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goiter after menopause

Hello.  I'm 50 and have a good sized goiter.  Both my mother and my maternal grandmother had the same thing.  Both of them said that after they went through menopause, that their goiters disappeared, or got so small that they couldn't feel them anymore.   And, in fact, my mother is still living and I don't see the bulge on her neck that I used to.  I've asked my thyroid doctor about this and she said this isn't possible.   Can you give me your opinion on this?  Thank you.
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Avatar universal
If you are only taking 75 mcg of T4 med, i suspect that you are still hypothyroid.  What symptoms do you have, if any?  What are your thyroid related test results and reference ranges shown on the lab report?
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Avatar universal
I am 59 years old, have had hypothyroidism since I was 12. Have taken Synthroid for 30 years. Had a very visible goiter my entire life until AFTER MENOPAUSE! My doctor also says no correlation between menopause and goiter going away. All I know is it is gone. I still have to take 75 MG of Synthroid, but goiter is gone. Obviously more studies of this needs to be done.
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Avatar universal
I saw my endo last week, and he thinks my thyroid may be dead (but not gone!).  I'm thrilled since it stabilizes everything so much more.  So, I got to ask him a bunch of my burning questions about antibodies.  I've heard people talk about having their thyroids removed and the surgeon commenting that it was shriveled and "hard".  Sounds lovely!
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
I wondered about the antibodies killing off the thyroid - if that would shrink it, but was hesitant to suggest it.  Thanks.  
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Avatar universal
If you have Hashi's, your thyroid will at some point be totally dead, once the antibodies have destroyed it.  Once it is no longer functioning, the antibodies usually go into remission.  Once it is dead, it will also no loger be inflamed, since it is incapable of responding.  Any part of your body that is not used due to injury will eventually atrophy.  My guess is the thyroid will do the same thing.  I imagine it has a whole lot more to due with the Hashi's antibodies killing off the thyroid than it has to do with menopause.  Just a thought...
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Do you have hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's Disease?  Have you have blood tests done to check your thyroid levels?  Oops, I guess you have something, since you mentioned your thyroid doctor.  

I don't know that menopause has anything to do with the goiter shrinking.  I've been through menopause for over 13 yrs and mine was just discovered last year....  

At any rate, I don't think it's going to disappear, although it may shrink a bit.
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929504 tn?1332585934
In my opinion, a goiter will not disappear...although it may shrink alittle and alot of times they will grow. The most important factor in all of this is: to check for nodules inside of the goiter by doing a ultrasound or cat scan. If there are no nodules, it's best to keep watch for growth.
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