Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
All my life everyone has told me that I had a Goiter. Your thyroid is very large they said. When they took my blood every thing came back normal. Last January 07 i had an ultrasound done becuase I was having all the symptoms of a Goiter. They found 2 nodules they were to small to Biopsy. they were both less than .05. so they said they would keep an eye on them. Well with being so busy at work i forgot all about them. So then I went to and ENT on 8/8/08 because of an ear infection that would not go away and i was hearing my heart beat and he took 1(one) look at my thyroid and said you need to get your test redone and now. So i walked across the hall to my doc and told her what was said. She made and apt for an another ultra sound on 8/11 had that done and they found 2 more nodules plus the ones that I had from last yr had grown and are now 1.5 cm the smallest is 1.3cm. I had my FNA last Friday 8/15. My Endo just called me a few mins ago to tell me that the biopsy came back undetermined .. She said there were some irregular cells but they could not tell if the nodules are cancerous or not. She said that she recommends that I have the biopsy done again but I honestly do not want to endur that pain again and I told her that I do not want to do that again. Even though I was numbed I still felt the pressure and I have pain still today. I asked her if it was possible for me to just decide to have my thyroid taken out instead of doing the biopsy again. She said we will talk about it on Monday. They have a conference on Monday morning and shes going to have all the other doctors look at the cells to see what they think but now I have to wait another 5 days for her to get back to me. I really want this out. I was told that you can get a false negative and even if its benign it possible for it to turn into cancer. I honestly do not want to take any chances.. Does anyone else have any clues as to what my next step should be?? She called me back yesterday 8/25 and said they still could not figure out if its cancerous order not.. she suggest another biopsy but with a bigger needle.. no way.. .. I do not want to... this is taking up way to much time... I have to take time off of work everytime i get a test done.. Im in so much pain after I cannot go into work. Plus everytime I get a test done I have to pay.. Im a single mother of 2 and cannot afford to have all these test done. My ENT is the one that caught it on 8/6 and told me to have an MRI im getting the results of that tomorrow.. but he does think I should have surgery because my voice is hoarse and I cannot lay on my back.. i wake up in the middle of the night because I cant breathe... i have to take breaths when i talk.. i can only get a few words out at a time.. but the Endo is saying no anther biopsy.. Im not sure who to listen to.. any suggestions??
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
from what you've said, i'd get it out.
not a decision to be made lightly, and perhaps others here who have had surgery (i have not) can give you a better opinion than me. between your symptoms of not being able to lay down and breath, and not being able to talk, and the undetermined results, etc. i think if i were in your shoes i'd get the thing out asap. you'll have to be on replacement hormones for the rest of your life, and you'll go through some difficulties getting balanced to the correct dose.
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
I would lean toward surgery even though there are a multitude of potential problems there. You just have too many red flags. What are the reasons the Endo does go for surgery-like do you have a lot of medical issues?
For example in my case I maybe willing to risk living with thyroid cancer for awhile because I have a lot of risks medically if I have surgery. I want to buy time in case my surgery goes South. If you are otherwise healthy & young, it would be an entirely different story. I know it is a very hard decision. Fam
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
Quote:
Originally Posted by famnd
I would lean toward surgery even though there are a multitude of potential problems there. You just have too many red flags. What are the reasons the Endo does go for surgery-like do you have a lot of medical issues?
For example in my case I maybe willing to risk living with thyroid cancer for awhile because I have a lot of risks medically if I have surgery. I want to buy time in case my surgery goes South. If you are otherwise healthy & young, it would be an entirely different story. I know it is a very hard decision. Fam
Honestly.. she keeps on saying that she wants to do anothe biopsy.. I dont want to have another one.. I bruised so bad and i was in so much pain and it was not a thick needle.. now shes thinking of doing a core biopsy with a thicker needle... or put me under and do an incision and take a piece of the nodule out and i told her the only way they are going to cut me is if they are taking out my thyroid and nodules.. Im not going thru that pain and having to take days off of work for them to do all these test like Im some lab rat... I told them once its out they can keep it and do all the test they want... Im a little over weight but i cannot lose any weight because of my thyroid... no matter what I do the weight will not come off.. Im not sure what to do.. All i know is I do not want to have any further test done.. they should take it out.. but im not sure what to do.. is the ENT right or is the ENDO right?.. Im not sure what the difference is between them.
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
I have had the surgery and would opt to take it out too, but not based on the fact that you dont want to take too much time of work, based on the risk factor.
Do bare in mind though that after the surgery you will be HYPOthyroid for life, no turning back at all and that will probably mean taking a lot more time off work in the long run. Regular check ups to get you optimized on your meds, time off after the op, problems with getting optimized...etc etc etc
Not a decision to be made lightly at all. A total thyroidectomy sometimes seems like the easy solution, but you do need to look at the bigger picture too, that being a lifetime of medication and check ups...which may not always go your way.
