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My thyroid ultrasound tells me nothing!!!!
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I have been having a hard time swallowing, and an even harder time breathing, especially doing daily activities. I was told I had a 1.5 cm hypodense nodule on my left thyroid. But my doctor said my nodule is small and should be causing those symptoms. I just had an ultrasound done, and would like to know if I can get some answers. Thank you so much for your help!!
https://youtu.be/ZAfU-sOm_CI
THYROUD ULTRAOUND RESULTS
Right lobe of thyroid measures 5.3 x 1.7 x 2.4 cm and the left lobe measure 5.1 x 1.5 x 2.3cm. The isthmus measures 3.0 cm in thickness. Cyst in the mid portion of the right lobe .02 cm. HypoEchoic solid nodule in left lobe measures 1.4 x .09 x 1.1 cm
I have been having a hard time swallowing, and an even harder time breathing, especially doing daily activities. I was told I had a 1.5 cm hypodense nodule on my left thyroid. But my doctor said my nodule is small and should be causing those symptoms. I just had an ultrasound done, and would like to know if I can get some answers. Thank you so much for your help!!
https://youtu.be/ZAfU-sOm_CI
THYROUD ULTRAOUND RESULTS
Right lobe of thyroid measures 5.3 x 1.7 x 2.4 cm and the left lobe measure 5.1 x 1.5 x 2.3cm. The isthmus measures 3.0 cm in thickness. Cyst in the mid portion of the right lobe .02 cm. HypoEchoic solid nodule in left lobe measures 1.4 x .09 x 1.1 cm
Thank you sarahjogs!! I had a basic thyroid test done, and my TSH was .342 on the low end, but my free T4 1.27 which is normal! My symptoms relate most with that of Graves’ disease.
I am 29 years old, and in 2016 i had my 3rd child by C-section. My last pregnancy was extremely difficult. I had placenta acreta, and was put on bedrest at 3 1/2 months and spent the last two months of my 35 week pregnancy in the hospital. Where I ended up having a Cesarean Hysterectomy. I have not been on any hormones nor was I ever referred to anyone by anyone.
My nodule was found by chance when I was taken to the hospital. One evening after I had taken a shower, my breathing felt really restricted and I became extremely disoriented. I almost felt catatonic, unable to process anything and extremely weak. Then, I passed out, and when I woke up I was unable to move my arms and legs (literally paralyzed) or a full 4 hours. They did a full blood work up, x-rays, and a catscan on my head and neck and spine but the doctor told me that my nodule was most likely causing the breathing problems, but my paralysis was a result of hypokalemia (fancy name for low potassium). All my other levels were fine. So they sent me home and said to follow up with my doctor. About a month later the exact same thing happens. I get disoriented my hands and feet start to go numb, so I go to the kitchen where I had some potassium pills. No kidding by the time 20 min passes after taking the pills, I am feeling as good as ever.
I don’t know if sudden loss of potassium is a symptom, but it sure was scary. It haven’t happened since then and that was about 2 months ago.
The doctor who reviewed my ultrasound results were very vague, and did not go in depth at all..... his recommendations were as follows, “Further evaluation needed”. Yup, that explains a lot!!
I am 29 years old, and in 2016 i had my 3rd child by C-section. My last pregnancy was extremely difficult. I had placenta acreta, and was put on bedrest at 3 1/2 months and spent the last two months of my 35 week pregnancy in the hospital. Where I ended up having a Cesarean Hysterectomy. I have not been on any hormones nor was I ever referred to anyone by anyone.
My nodule was found by chance when I was taken to the hospital. One evening after I had taken a shower, my breathing felt really restricted and I became extremely disoriented. I almost felt catatonic, unable to process anything and extremely weak. Then, I passed out, and when I woke up I was unable to move my arms and legs (literally paralyzed) or a full 4 hours. They did a full blood work up, x-rays, and a catscan on my head and neck and spine but the doctor told me that my nodule was most likely causing the breathing problems, but my paralysis was a result of hypokalemia (fancy name for low potassium). All my other levels were fine. So they sent me home and said to follow up with my doctor. About a month later the exact same thing happens. I get disoriented my hands and feet start to go numb, so I go to the kitchen where I had some potassium pills. No kidding by the time 20 min passes after taking the pills, I am feeling as good as ever.
I don’t know if sudden loss of potassium is a symptom, but it sure was scary. It haven’t happened since then and that was about 2 months ago.
The doctor who reviewed my ultrasound results were very vague, and did not go in depth at all..... his recommendations were as follows, “Further evaluation needed”. Yup, that explains a lot!!
Hi DaniCali88,
Does your ultrasound give any future recommendations?
With a 1.4cm hypoechoic nodule, your radiologist or an ENT may want you to do a biopsy to make sure it is benign, or put in place a plan to follow up with another ultrasound in 6 months-1 year. (Hypoechoic is slightly riskier than isoechoic according to my ultrasound - nothing to be alarmed about but something to keep in mind and keep on top of if they do recommend follow-up ultrasounds).
I am not a medical doctor, but according to "the internet", a normal sized thyroid lobe should be about 4-4.8 x 1.0-1.8 x 0.8-1.6cm. Yours is slightly larger than this, this may be normal or may be a sign that you have an enlarged or inflamed thyroid. It looks like you're above the "high" side of those dimensions for both lobes, so even if it is slight in may be an indication of a problem. (A goiter can also cause swallowing/breathing difficulties - I don't know whether your normal thyroid would be on the low-end or high-end of those dimensions, so it may be worth talking to your doctor about that as a possible cause as well).
