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Thyroid nodules
My family has a history of various thyroid diseases. I am a 49 year old female and two years ago I had a thyroid ultra sound and the doctor said I had a >1 cm nodule and several small ones. I had a biopsy on the 1 cm nodule and it came clean of any cancer. A year later I went in for another ultra sound and met with my doctor he said, "The thyroid looked inconsistent but he thought there were no nodules because of the inconsistency of the thyroid". His decision was no more scans and that I'd be fine and probably not have any future thyroid problems. Although my TSH & T4 tests have come out within range, I question his thought process. Several of my family member's are on thyroid meds and my mother even had her thyroid removed due to cancer. I had a blood test to see what my immunity was and the results were >1495. I have vitiligo. dry skin, scalp sores, cold hands and feet, weight gain with no weight loss when dieting & exercise and on top of that my vision gets worse every year. Why would there be nodules one year and nothing shown on the scan the next? I was so discouraged that I feel that I don't even need to see a doctor anymore about this condition.
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What was the "immunity" test you had done? Was that an antibody test? If so, which one?
You said: "Although my TSH & T4 tests have come out within range, I question his thought process" - I, too, question his thought process - you may have a high antibody count, which could mean that you have an autoimmune disease which, in turn, means that antibodies are attacking and will eventually destroy your thyroid. If this is the case, at some point, your thyroid will no longer be able to produce necessary hormones, which will leave you permanently hypothyroid and dependent on replacement med.
I don't want to scare you, because most of us here are in the same boat. It's just that you need to know this, so you will know what to look for in the future and there are things you can do to prevent some of the issues that a lot of us have gone through.
What were the exact levels of your TSH and T4 tests? Was the T4 test a Free T4 or Total T4? How long ago were these tests? Tests for total levels are considered pretty much obsolete and of very little value........
Many of us have nodules on our thyroid and they aren't too much cause for concern, though they can contribute to symptoms. I think it's unlikely that your nodules would have gone away and although they may not be a cause for concern right now, they should be watched (annual ultra sound) to make sure they aren't changing; particularly since your mother had thyroid cancer. Although thyroid cancer is very easily dealt with, precursors should not be ignored.
Please post the levels of your TSH and T4, along with reference ranges, since these vary from lab to lab and must come from your own report.