore. The reality is that EBV is behind so many health problems—many of them autoimmune—that there's an extremely good chance that these aren't just a bunch of separate, unrelated symptoms and conditions, but rather that they all stem from the same source. All of the conditions caused by EBV, including chronic fatigue syndrome , rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, and lupus, commonly go hand in hand with thyroid problems because they're caused by the same virus. In a series of articles on the thyroid , we've provided you with information on how to get rid of the virus, learned about the tools you need to address the real root of your problem, and finally get on with your life.

Let's take a look at some of the most common conditions that accompany thyroid problems. Keep in mind that these are not the standard answers you'll find from other sources.

Perimenopause and menopause

Hot flashes, weight gain , hair loss, memory loss, fatigue, brain fog —there's still confusion about whether to attribute them to thyroid disease or menopause. A woman may receive a diagnosis of "physical changes" along with or instead of a thyroid diagnosis, and in either case, she feels like her body is rebelling and starting to age.

The truth is, these symptoms are not due to thyroid dysfunction, hormonal transition, or aging. In most cases, the cause is EBV - in the thyroid articles you read about how the virus is capable of creating all these symptoms. It is also possible that exposure to radiation or pesticides can contribute to the discomfort classically associated with menopause.

As Anthony William details in his revised and expanded edition of The Medium Healer , menopause should not be seen as a painful, uncomfortable process that marks the beginning of delayed aging. It just so happened that in the past, the incubation period of EBV, in which it began to infect the thyroid gland and cause symptoms, coincided with the time when a woman's menstruation began to stop, and this coincidence was mistakenly accepted as a cause and effect relationship. These days, with the emergence of more aggressive and faster-growing strains of EBV , women are developing hypothyroidism earlier, and it is no longer uncommon for 25-year-olds or even college students to be diagnosed with perimenopause. It is a mistake that leaves so many young women with an identity crisis, feeling like they are aging prematurely, when in reality the problem is viral and, above all, manageable.

Infertility, miscarriage and pregnancy complications

There is a serious misconception among leaders in the thyroid health movement that hypothyroidism causes problems like miscarriage, infertility, preeclampsia, and low birth weight. There is even a theory that hypothyroidism in the mother can contribute to the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the child in the womb. In the coming years, everything related to pregnancy that is compromised on almost every level will be blamed on the mother’s thyroid. Conventional doctors will join the alternative medical community in this thinking, and while this theory may seem progressive, it distracts from the truth about what is causing all these problems. If the medical community still doesn’t understand how thyroid disease really works, how can they make a solid connection between it and pregnancy problems?

If you've heard that hypothyroidism is to blame for your miscarriage, trouble conceiving, or a difficult pregnancy or birth, and it's stressed you out in some way, don't be discouraged. There is a very real explanation for what you've been going through, and it's not your fault. Yes, it's very common to have hypothyroidism before or during pregnancy. However, this period does not make an underactive thyroid the cause of reproductive problems. Rather, a thyroid problem should be viewed as a clue or indicator of what's really going on, rather than the cause itself.

The real cause is something else entirely—something that has been under-researched, overlooked, and underfunded for years. The same pathogen that is behind thyroid disease is also behind many reproductive problems: the Epstein-Barr virus . Another one of those cases where your body takes all the blame for your suffering, when this pathogen is the real cause of the problem. In reality, the thyroid is never responsible for miscarriages. Its radio-frequency-like frequencies support the reproductive system and the growing baby, even when the thyroid gland is having problems. The thyroid is such a well-developed organ that it is able to prevent problems getting pregnant when thyroid hormone production is reduced. Additionally, as we discussed earlier, to make up for the underproduction, the adrenal glands produce a hormonal blend that mimics thyroid hormones ( although it won't show up on modern thyroid blood tests because its unique chemical makeup doesn't create an exact match and is therefore currently undetectable ).

The real problems arise when EBV targets the reproductive system. We have already discussed earlier that in the second stage of its development, EBV often enters the reproductive organs. This is what sets the stage for later fertility and pregnancy problems. By the time the virus reaches its third stage and enters the thyroid gland – which often causes hypothyroidism – the uterus and/or ovaries have already been fighting the virus for some time, causing problems to begin to manifest at the same time that the thyroid gland begins to respond to the virus. Often, all this happens during the period of childbearing, precisely when it can interfere the most.

Additionally, pregnancy and childbirth, with their influx of hormones that fuel EBV, can cause a low-grade or latent EBV infection to progress and multiply. Pregnancy also drains energy from the immune system, making a woman more susceptible to EBV in her body. This means that a viral infection that has not caused symptoms for years can suddenly progress to the thyroid gland or wake up from dormancy and become symptomatic when a woman becomes pregnant.