As for if the nodule is causing the breathing difficulties and problems swallowing, I have no idea if the nodule can do this, but depending on the size of your neck, the location of the nodule, combined with a goiter, etc., I would think it could cause a problem, and I have so much sympathy for you and your doctor not being helpful! I would hope the radiologist wrote something more on your report - something is obstructing your airway/esophagus -- if it is not your thyroid, have they suggested other tests to try? I've seen pictures of CT-scans or Xrays where a goiter/thyroid nodule was so big it pushes the esophagus or trachea to the side around the nodule - I don't think this is going on in your case, but that may help in identifying your problem. I would ask your doctor to write a recommendation for a specialist like an ENT because you seem to have a breathing obstruction - and this is not good to leave untreated!
On a side note - if you do have an enlarged thyroid (again, it could just be "slightly" enlarged, but you're at the high end/above for a lot of your dimensions and normal for you might be toward the low end), you may want to look at symptoms for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism - in the US (and most places that put iodine in salt), goiters are often caused by autoimmune diseases which cause the thyroid to grow (Graves' disease can cause hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto's can cause both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism). If you do have symptoms, you can talk to your doctor about doing a hormone test (TSH, free T3, free T4) for thyroid function, and test for thyroid antibodies, but if you wanted to wait until your figure out your breathing/swallowing problem this could wait, just a suggestion (breathing would be my #1 priority). Also, you may have none of these symptoms, but I had no idea I've had hypothyroid symptoms for years because I never looked at a list.
I hope you get help soon! I can't even imagine how hard not being able to breathe must be - I have never had to go through that. Did your doctor call to discuss your ultrasound results or do you have a follow-up appointment with anyone scheduled? This is something that should happen, but I'm not sure if that is the protocol everywhere. My PCP called after my ultrasound, but by that point I already read the results myself and had become an ultrasound "expert".
PS I saw the 0.02cm cyst on your report - that seems very tiny and probably nothing to worry about. I don't know anything about thyroid cysts, but would think the nodule/enlarged thyroid is the bigger problem in this case.
Does your ultrasound give any future recommendations?
With a 1.4cm hypoechoic nodule, your radiologist or an ENT may want you to do a biopsy to make sure it is benign, or put in place a plan to follow up with another ultrasound in 6 months-1 year. (Hypoechoic is slightly riskier than isoechoic according to my ultrasound - nothing to be alarmed about but something to keep in mind and keep on top of if they do recommend follow-up ultrasounds).
I am not a medical doctor, but according to "the internet", a normal sized thyroid lobe should be about 4-4.8 x 1.0-1.8 x 0.8-1.6cm. Yours is slightly larger than this, this may be normal or may be a sign that you have an enlarged or inflamed thyroid. It looks like you're above the "high" side of those dimensions for both lobes, so even if it is slight in may be an indication of a problem. (A goiter can also cause swallowing/breathing difficulties - I don't know whether your normal thyroid would be on the low-end or high-end of those dimensions, so it may be worth talking to your doctor about that as a possible cause as well).
As for if the nodule is causing the breathing difficulties and problems swallowing, I have no idea if the nodule can do this, but depending on the size of your neck, the location of the nodule, combined with a goiter, etc., I would think it could cause a problem, and I have so much sympathy for you and your doctor not being helpful! I would hope the radiologist wrote something more on your report - something is obstructing your airway/esophagus -- if it is not your thyroid, have they suggested other tests to try? I've seen pictures of CT-scans or Xrays where a goiter/thyroid nodule was so big it pushes the esophagus or trachea to the side around the nodule - I don't think this is going on in your case, but that may help in identifying your problem. I would ask your doctor to write a recommendation for a specialist like an ENT because you seem to have a breathing obstruction - and this is not good to leave untreated!
On a side note - if you do have an enlarged thyroid (again, it could just be "slightly" enlarged, but you're at the high end/above for a lot of your dimensions and normal for you might be toward the low end), you may want to look at symptoms for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism - in the US (and most places that put iodine in salt), goiters are often caused by autoimmune diseases which cause the thyroid to grow (Graves' disease can cause hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto's can cause both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism). If you do have symptoms, you can talk to your doctor about doing a hormone test (TSH, free T3, free T4) for thyroid function, and test for thyroid antibodies, but if you wanted to wait until your figure out your breathing/swallowing problem this could wait, just a suggestion (breathing would be my #1 priority). Also, you may have none of these symptoms, but I had no idea I've had hypothyroid symptoms for years because I never looked at a list.
I hope you get help soon! I can't even imagine how hard not being able to breathe must be - I have never had to go through that. Did your doctor call to discuss your ultrasound results or do you have a follow-up appointment with anyone scheduled? This is something that should happen, but I'm not sure if that is the protocol everywhere. My PCP called after my ultrasound, but by that point I already read the results myself and had become an ultrasound "expert".
PS I saw the 0.02cm cyst on your report - that seems very tiny and probably nothing to worry about. I don't know anything about thyroid cysts, but would think the nodule/enlarged thyroid is the bigger problem in this case.
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