New to the group, hypothyroid & enlarged thyroid
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emcdonie
Posts: 190 Member
Hello! I am new to this group. I actually just had a doc appt today. Back at the beginning of May I got put on Synthroid(50mcg) for being slightly hypo. My TSH was in the 5's. Previously the endo I used to see for my diabetes, wouldn't not treat my thyroid as she termed it as subclinical and wouldn't treat until it was at least 10.
But I moved last fall and at the end of April when I seen my new doc, he prescribed treatment. He said he is of a different school of thought. :-) I was glad to see if it would help make me feel better and so forth. I did notice a spike in enegry within a couple weeks. yipee
SInce then I have been waiting to see how it would effect things overall. But about a month ago, my neck/throat started feeling constricted. I didn't know if it was related to fat changes in my neck with the weight loss. But I would also have thought that would only help reduce said feeling.
Then it started to mentally click it could be my thyroid. I checked carefully and it did feel a little swollen to me. For some reason, each evening it is uncomfortable, but in the morning it feels better. I kinda guessed the doctor might blow me off and think I was losing it.
He ordered bloodwork today, and because of what I said, he examined my neck. He actually did say my thyroid is indeed enlarged.
So I have to get an ultrasound on it friday morning. I am kinda nervous. not for the ultrasound itself obviously....but what has made it become enlarged?
The enlarged part has been since I have tried so hard with weight loss timeframe wise. The only thing I read that made me wonder a little is about flouride in the water not being good for the thyroid. I have been drinking a megaton of water in that time. I have no idea if that is just a silly thought or not, or what is wrong really. I suppose we shall see for both the ultrasound and how the bloodwork comes out.
I am curious if anyone else had similar situation?
But I moved last fall and at the end of April when I seen my new doc, he prescribed treatment. He said he is of a different school of thought. :-) I was glad to see if it would help make me feel better and so forth. I did notice a spike in enegry within a couple weeks. yipee
SInce then I have been waiting to see how it would effect things overall. But about a month ago, my neck/throat started feeling constricted. I didn't know if it was related to fat changes in my neck with the weight loss. But I would also have thought that would only help reduce said feeling.
Then it started to mentally click it could be my thyroid. I checked carefully and it did feel a little swollen to me. For some reason, each evening it is uncomfortable, but in the morning it feels better. I kinda guessed the doctor might blow me off and think I was losing it.
He ordered bloodwork today, and because of what I said, he examined my neck. He actually did say my thyroid is indeed enlarged.
So I have to get an ultrasound on it friday morning. I am kinda nervous. not for the ultrasound itself obviously....but what has made it become enlarged?
The enlarged part has been since I have tried so hard with weight loss timeframe wise. The only thing I read that made me wonder a little is about flouride in the water not being good for the thyroid. I have been drinking a megaton of water in that time. I have no idea if that is just a silly thought or not, or what is wrong really. I suppose we shall see for both the ultrasound and how the bloodwork comes out.
I am curious if anyone else had similar situation?
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My thyroid was slightly enlarged and hard. My doctor said something about it expanding to absorb more iodine. Not sure if I remember correctly, when he told me over the phone I was hypo... the rest of what he said went like Charlie Brown's teacher. I was just kind of in a daze. There is a TON TON TON of information on stopthethyroidmadness.com - might have something there?0
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my thyroid was enlarged and I didn't know it until 1/2 was removed and there was a lot of extra skin on my neck! A scan is the appropriate next step. Find out what is the problem..nodules, or what? This doc sounds as if he/she is taking all of the right steps. All thyroid issues take a long, long time to fix....It took 8 months to get the correct dose of meds for me, though the doc said it would be up to a year. Be patient, take a deep breath and relax.0
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My thyroid is enlarged. I had my first ultrasound about a month ago. My neck feels tender and swollen as well but I"m not having any breathing/swollowing problems. My doctor said my thyroid is enlarged due to white blood cells pooling in my thyroid from having hashimotos which is an autoimmune version of hypothyroidism. At this time I don't have any nodes/nodules.
What I keep telling myself is it seems like all these thyroid problems are treatable and are not a death sentence. It just takes time to get the medication doses correct and then I'll start to feel better; otherwise I'd worry and worry. Good luck with your ultrasound on Friday!0 -
Thank you all for sharing your experiences so far! :-) I am hoping it is just something simple like needing more iodine. I will be glad if they can rule out more serious things. My older brother had to have his thyroid removed last year because they suspected cancer. It turned out not to be thank God. But hopefully they can rule such out.
I got the bloodwork portion results.
My A1C is now 5.4 and the doctor said providing I continue my diet and exercise, I absolutely DO NOT need metformin any longer! This is a HUGE victory for me.
My liver has fully returned to normal.(I had an abnormal function a couple months ago for some unkn reason)
My thyroid numbers are the best they have been in years. TSH was 3.35 and the T4 was 1.1
some reason. So we will have to see how that comes out. But bloodwork wise, everything looks great.
I am praising God that just 34 pounds weight loss and I have effectively put my typeII diabetes into remission!!!
