Help Undiagnosed Lump - Lymph/Thyroid/Neck

[jodiharris]

I have a large lump that has been growing for over 6 months at the side of my neck and has broken my first rib.  It is very hard to touch and extremely painful.  It was wrongly diagnosed as a swollen muscle from repetitive strain injury from lifting my three small children for the past 12 months.  I have been suffering with unbelievable pain for the last 12 months from shoulder and neck pain, doctors simply said it was muscle related as they did an MRI which was normal.  Other symptoms include loosing over 2 stone in weight in 8 months and unable to put it back on even though I'm eating very well, very low energy, inability to sleep due to pain, I have practically no movement in my neck and my left arm and hand has little or no strength with numbness and dropping things is becoming increasingly common.  I also have no feeling in the skin on my left side of my back / shoulder /neck although the skin is always really itchy yet I cannot relieve with scratching as it just hurts.  When the pain peaks it causes my left eye to droop and close slightly and it is starting to affect my sight.  My left arm has become increasingly painful, almost unbearable with nerve type pains shooting down to my hand all the time and the skin is very sore to touch almost as if it has been burned.  I had a bloodtest for thyroid about 4 months ago which was borderline but the doctor could not say if it was over or under active due to the result and said it would probably sort itself out as it was very borderline result almost could be a lab error.  Please can someone read this and tell me if these symptoms are common with any disorder.  I am only 30 years old.  I don't drink, have a healty diet, have three kids under 3 and am totally frustrated and exhausted trying to deal with this constant pain and lack of answers.  I walked into A&E on Tuesday last and they did an XRay and told me the first rib was broken from a growth and they would have to investigate with a biopsy and catscan but until I get this I really would like some idea of what I could possibly be dealing with.  They mentioned the lymph and that the lump could be related to that and to a thyroid problem but they were very vague and didn't really give me any idea what it was other than a lump. I really would appreciate any feedback I can get.

[jodiharris]

Hi SidneyThyroid,

I'm new to posting comments on the web so please excuse me if this is the wrong thing to do.  I've been reading through the forum and you seem to be so knowledgable of thyroid problems that I would really appreciate if you would take the time to read my request and see what you make of it.  I'm at the end of my rope at this stage and I would grateful for your feedback or any thoughts you have on my symptoms.  They might have nothing to do with thyroid and I know it's difficult to say without any results etc. of biopsy but I really would appreciate you having a quick read and maybe putting a couple of lines back to me at some stage when you have a chance.

Again, I'm not used to forums so apologies if contacting you directly is not the correct thing to do !

Thank you.

[jodiharris]

Thank you Stella for your message.  It's the first time I've posted anything on the web and it's great to have some feedback.  I'm in Ireland.  The earliest appointment I can get for a thyroid specialist is January.  I was back in A&E today with the pain and they gave me a shot that did nothing for it and basically sent me home saying they can do nothing until they get my biopsy results on Wednesday next week.  I can only hope that the pain eases between now and then and that maybe some phone calls on Monday to the hospital will help them to see it's urgent and hurry it up.

[stella5349]

Find a thyroid specialist to examine you promptly and get the biospy they suggested.

If you have that big of a lump whether thyroid related or not - that is breaking your ribs you need a doctor that is willing to get moving on whatever it is and get it resolved ASAP.

If there was lab error in your thyroid tests - You need to DEMAND a test today - if it is just thyroid tests your desire then get a

TSH
Free T3
Free T4
Tpo
Tgab

but I would consider a WBC - CBC too to start

What do your MRI and US scans reports say?