Thyroid gland and Hashimoto Goiter.

[whitetiger99]

I am a 45 year old female, and I have been diagnosed as having a goiter, because of my enlarged thyroid or swollen neck. Truthfully, I am not a "doctor person", basically that means-I only go to the doctor when I am in pain! In 2003, I went to the doctor to do a check-up and she noticed I had a swollen neck, which of course I never noticed. She sent me to do an "ultrasound" of my neck and the results showed that I had a "nodule" on the left side of my thyroid a couple of cm big. Where I had the test done, the doctor informed me to come back in about 1 year. Also, my weight was fluctuating/going up and down and I wasn't on any diet. Well, a couple of years went by and I went to see my doctor about 2 weeks ago and she sent me to do another ultrasound and now it turns out, that I have the nodules on both sides of my thyroid. She told me that my thyroid is funtioning properly, but that I have nodules on both sides and told me I needed to see an "Endocrinologist", to do more tests and see if I just need medication. She diagnosed it as, "Hashimoto Goiter" or "Graves Disease"! I am going to see the endocrinologist tomorrow and see what he says! I smoke cigarettes, what I would like to know is, does my smoking have any affect on the nodules? Could they be malignant or benign?? Sometimes I will be on the phone talking and out of nowhere I wind up coughing to the point where my voice becomes hoarse, it's like I get an itching in my throat and I start coughing out of nowhere. Will these nodules go away? My daughter has hypothyroidism and I have no idea if anyone else in my family has had thyroid problems. Thank-you

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

smoking does not effect nodules, but of course is not healthy

you likely need a fine needle biopsy of the nodules, esp with the normal blood tests.

I am not sure about the hashi or graves comment -- nothing to suggest either of these from what you have told me.  The endo will likely test thyroid antibodies.

[Jenipeni]

Hi

Have a look at this article posted by Mary Shomon which explores the connections between smoking and Thyroid disease.  In the article she refers to a number of medical journal articles written by professionals.
It seems there definately is some kind of link.

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/smoking.htm

Quit smoking - you will feel soooo much better.  That itchy throat and the coughing will magically disapear when you quit!  I guarrentee it - that's coming from an ex-smoker too.  4 years now since I quit - I tried all types of NRT's (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) but in the end it was cold turkey and sheer determination that got me there (and a bit of blackmail from my husband LOL!) - BUT different things work for different people.  

I also had a multinodular goitre with autoimmune thyroiditis.  Who knows, if I didn't smoke maybe it wouldn't have got so big that I had to have it removed - total thyroidectomy 11/30/06!  It's never to late to stop smoking!  Just do it - do it today!!!!  

Your health is in your hands...
Jenipeni

[hibiscus22]

Have you looked into the possibility that you may be iodine deficient? I wonder if that was the reason I became hypothyroid many years ago. I've been doing a lot of reading in this area.
Anyway...as for the coughing fits and "itchy throat," I get that all the time...even though I've been on thyroid replacement hormone for over 30 years. I didn't know what was wrong with me, if I talk for more than 5 minutes, my throat gets tight, my voice gets weak and cracks, and I start coughing. I also can't yell very loudly. If I try, my voice ceases up on me and it hurts. Strange. Good luck and feel better!

[hibiscus22]

Forgot to add that I have never been a smoker.