Ongoing catscans

[eleanorbaker67]

I am seeing an endo dr. after results of a cat scan to determine size & consistency of lung nodules. For my lungs I will see a  Pulmonary Specialist.  Both at Tufts NE Med. Center.   The same lung scan showed Thyroid gland as heterogenous.  Presence of low attenuation nodules with largest measuring 7mm in the left lobe.  There is no significant axillary mediastinal or hilar lymphadenopathy  What does this mean and what will the doctor do?  My ALT level has been high for many years.  My lungs have 4 to 5 mm nodules, stable, solid but noncalciified in the right upper lobe.  Since the last scan three months ago there has been interval development of clustered ground glass nodules in the posterior segment of the right upper lobe.  YIKES

[MariaBanelli]

I mean 'ground glass' and not crushed glass!

[MariaBanelli]

I will be watching this with interest as I have also just been diagnosed with crushed glass nodules on the right mid zone of my lungs. This was spotted on an MRI and I'm now awaiting a CT.

Blood tests taken were for 'copper levels, ANCA, ANA, total lgG, Aspergillus igG' but nobody has tested my thyroid. A doctor did mention I needed my thyroid testing but nobody took bloods for that.

[eleanorbaker67]

Thank you all.  Very informative

[898_1]

7 mm and smaller nodules in thyroid are usually not treated.
Normal lymph nodes indicate very low chance of cancer
The next step will be an ultrasound of your thyroid because it shows better details than CT scan.
The small nodules spread across thyroid indicates some inflammatory activity.

[Red_Star]

No problem. :)  

From WebMD - Thyroid Surgery...

"Surgery is used to treat thyroid problems if:

Thyroid cancer is present or is suspected.
A noncancerous (benign) nodule is large enough to cause problems with breathing or swallowing.
A fluid-filled (cystic) nodule returns after being drained once or twice.
Hyperthyroidism cannot be treated with medicines or radioactive iodine."

[eleanorbaker67]

Thank you for your information.  It was very helpful.  Would they usually prefer to remove a heterogenous thyroid?

[Red_Star]

Heterogeneity means the the texture of the thyroid gland isn't uniform and smooth as seen with a healthy thyroid gland.  I had elevated ALT and AST for years due to undiagnosed Hashimoto's thyroiditis.  Antibodies to check for this autoimmune disease are thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb).

If you find the presence of one autoimmune disease, you have a higher chance of another autoimmune disease. The autoimmune diseases that cause lung nodules include Wegeners granulomatosis, sarcoidosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

"“In summary, our results demonstrate the close relation between heterogeneity of the thyroid gland and TPOAb in euthyroid and subclinical hypothyroid patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis,” the researchers concluded." - Healio Endocrinology - Thyroid heterogeneity related to antithyroid antibodies in Hashimoto’s disease.