A little worried

[rock4god]

So I've said how one side of my neck is more swollen than the other. You can literally feel it if you put both hands on my neck. My mom did it and said it was swollen. It's the right side. She called the doctor and they said it's nothing to worry about and we should watch for symptoms of sickness. The thing is I'm not sick. It's been like this for weeks and I haven't had a cold or anything. But now I'm worried because the swelling has spread to my right lymph node. It is noticably more swollen than the other. The lymph node started after I got flu (both seasonal and H1N1) vaccines but it's been a week now and it's only gotten worse. The neck swelling has also gotten worse and my symptoms have come back full force. I've spent almost the past 2 days in bed cause I'm so tired. Suggestions?

[TamraW]

I have the facial pain, too. My rash was so bad, I had to switch to a very gentle face wash by Mary Kay. Whenever I get out of the shower, I put Vaseline under my eyes, where the rash is the worst. I thought it was Lupus, but I have Hashimoto's, which can cause the facial rashes. I get the scalp rash and armpit rash, too. I did get the mouth ulcers, but those are gone now.  

The problem with Hashimoto's is that if a doctor tries to diagnose you by just testing your frees and your TSH and not by testing your antibodies, then you may not get a proper diagnosis. In the early stages of Hashi, as our thyroids swell and produce nodules, these nodules leak hormone, causing our TSH to go back down and our frees to appear normal. However, the following week, our TSH can shoot back up and our frees can be below range. The only way to properly diagnose a thyroid disease like Hashimoto's is for the TGab and TPOab tests and a thyroid ultrasound.

This is how I was misdiagnosed for almost a year. Make sure the doc tests EVERYTHING!

:) Tamra

[rock4god]

Actually the ranges for t4 were .58-1.26. not much of a difference but there it is :)

[rock4god]

The ranges were .56 to 1.26 I think. So it's not totally way down there but it seems a little low to me. But he was convinced that it was fine. I may have to beg my mom to take me to another doc. I'm going on the 30th for a follow up for my acne meds. He wants to make sure they're working. But I have a list of things to talk to him about regarding this whole thyroid thing and I'll have a nice looong talk with him. :) And if he won't do a thing, we'll change...I hope.

[Barb135]

What are the lab's reference ranges for the FT4?  Labs use different reference ranges depending on the method they use to run the test.  If your lab uses the same ones my lab uses, though, your FT4 is right at the very bottom of the range, which means your thyroid is underactive and you may benefit from low dose of thyroid med, even though your TSH is "normal".........Like Tamra said "DON'T let the doctor diagnose you by TSH alone".  

Just yesterday, my endo was somewhat critical of my pcp because my pcp insisted on dropping my med ONLY because my TSH was very low -- it sent me right back to hypo he//, so now I have to struggle once more to come back.  He (my endo) said "symptoms always have to be treated before the lab results".........If your doctor won't do this, you might need to find another.  

[rock4god]

Well I have most symptoms except dry skin and brittle hair that falls out. My nails aren't brittle though they don't grow nearly as fast as they used to. I've gone from cutting my nails every two weeks to every month or even more and they don't grow as prettily as they used to. They grow kinds lopsided.. The only dry skin is my face which has become ridiculously sensitive to facewash. It's to the point where it's painful. I've also noticed more hair in my hairbrush but I could be imagining it or there are other factors. I've had tests but they came back normal. Free t4 was .83 and tsh was 1.64 or somewhere around there. No antibody or t3 tests. But thanks for the info on the lymph nodes! I'll talk to my doctor about it.

[TamraW]

Well, if you're tired, then you DO have symptoms of a thyroid problem. Any dry skin, constipation, mild weight gain?

Try not to touch the thyroid area too much. That can make the swelling worse. Motrin helps as well as a cool cloth draped over your neck. I take Selenium once a day for my swelling. It helps, but don't overdo Selenium.  

Request that you see an endocrinologist, one who specializes in thyroid, not diabetes, as so many of them do.

Next, get the thryoid ultrasound, and the following blood tests:
TSH, FT3, FT4 and the Hashi antibody tests (TGab and TPOab) to determine if Hashi is causing the swelling.

Do not let a doctor diagnose you by TSH alone. Mine made that mistake last year, and I suffered needlessly because the doc said my TSH was 'normal'. TSH standards are changing, and when docs don't keep up with current standards, people with thyroid disease suffer.

I have Hashimoto's and sometimes my lymph nodes swell with my thyroid. Sometimes the nodes in my armpit swell, too. Bizarre.  
:) Tamra