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New and freaked out

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Thyroid Disorders
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worrywart48
New Member
Joined : Oct 2012
Posts : 8
Posted 12/28/2012 7:56 AM (GMT -7)

During my annual ob/gyn appointment a couple of weeks ago my new doc felt my thyroid was enlarged on one side and referred me to an ENT, my appointment is in a couple of weeks.  Of course I came right home, got on the internet and I've now succeeded in freaking myself out with worst-case scenarios. 

I have PCOS and struggled with infertility, always been hairy (real fun) and resistant to losing weight despite a healthy diet and lifestyle. I CrossFit and run a couple of miles 5-6 days a week yet I sit at 170 lbs, I cannot lose weight.  I just thought that's how my body is and now that I'm 40 it was a fact of life, I never considered that maybe a thyroid issue could be factor. 

I know no one can tell me everything will be fine but I guess I just needed to vent.  My husband always says 'oh everything will be fine' and he's sick of hearing me worry.   

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hypoHashi
Veteran Member
Joined : Jul 2012
Posts : 800
Posted 12/28/2012 8:34 AM (GMT -7)
Hi,
So what is your question ?

If you have any thyroid related tests please post them along with reference range.

Trying to conceive while suffering from an unbalanced thyroid can be difficult, also overweight is a typical symptom of hypOthyroid.

If you don't have thyroid related test then you should ask your doctor to perform TSH,FT3 and FT4.
If these tests show that you are hypO or hypER, then you might want to do TPO and TG antibodies tests to see if the cause to your hypO is Hashimoto's thyroiditis or TSI to see if the cause to being hypER is Grave's disease, those are autoimmune diseases.

If one of those is confirmed then you will need to pass a relatively long process to stabilize your thyroid, to give you an example, I have hashi, I was diagnosed five years ago and still adjusting my meds dose.

The meds for hypO is Levothyroxine with brand names such as synthroid, levoxyl,eltroxin... .
I have no experience with hypER, but in that case there are several options from medications to operation.

Good luck,
S
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worrywart48
New Member
Joined : Oct 2012
Posts : 8
Posted 12/28/2012 8:40 AM (GMT -7)
Thanks hypoHashimoto for the response - I guess I don't have a question, just freaking out and not sure what to expect.

Does enlargement on one side always indicate a nodule? And does a nodule mean I have cancer? I get naseous even typing it out.
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hypoHashi
Veteran Member
Joined : Jul 2012
Posts : 800
Posted 12/28/2012 9:30 AM (GMT -7)
Hello,
No, enlargement does not necessarily mean nodule, it could be goiter only, and even if you have nodule, most of them are benign.

It worth asking your doctor to do ultrasound of your thyroid, this way you can know for sure whether there are nodules, if there are and they are large enough biopsy is the next step to see whether they are cancerous .

All the best,
S
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MA10
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2012
Posts : 673
Posted 12/29/2012 9:37 PM (GMT -7)
Yea. No need to worry. It's not that bad. Even if you do have thyroid problems, there are a lot other worse things to have to put up with.
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worrywart48
New Member
Joined : Oct 2012
Posts : 8
Posted 1/10/2013 5:43 PM (GMT -7)
At my appointment today the ENT said he felt something and I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday.  They did bloodwork today too, so I'm curious what my levels will come back like. 

He could tell I was very anxious and was great.  Ready for Monday and next step in getting answers! 

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SmurfyShadow
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2008
Posts : 2386
Posted 1/10/2013 9:56 PM (GMT -7)
Hi Worrywart, as funny as this sounds, quit being a worry wart. And welcome to HealingWell. I have PCOS too, so I know how that goes. Did you know enlarged thyroid can come hand in hand meaning nothing with the pcos?

I found my thyroid problem by my PCOS going haywire. You know how it can go, well with me it went capoots and decided to bleed for two months then nothing for 5 months then bleed for 3 months. I finally got tired of it and went to the doctor. So they did blood work and before I even got out of the doctor office they were calling me saying when my ultrasound was on my thyroid. Within 3 days they had me at OHSU (a teaching hospital) with an Endo. Thats when you can worry when your life is chosen for you. But if they just say come back in a couple weeks, it is usually fine. Now I live with Grave's disease, a thyroid problem.

Seriously, enlarged thyroid usuallly means nothing. Some people just have them enlarged. Sometimes it can mean something. The doctors are just trying to figure out if it means something or nothing hon. We all had to do this at first.
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worrywart48
New Member
Joined : Oct 2012
Posts : 8
Posted 1/11/2013 4:51 AM (GMT -7)
Thanks Smurfy, I needed to hear that. I told the doctor I have medical anxiety, I'm convinced that an eye checkup will find a brain tumor and that the dentist will see something fatal, it's a terrible way to live. He was like - what's the worst case scenario for you...is it cancer? When I said yes, he said look, if it IS cancer we'll remove your thyroid and the prognosis is fantastic.

His words made me feel better for about an hour. The life of a worrier is no fun :)
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SmurfyShadow
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2008
Posts : 2386
Posted 1/11/2013 9:59 PM (GMT -7)
Now that is funny, I just got in remission last month from a tumor behind my left eye. I was in chemotherapy for 4 years. So why do you think you have a brain tumor hon?

When I first got sick, my eye swelled up and wouldn't open. A few days later I was vomiting first thing every morning. My inner body was litterly telling my something is wrong. Its like a sixth sense and hearing your inner conscience "something's wrong." The pain was so intense, it triggered a migraine. I went in and out of doctor office for two weeks. When the migraine hit, I went in once again. I was telling the doctor what to give me after I told her to kill me. I really didn't want to die, I was just in that much unbearable pain. She decided to have me do a MRI and the MRI caught the tumor. When I had an emergency biopsy to confirm the tumor it came back with results. My eye opened some then, I have no depth vision,, double and triple vision depending on the angle of how I look.

So why are you so worried hon? Would you like to talk to me about it?

Did you have a bad experience with doctors or something?
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jujub
Elite Member
Joined : Mar 2003
Posts : 10422
Posted 1/12/2013 3:05 AM (GMT -7)
Worrywart, if you haven't already visited our Anxiety forum, you may want to drop in there. They have a lot of members dealing with health anxiety who may be able to share helpful tips with you.
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worrywart48
New Member
Joined : Oct 2012
Posts : 8
Posted 1/12/2013 8:16 AM (GMT -7)
Thanks for the tip on the anxiety board, I will stop over there, sounds like a good fit for me :)

Over the last year I've lost about 40 lbs from diet and exercise, I've never felt better, I needed to do it. Now I do CrossFit almost every day (3 days on, 1 day off) and have no logical reason to be fearful. I almost feel pissed about this thyroid thing just because I am in such a good place, it's like WHY NOW?! I just want to enjoy my stronger, smaller, healthier body!

I have never had a bad medical experience, I think I just come from a long line of worriers, my mom and grandma were the same way.
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