thyroid nodule growing

ArtfulD

Welcome, jestes. What you are experiencing is normal (including the worry and anxiety). Sorry to hear that your nodule is not responding to suppression treatment, but I'm really glad to hear that your doc has ordered an FNA to see more of the nodule's characteristics. You may also want to have an Iodine Uptake Scan to see if the nodule is "hot" or "cold."

Having difficulty swallowing is a common symptom for people with nodules and thyroid antibodies. It probably means that your thyroiditis is flaring up, and the tissue is a bit swollen. The anxiety may also be related to the Hashi's, but fear of the unknown is quite normal.

What are your other symptoms? Any sudden onset of hoarseness? Swollen, hard lymph nodes? If you can feel your nodule, is it soft & moveable or firm and fixed in one spot? These are symptoms that may indicate you should schedule the FNA a bit sooner so you'll have more time to consider your options.

You may want to consider taking Selenium (200 mcg/day) and Maca (a Peruvian herb). The Selenium can help your body convert T4 to T3 while fighting those Hashi's antibodies, and the Maca may be able to help balance your Endocrine system while supporting your Adrenals (likely to be stressed in this situation).

If you've not yet had a chance, read through our three-page Information Archive thread. It includes a ton of useful things including stuff about Selenium, Maca, thyroiditis, and antibodies. Skip ahead to Page 3 first, and read the post from 7/12/02 about <B>What to Expect from an FNA Biopsy</B>. I think you may find it useful.
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Let us know if you have any qusetions.

jestes

Thanks so much! I have been reading just about everything and I am completely astounded at the amount of information everyone seems to have. I have never seen any of my lab results and I was diagnosed in 1982. Will the Dr. share these if I ask? I don't have a lot of facts but what I do know:

Diagnosed in 1982 with Hashimoto's disease when I had a bad reaction to cold (from eating a popsicle, no less). I had a large goiter which somehow I hadn't noticed. I started taking .015 Synthroid and I guess, all was well. . .goiter went away, hair stopped falling out, had no more miscarriages, energy improved and losing weight got easier.

During the last ten years my Rx has been adjusted slowly downward with no explanation (and I did ask why, naively, I thought I was improving). I had a hysterectomy in 1999 (fibroids and ovarian cyst)
which surprisingly seemed to make me feel better. I started HRT, which no one told me not to take with my Synthroid (I read that yesterday on this board!)

I changed Endos to go to one closer to my office two years ago. He did a bone scan and found I had severe osteoporosis. Again, I don't know the numbers but his explanation was 'you are worse than an 85 year old woman, don't fall. Here is a perscription for Fossomax.' I was not happy about this and didn't know how to get more information. In addition, about this time my blood pressure started to elevate, which for me is really odd. I do know that my blood pressure has always been low, 100/60 very common for me. Now my blood pressure without medication (aceon 2 mg daily, very small dose) will sometimes be 150/100. To be fair, I do have a stressful job that I love and this could contribute. I was feeling powerless and wanted to change doctors again when he finished my regular exam last March and told me I had a nodule, gave me a pamphlet about nodules and said it's probably nothing, you have a bad gland. Raised my Synthroid Rx slightly and sent me on my way.

I realize that all the information I had been given was accurate, but I was over the edge at this point. I felt like too many things were going wrong with my body and I couldn't understand it. I have been a trememdously healthy person during most of my life. I have probably not had ten colds. I have never needed much sleep and can go without it much easier than many people. I had only had flu once, but I have had it bad twice in the last 18 months. I developed this persistent cough that would not go away. It was horrible, it was interfering with my work and sleep. It scared my husband. I had swollen glands constantly. I changed doctors to an Internist a friend recommended. She listened to me and did lots of tests. She ordered the ultrasound and has referred me to EVMS (if you live in the Tidewater area, it is the place to go for specialities). Finally, I have seen and read about my nodule. It is a single nodule hard and irregular and growing. I feel really fatigued, tremendously irritable and the swallowing annoys me. I am calmer than I was. I don't think I'm afraid actually, I think I just can't deal with waiting with no course of action. I am going to try the Selenium and Maca. I do take 2000 mg Calcium daily (I did know not to take that with my Synthroid). If there is anything in this epistle that rings a bell, please pass it along. It is greatly appreciated. Best regards from Virginia.

