Help, new member

[Rvrrat28]

Im 33 female with 2 young children and I have been feeling horrible for 2 years, all sorts of symptoms!  I have had alot of tests done blood,ct,Mri,everything is coming up normal. But I do have 2 nodules. Thyroid tests have come up normal range except I did have antibodies. had the fine needle test. they say its not cancerous.. What if they just took the nodule out ? would I possibly feel better ? would the problems go away ?  when it all first started I lost weight, then quickly gained 30lbs! I feel terriblke most of the time, it worsens around period time and when I am stressed or tired. I feel tired all the time, irritable all the time .. this is not me and I want my life back. had my heart checked too .. that was fine. tried levoxyl for a while didnt see any change, even tried t3 but oh man that wasnt good . at the beginning they put me on effexor thought I might have anxiety. but I know its not that ! and I am not depressed either!  there is something wrong here and gosh I wanna know what it is for sure!! thinking about going to Santamonica thyroid center, saw the web site it looked really good anyone know of this place?  any advise ? its like I have symptoms of Hyper and Hypo is this possible and what if they just take the nodules out ?  help please !  hahaha

Susan

[JillyC]

Hi, I'm new to this site and it's helped me a great deal. I too have a multinodular goitre and the only way I have found out about my condition is to research the internet and read books. Doctors don't seem to know a great deal - certainly not about nodular goitres, which are always referred to specialists. I'm in England and our system is obviously different from yours, but I do know that if your goitre is interfering with breathing or your voice, then it's time to get a scan and get it sorted one way or another. I'm pretty certain you can get drugs to shrink the goitre. From the way I understand it, a goitre develops because of an imbalance with your thyroid. This goitre may have been there for many years before it develops nodules. I'm a 39 year old female and I too have normal blood results but my neck aches pretty much all the time and I have a feeling as though I'm being stabbed in the neck, and a creeping sensation that travels up to my lymph glands under my ears. I was extremely worried about it, but through research and sites like this one, I'm now somewhat at ease with the fact that it's a very common condition, and although it can interfere with your life, it's treatable. In my opinion, if my goitre starts to interfere with my breathing and voice, then I'd rather get rid of it. At least that way you can stop worrying about developing cancerous cells. Good luck to you, I hope you can get something done about it soon.

[cynderblok]

hello been reading youalls website and i was wondering if anyone could help me out here.i seen a endo specialist for amultinodular goiter and nodules on my thyroid.he but me on 25 mg of levoxyl to shrink the goiter which it hasnt i stil dont know what has caused this promblem he says he doesnt really know good doctor huh.thats why i dont see him anymore but anyway my promblem is all my blood work comes back normal range.but the goiter is on my right side and it bothers my swallowing and i have a cough and also loose my voice.ive had the fna and came back no cancer thank God.also my lymph nodes are also enlarged could that be from the nodules?im scared they say they might have to remove some or all of my thyroid because of the goiter being enlarged.any help would be so helpful to me. i found out about this in january and know i take no medicine or anything for it because of the expence i just cant afford it.but trying now to get some medical help. i stay really fatigued and stressed out.im 40 years old.im trying to find a new doctor to help me.

[Rvrrat28]

yes I think I will go to the specialist if you are interested in checking out the website I thought it was interesting to see that this doctor does nothing but thyroid . they call him a thyoidologist ! I am in the process of getting my med group to approve, my PCP doesnt have a problem refering me but the group of course does! i hate Insurance !  i used to love HMOs till i got all this stuff. my sypmtoms are something I learned over the past 2 years to tolerate but i want to be back to nornal. and I am sure all of you feel the same..   Santa monica thyroid diagnostic center is the name if you want to look up the site..   thanks for responding to me guys!

[Rvrrat28]

needless to say . I dont go to him anymore.

[christine01]

No, I never heard of it, but if they specialize in thyroid it is worth a try. Saying you have a little Hashimotos is like saying your a little pregnant, ridicules. In my personal opinion he is wrong and uninformed, it is a good thing you dont see him anymore. Hashimotos is a progressive disease, while a very small number can go back to normal thyroid function, most lose the entire gland function over time. Go to the specialist, you have nothing to lose.

[Jimlow]

rvrrat28,
Welcome to the forum. I am new to it too but had great responses already to a question I asked.
First, a person with antibodies can most certainly have thyroid symptoms of both hyperthyroidism and hypothyoidism. If your Dr. doesn't seem to know this, you might think about a new Dr.(but I'm sure he/she does). Your description of symptoms, including the eye irritation are classic for thyroid disorder. It is true that sometimes Dr.s don't know when to treat and is a difficult decision for them when you are tottling back and forth between hypo & hyper but this is a common happening when you have Autoimmune Thyroid Disease. In case you haven't been told it is "autoimmune", that's what it is. If what you have is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, the hyper times will eventually stop happening because your thyroid will begin to fizzle-out. It actually becomes dammaged by the autoimmune-antibodies attack and loses it's ability to produce adequate levels of thyroid hormone and you'll become permanently "hypo". At that time, they will be able to see this on your hormone blood level tests. Your TSH which is probably in normal range only for now, will become elevated (the homone that tries to kick-start your thyroid to produce)and your other thyroid hormones will begin to drop to low levels. Usually, as soon as they see the TSH elevate, they'll treat you with replacement hormone because you also have antibodies and the hormone will actually shrink any existing goiters or nodules, unless they are the type that need further attention and only your Dr. can determine this. The medication will also relieve you "hypo" symptoms, although some of us have lingering symptoms such as fatigue and joint aches. Your weight gain and loss also have to do with your condition. You could on the other hand, have Granes Disease which is also autioimmune but causes only hyperthyoidism and not the hypo symptoms you have along with yours. Graves can be temporary whereas Hashi's Disease is almost always permanent. With Graves, they sometimes kill off the thyroid gland (oblation) with radio-active iodine because the hyper state causes some people, serious heart and blood pressure problems. Once they kill off a Graves thyroid, that person has to take thyroid replacement med., just like hypo people do.
I hope I didn't go over to much and make this confusing or hope I didn't sound like a know-it-all but I've been in your place and needed answers badly so wanted to give you the best summation of thyroid didorders as I could.
Best Wishes and God Bless

