Pressure on windpipe

[dlp69]

The symptoms started a few weeks ago with pressure. like having my windpipe squeezed, on the left side along with occasional twitching of my left lower eyelid. I had surgery in Dec 02 for a parathyroid problem and ended up with the right half of my thyroid being removed as well. When they dissected that half microscopic bits of cancer were found but the doctor chose not to go back in to remove the left half of my throid. (Two months before that I had a malignant melanoma removed from my chest). Since then I have been submitting to regular blood test and ultrasounds every 6 months. Unfortunately life got in the way of my health care and it has been closer to a year since my last exam. Now the tightness in my neck, on the left side, is getting worse and I am afraid of what might be there. My husband, who is recovering from a serious accident, can't handle this and I can't tell him what I fear. Is it possible to feel a nodule? When I place my fingers on either side of my windpipe I feel nothing on the right and a small hard object on the left. Any info would be helpful. Thanks, Di

[dlp69]

Thanks for the input and good thoughts

[rayneweather]

It is possible to feel nodules from the outside.  My endos & gps could although I couldn't.  And it may be that the 1/2 of your thyroid that's left is getting larger.  I had a goiter that got bigger over several years until it was noticeable by non-medical people and when they went in to take my thyroid out they found that it was pushing my airway out of alignement even though they couldn't feel that from the outside.  Since it's been awhile it might be a good idea to see the endo; perfectly reasonable and not a reason for your husband to panic.  I will be praying that your husband recovers quickly and that you'll get to the bottom of all of this.

Rayne