Gerri46

Not trying to alarm anyone but I too was hypothyroid for years, then one day during a routine exam my Dr. found a nodule in my thyroid. I was told it was probably nothing to worry about because most nodules are benign. I had an ultrasound and a FNA which came back "highly suspicious." I was told that surgery was my best option and that was a good thing because it turned out to be cancer. Thank God it was caught early and they got it all. It's been a little rough not having a thyroid as I cannot start on thyroid homone replacement until I have had Radioactive Iodine to kill all remaining thyroid tissue and cells. The bottom line is don't wait too long to get a diagnosis. It could save your life.

Gerri.

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ArtfulD

Thank you, Gerri, your advice is right on target.

jestes, I think you should have them move up that FNA to an earlier date to give yourself more time to figure out what's next. A hard, single nodule that is irregularly shaped is more likely to be abnormal than a soft, pliable nodule (or multiple nodules). The swollen lymph glands and cough show how hard your body and immune system are fighting right now. If any of the lymph glands in your neck are tender and hard, that is also suspect. So I think moving up your test date would be wise. Like Gerri and several others on this board, I've also had thyroid cancer and the surgery for total removal. It does seem to happen all of a sudden, and it's a bit shocking.

But, please realize that, if the worst case scenario is true for you, thyroid cancer is much different than other forms. It's a big scary word, but most types of thyroid cancer are easily treated, do not infiltrate other tissues very quickly, and do not recur after removal. There is no chemotherapy or total body radiation, just a single, painless dose of RAI (radioactive iodine) as ablation to kill off any residual hormone-producing tissue after the surgery. This helps the docs treat you more easily, as any thyroid hormone in your body will be directly related to the medications you are taking with no competing hormone produced from tissue (and, therefore, your levels are more easily adjusted).

I don't know how old you are, but it sounds like your hysterectomy somehow pushed you into menopause, even with the Hormone Replacement Therapy. The osteoporosis and the increased blood pressure (and how is your cholesterol?) are all suspicious of this to me, but I'm not a doctor. I know you said you were on HRT, but perhaps it was not absorbed properly by your body. Some find natural progesterone (such as Pro-gest brand, which can be purchased at a natural food store) to be helpful for these problems, but you should discuss this with your doctor.

You may also be low in magnesium. Taking high doses of calcium without the proper amount of magnesium can actually cause the calcium to leach from your bones instead of being absorbed. The proper ratio is twice as much calcium as magnesium, so you'd probably need to take around 1,000 mg of Mg. You can try a dose and slowly increase it until you hit "bowel tolerance" and then back down a little. (When your stools are too loose, you're taking too much Magnesium -- hence the popularity of Phillip's Milk of Magnesia as a laxative.) You will also need to take Vitamin D with your Calcium & Magnesium. I don't know the proper ratio, but my supplements are roughly 1:3 (vitamin D to Calcium).

That Information Archive thread I posted earlier also includes posts about <B>Thyroid & Osteoporosis</B> (1/23/02 on Page 2), <B>Magnesium</B> (2/4/02 and 2/21/02 on Page 2), and <B>What to Expect from Thyroid Surgery</B> (3/15/02 on Page 2) and <B>What to Expect from RAI Ablation</B> (5/1/02 on Page 2). It also includes (should this become necessary) a post about <B>Questions to ask when interviewing an Otolaryngologist (Head/Neck Surgeon)</B> (7/16/02 on Page 3).

I do not mean to alarm you, so please forgive me if this is too much information. I personally felt empowered with I was able to learn more about what was going on -- it took away the fear. I hope that is the case for you as well.

jestes

Thanks to both of you. I appreciate information; it helps me think. Unfortunately, today I tried to get an earlier appointment, but could not. I will have to wait until August 28. I feel like statistics favor a benign diagnosis and regardless of how crummy I feel I am going to try to focus on that. I will post back after my FNA, I hope with good results.

PS I am adding magnesium to my supplements. This board contains a wealth of pertinent information and has genuinely helped me.