[Rvrrat28]

thank you so much for responding ...  this is all just confusing to me, what if they take out the nodules?  would that help you think ? yes they have mentioned autoimune disease and hashimotos but he didnt think much of it. so what if they take the thing out either part or all of the thyroid? or just the nodules? i have 2 one is bigger than the other and they said it wasa complex nodule. non cancerous so far

[Rvrrat28]

its funny that you say hashimotos, the endo i went to said "oh you might have a little hashimotos"  but he said he didnt think my symptoms were my thyroid. Y a i have been doing alot of my own research. have you heard of Santa monica thyroid center?

[Jimlow]

rvrrat28,
Just to add a couple things, only a very small percent of nodules are cancerous and if they already told you this is not a concern, they are probably certain. They can actually tell what kind of nodule you have by feeling it. The size and firmness etc... tells them alot. I think if you go to the new specialist, I would only have it removed if they believe it needs to be. I know it is very hard to accept something being in your body like this, that's causing a problem but I'm not so sure removal of the nodule would stop the autoimmune process. Some researchers beieve nodules are simply a symptom of a problem that's deeper inside the thyroid. Try to be patient (easier said than done) because it is good that they take time to thorougly evaluate the best treatment possible for you. In the mean time, shoot us any questions that might come up. We may have helpful opinion or sometimes might not know anything but it always helps to communicate with other sufferers.

[ShannieK]

Hi, I also have Hashimoto's.  If you came back positive for auto antibodies, than you have it.  That is what is causeing your symptoms to jump from Hypo to Hyper.  A doctor that says this is nothing, is an idiot, sorry.  You need to find a different doctor that will treat you.  Some dr's really don't have a clue, you would think that they are suppose to.  You need to start on thyroid replacement meds to avoid the progression of your disease, trust me, with no meds, you will start to feel worse than you do now, and I realize that is hard to believe.  Your own body's immune system is going to attack your thyroid until it kills it off and you become hypo.  I'm thinking not a big deal, but this bounce back and forth while it's in this process is hell.  Sometimes it will take awhile to find a dose that works for you, but keep in mind, you will not be like a regular hypo patient that can be put on one med and stay there.  Hashimoto's you levels and doses will change alot until this process is complete.  Hope this helps.

[ShannieK]

Sorry I forgot, by removing your nodules, this isn't going to help you feel better, I'm sorry.  The nodules are caused by the damage done to your thyroid by having Hashimoto's.  The symptoms that your are experiencing are from the disease, not the nodules.  Goiters and nodules are very common in this disease, because it is creating damage, and inflammation to your thyroid gland, it's the after effect, not the cause.

[Rvrrat28]

does anyone ever feel like lightheaded ? or have a balance problem at all?

[Rvrrat28]

isnt it strange that it would come on so sudden ? i was fine until i went on vacation with my husband and the came home felt funny .. and it went on from there, felt off balance at first then really nervous and heart racing stuff like that and it has progressed and changed here and there over the 2 years. I still am not as bad as I imagine some are. (thank god for that ) but it still is horrible to me. it is interfering with my life and taking care of my kids as I want to . I mean I am a good mom and I struggle veryday to stay that way, but I know I could have more energy and be more patient with them. They deserve it and I want to give that to them.  i just dont get it, where did this come from ?

[christine01]

Testing for the antibodies means you probably have a thyroid disease. You need to be on thyroid meds to control your symptoms. It took me over 9 months to actually get a good dose and start feeling better. Thyroid medicine is not something you can take a few weeks and say it isnt working. For some it takes 6 weeks or longer for the medicine to start regulating. In my opinion removing the nodules will not solve everything, there is a reason those nodules are there. Hashimotos is a disease that they test for antibodies and this is an over time destruction of the thyroid gland, which is probably whats happening to you. See another doctor. Sometimes the doctor is the hardest part, making them see the seriousness and realize your not crazy. If you have not already done so, read some of the other post on this board. One thing I tell everyone is get informed about your disease, dont think the doctor is going to do it for you.

[Rvrrat28]

i am no longer on effexor or any meds at this time. the effexor made me feel worse, so i took it for like 3 or 4 months then stopped. Does anyone have problems with eyes? i have had strange thigs with my eyes too, they feel tired all the time and burn and are irritated. I am usuing restasis eye drops for dry eyes now. Geez I just never had this stuff before. i was totally fine . felt normal. it was strange how all this happened too, went on a vacation with my husband and came home and never felt the same again. I have seen some postings of something stressful triggering this. We did have a fight the night we came home could that have triggered all of this ?  I just dont understand and the doctors sure dont seem to either, they all say they dont think its the nodules but it has to be, its the only thing that makes sense! i have alot of the symptoms for hypo and hyper. dry skin,hair, tremors in hands, heart beats harder and weird sometimes, fatigue,achy muscles sometimes, and I even feel like I might have that carpul tunnel or something , my hands get sore just from writing  weird! anyway ... the list goes on and on..