Good luck with your decision
__________________
Rach xxxx
Total Thyroidectomy Oct 06 due to Massive Multi Nodular Goiter and Hashi
Adrenal Fatigue
180mg NTH
28mg HC
2 x Caltrate
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
Thanks so much for all your opinions! they are greatly appreciated.. I did decide to have surgery !... Cancer runs in my family and I dont want to take any risk. I decided to go thru with it and they set me up with a ENT that didnt have an apt until the end of September.. I dont want to wait that long and I dont understand why they sent me to another ENT when I have my own.. .. its very frustrating.. I called my ENT the one who initially told me to go and get my test redone!... I have an APT with him this Tuesday to go over the procedure! .. Im excited and nervous because i dont know what to expect.. I scared the crap out of my self.. I looked online and found thyroid surgery video.. I almost freaked when I saw what was going on. I know I shouldnt have but i was so curious!... Can anyone tell me anything about the surgery? How u felt after.. The thing is also they found a nodule on my right side that they didnt tell me about. I didnt know I had one on my right side.. so all together I have 4 nodules.. 3 on my left and 1 on the right.. the one on the right is only .55cm.. but I think I want to have my whole thyroid removed so that I dont have to go thru all this again.. anyone have any opinions on that?
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
My mother, aunt, great aunt, great grandmother, and great great aunt have had the surgery. I only saw the results of my mother and aunt's surgeries, both were out patient surgeries. There was no pain or vocal issues and they felt relief almost immediately from throat strictures. The worse thing for both was that the drain left in for 3 days.. ment their bath routine was restricted and they had to keep their head straight. All in all it was not a bad procedure and they recovered quickly and beautifully. Swelling and pain seemed to be the worst the second week after surgery. The main issues they had to face were getting the MDs to start them on thyroid supplementation in a timely fashion. In some TT cases the thyroid will dump a lot of T4 into your system as a result of surgical trauma. This can temporarily spike you hyperT. In these rare cases you need to be slower on starting thyroid supplementation. However 2-4 weeks is an adequate wait period. Any longer is just cruel in my opinion.
If my ENT was willing to recommend mine be removed.. I would jump in with both feet and wallow. Given your risk factors.. I would have it removed. Given your doubts ask your ENT his confidence/complication rate for thyroid surgery. Biopsies will always have a chance of giving you a false negative. The only way to be complete sure is to have the thyroid removed and a complete biopsy of the offending tissue.
Good luck.
MG
__________________
If we learn by our mistakes, I am working on one hell of an education.
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
Your posts brought back memories.....I saw several Doctors/Endos/ENTs and all gave me different opinions and I remember the frustration I felt on the decision of surgery being left on me...I also have a multinodular goiter.
My Mother had thyroid cancer, had her thyroid out in her 30's, took Armour and lived to be 76 years old........ her scar was not too noticable. If she ever had any problems she never talked about it.
Do not watch videos of that surgery or any surgery that is going to be done to you......it is too harsh for the mind to accept.
Good luck to you and let us know how you do..........Oleander
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen
Best of luck to you as you move througth the steps toward surgery. I had a PT at the beginning of May. Everyone has different experiences when it comes to surgery. I am grateful as I did not have any complications from surgery. The only surgery I had every had was removal of a taylor's bunion on my foot. So I was scared going in the thyroid surgery, mostly from fear of the unknown.
If you have any specific questions ask away! There are many here that have had surgery...
Take care...
Rhonda
ps-don't watch anymore surgery videos we are put out with anethesia for a reason and sometimes its best not to have to worry about what surgery looks like!!
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen 
.. She said there were some irregular cells but they could not tell if the nodules are cancerous or not. She said that she recommends that I have the biopsy done again but I honestly do not want to endur that pain again and I told her that I do not want to do that again. Even though I was numbed I still felt the pressure and I have pain still today. I asked her if it was possible for me to just decide to have my thyroid taken out instead of doing the biopsy again. She said we will talk about it on Monday. They have a conference on Monday morning and shes going to have all the other doctors look at the cells to see what they think but now I have to wait another 5 days for her to get back to me. I really want this out. I was told that you can get a false negative and even if its benign it possible for it to turn into cancer. I honestly do not want to take any chances.. Does anyone else have any clues as to what my next step should be?? She called me back yesterday 8/25 and said they still could not figure out if its cancerous order not.. she suggest another biopsy but with a bigger needle.. no way.. .. I do not want to... this is taking up way to much time... I have to take time off of work everytime i get a test done.. Im in so much pain after I cannot go into work. Plus everytime I get a test done I have to pay.. Im a single mother of 2 and cannot afford to have all these test done. My ENT is the one that caught it on 8/6 and told me to have an MRI im getting the results of that tomorrow.. but he does think I should have surgery because my voice is hoarse and I cannot lay on my back.. i wake up in the middle of the night because I cant breathe... i have to take breaths when i talk.. i can only get a few words out at a time.. but the Endo is saying no anther biopsy.. Im not sure who to listen to.. any suggestions??
your an 
.. its very frustrating.. I called my ENT the one who initially told me to go and get my test redone!... I have an APT with him this Tuesday to go over the procedure! 
Re: my ENT says I should have my thryroid removed my ENDO says no who should I listen 
we are put out with anethesia for a reason and sometimes its best not to have to worry about what surgery looks like!!