So now it is just to see how the ultrasound comes out on friday.0 -
How wonderful for you!
Isn't it great, how your body can heal itself by losing weight?! Such a huge hurdle to jump, that diabetes... then the thyroid...
PTL!!:happy:0 -
Congratulations on the diabetes! Thats awesome! My thyroid has always been enlarged, it seems to be larger if I skip my medicine on occasion or if my level becomes too low. My doctor and specialist told me that thyroid nodules are almost always benign so I guess that is what I am sticking with for now.0
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Hello!!! This was an exciting group to find! I have had Hashimoto's thyroiditis for over 20 years now. I was diagnosed when I had my last major growing spurt in my 20s. Since then I have been up, down, up, down, up, down. I have been smart enough to make sure that my doctors are well versed in this disease since Hashimoto is an autoimmune disease. I have been able in my family history to document cases of this disease back to my German side and to around 1850. I have multiple relatives that have had their thryroids removed (old remedy) and have even died from it (Great Aunt). Right now, I am having the issue of stubborn weight. It has been with me for so long that my thryoid is actually fighting me to lose it. I get tested every six months, but as my endo states..."one day your test could be this, the next day your test could be that." But I take my Synthyroid religiously every morning. We (endo and me) have tried other options, but Synthyroid just works for me. Someone mentioned "thryoidstorms." Boy do I know those!!! Right now I am working with a nutritionist to determine what changes I need to make in my eating to move my "belly" weight. I hoping for answers this week. In the meantime, if you have a doctor who does not specialize in thryoid disease (regardless if Hashimoto, Hyper, Hypo), you need to change for your health. An unmedicated out of whack thyroid can actually damage your body very similar to unmedicated diabetes. Educated yourself and then educate your doctor. I always have 20 questions for any new doctor I have to visit. If they answer them to my satisfaction, I stay. If not, I move on. My body, My Health, My Insurance Money. (I know...all about me! LOL)
Good luck to everyone!!
Kristi0 -
I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's six years ago. An urgent care doctor alerted me of my thyroid issue because of my huge goiter she felt! ( I was there because I was sick, completely unrelated). She couldn't believe that a doctor had never looked into me having a thyroid issue - she said she could be blind and tell I have a thyroid issue based on how enlarged my thyroid is!! She recommended me to an endocrinologist who has been keeping an eye on the size and the nodules all over it through ultrasound. He said once I have trouble swallowing ( it is growing into my esophagus) he will take it out0
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Got the call about the ultrasound. It came out okay overall. They said there is a nodule, but otherwise nothing "bad" is wrong and no further testing is really needed. So I shall be good friends with iodine and keep trucking on. :-)0
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Good for you emcdonie! :flowerforyou: So happy its not worse.
Tell me, how much iodine do you have to take? I tried taking it for a while, because I don't eat salt. But its kind of dangerous stuff if you take too much. Just interested in what the Dr. suggests.0 -
I didn't get to ask him directly, as it was a nurse who called. I would like to know what is safe via pill too.
So far I am not taking pills. I just went natural with my supplementing of it. I bought some dehydrated nori (seaweed) at an Asian supermarket. I would like to find actual dried kelp as it is even higher in iodine and iron from my understanding.
Supposedly you can easily get what you need, but it is much harder to overdose with natural forms of it....so I read.
I will say, I really detest the taste of it..... But if it helps my thyroid, I will happily choke it down.0 -
Ah yes, my Dr. wanted me to eat seaweed. :noway: Yuck! Bought some that people actually buy & make sushi with... took one bite of it & gave it away.
I bought iodine "drops" at the health food store. Two different kinds. When I couldn't remember if I took it or not, or put too much on, I decided it wasn't safe for me... :laugh: Didn't notice anything improving from it either.
Dr. also suggested I just start using salt.
too hard, don't like it anymore. 0 -
Hello,
Make sure you are checking your diet. Sometimes food you eat or vitamins you take can interfer. I know that I have to take my thyroid at the same time every morning and I don't take any of my vitamin supplements until 2 hours later. Plus, I also take my thyroid with a glass of water. As for Kelp, Iodine Drops, or anything like that, I don't eat any extra iodine. I just watch my iodine intake and listen to my body. It lets me know when it needs a little more iodine. I have changed my salt at home to sea salt and am very careful where I add it, but I have it when needed.
Good luck!
Kristi0 -
There are many reasons for a thyroid to swell, the most common being iodine deficiency. However, with your diabetes I'm curious if they've ever tested you for Hashi's antibodies...?
Did they mention if your nodule is "hot" or "cold"? Are they planning to do a biopsy?
Also curious what tests they're running to check your thyroid levels. Remember that TSH isn't an actual thyroid hormone (it's a pituitary gland hormone) so isn't a good measure of thyroid function. That said, if that's the only test they are running it should be below 3.0 to be "within normal range", and arguably below 2.0 to even be approaching an "optimal" range.
I wouldn't allow a doctor to manage my thyroid unless they were looking at minimum at my free T3 and free T4 levels. I don't even really feel the need for my TSH to be tested.
Also, it's terrifying how negligent your previous endo was!!0