For example, a woman who had mono in her early college years might have developed EBV that had progressed to her uterus by the time she graduated. If the virus had taken up residence in that organ, it could have caused uterine fibroids, although she wouldn’t have known they were related to her freshman mono. Because the virus cycled between active and inactive periods in her 20s, and then perhaps moved to her thyroid or beyond, the woman might have had other symptoms of EBV—such as weight gain , brain fog , joint pain, fatigue, hair loss, and dry, cracked skin. And in that case, there wouldn’t be any evidence to link it to her early college years or the fibroids, so she wouldn’t know it was the same medical history. Then, let's say she got pregnant in her early 30s and started experiencing these earlier symptoms in full force, even coming close to losing the baby. Then the doctor might run a blood test and diagnose her with hypothyroidism, explaining that low thyroid hormones were to blame for the symptoms and the likelihood of miscarriage. In reality, she had EBV the whole time.

So it is not a compromised thyroid that causes fertility problems, but a virus in the reproductive system that causes cysts, fibroids, irregular menstruation, blocked fallopian tubes, preeclampsia, and/or hidden and undetectable inflammation of the uterus that can prevent healthy conception and pregnancy.

The latter problem, inflammation of the uterus, is at the root of so many mysterious miscarriages. When EBV targets the uterus, it inflames the organ, creating a spasm that is impossible to detect and yet can still terminate the pregnancy. Such miscarriages are most common in women with high viral loads and high concentrations of toxic heavy metals that feed EBV. ( Toxic heavy metals in the womb and transmitted through semen can also cause problems for the developing baby. One example of this is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – for a full explanation of this disorder, see the chapter on this in the book The Medium Healer .)

Sometimes a woman will experience symptoms of EBV after giving birth. As we discussed in the article “The Truth About Thyroid” and Thyroid Virus Triggers, this is because the huge surge of hormones that enter the bloodstream when a woman gives birth fuels Epstein-Barr virus cells. The amount of adrenaline released during this process is almost the same as a lifetime of someone who has not given birth—enough to weaken the immune system and give EBV a boost. As a result, a woman may experience overwhelming fatigue, depression, anxiety, weight gain , and brain fog that doctors misdiagnose as postpartum depression, a thyroid problem, or even Lyme disease. ( If a new mother does not have an EBV infection, she may experience at least mild adrenal fatigue, listlessness, mild depression, and fatigue for a short period of time while she recovers from the hormonal imbalance. ) A more active, aggressive EBV presence also means that a woman may have more difficulty trying to conceive or carrying a baby to term in later pregnancies. None of this is to say that you should avoid trying to conceive and have children. Pregnancy and childbirth are beautiful, miraculous parts of life. You just need to take extra care of your adrenal glands and your overall health to be a healthy, strong mother.

Another major factor contributing to fertility problems in many women is low reproductive function. This can occur on its own, without any viral activity in the body, or as a result of EBV , which saps the reproductive system of its energy and resources. In this case, it is best to work on reducing the viral load and recharging the body and its systems. For more information on this topic, see the chapter "Fertility and Our Future" in Anthony William's book "The Most Useful Foods" .

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

As we just discussed, when EBV moves through the body, it can choose the ovaries as a place to nest. There, the virus can cause cysts to form as the immune system tries to block the virus from growing, and the virus continues to live and grow in them. As these cysts develop, they overwhelm the immune system, allowing EBV to more quickly progress to stage three—infection and thyroid dysfunction. This is why PCOS and thyroid problems are so common together.

Weight gain is also often associated with PCOS. However, it is not due to PCOS, nor is it due to a hormonal imbalance – blaming PCOS for weight gain is just an easy way for modern medicine to ignore the real problem. As we have discussed in other articles about symptoms associated with thyroid disease, when it comes to weight gain , it all comes down to the liver and lymphatic system. The reality is that in about half of cases of PCOS, the woman does not gain weight. Women who only have ovarian cysts and no weight problems are often younger, with relatively unburdened livers and lymphatic systems in better condition. On the other hand, if a woman has lived for years with EBV, its waste products, other toxins and unproductive foods that overload her liver and cause blockages in the lymphatic system, weight gain may be pronounced. It just so happens that EBV also causes PCOS.

Breast cancer

The real cause of breast cancer is the Epstein-Barr virus . When EBV travels from the liver to the thyroid gland, the lymphatic system tries to catch it in the breast area. Some strains of EBV, when they get to this area, form tumors, cysts, or lesions. This is why breast cancer is often not limited to the breast. It often affects the armpits and lymph nodes as well.

The continuation of the article in "Thyroid Diseases - Additional Complications (Part 2)" .

The article uses materials from Anthony William's book "Healing the Thyroid" . Coming soon to our blog, more articles on the topic!

Other articles about the thyroid gland: