Aa
Test results confusing
I am so confused ...
I got the results from my thyroid scan today. The main part that confuses me is the report says there is a mild increased uptake of activity. Isn't an INCREASE a sign of HYPERthyroidism? I have all the symptoms of HYPO. ???? Uptake at 6 hours measured 17% and at 24 hours it measured 36%.
Anyways, the nurse called me and said we need to schedule an appt. with a surgeon (it is scheduled for March 1, 2007). The results said I had "diffusely enlarged homogeneous glands". The right thyroid lobe measures 6.0 cm in greatest length and the left 5.6 cm in greatest length. Does anyone know what the "normal" size is?
The nurse told me that my doc says it may even be that my thyroid could be helped by radiation treatments instead of surgery. I s'pose I will be discussing that with the surgeon in March. I asked her if my current doc will be treating me with synthroid or Armour thyroid after I see the surgeon and she said yes ... so at least I know he is planning on helping me. :)
I got the results from my thyroid scan today. The main part that confuses me is the report says there is a mild increased uptake of activity. Isn't an INCREASE a sign of HYPERthyroidism? I have all the symptoms of HYPO. ???? Uptake at 6 hours measured 17% and at 24 hours it measured 36%.
Anyways, the nurse called me and said we need to schedule an appt. with a surgeon (it is scheduled for March 1, 2007). The results said I had "diffusely enlarged homogeneous glands". The right thyroid lobe measures 6.0 cm in greatest length and the left 5.6 cm in greatest length. Does anyone know what the "normal" size is?
The nurse told me that my doc says it may even be that my thyroid could be helped by radiation treatments instead of surgery. I s'pose I will be discussing that with the surgeon in March. I asked her if my current doc will be treating me with synthroid or Armour thyroid after I see the surgeon and she said yes ... so at least I know he is planning on helping me. :)
I guess I mainly want to know:
1. Do my tests indicate HYPER instead of HYPO though my symptoms say otherwise?
2. What is the "normal" size of the glands?
3. What should I expect from my first visit with the surgeon?
4. Can someone tell me ... will I ever feel better? I know ... you can't really tell ... but you know how it is ... just want some kind of reassurance that I may not have to have myself "committed". Tired of hurting, tired of not being able to enjoy even a glass of water w/o feeling a lump in my throat, tired of not losing more weight though I eat 1500 cals a day or less, ... just ... tired. Thanks for letting me vent ... and thanks also for being here! :)
1. Do my tests indicate HYPER instead of HYPO though my symptoms say otherwise?
2. What is the "normal" size of the glands?
3. What should I expect from my first visit with the surgeon?
4. Can someone tell me ... will I ever feel better? I know ... you can't really tell ... but you know how it is ... just want some kind of reassurance that I may not have to have myself "committed". Tired of hurting, tired of not being able to enjoy even a glass of water w/o feeling a lump in my throat, tired of not losing more weight though I eat 1500 cals a day or less, ... just ... tired. Thanks for letting me vent ... and thanks also for being here! :)
... also, as a reminder ... here is the results from my initial thryroid tests (doc STILL hasn't done a hormone test or Free T4).
T3 30.1 Ref Range: 27-42
T4 9.6 " " 4.5-12
T7 2.9 " " 1.0-3.8
TSH 3.79 " " 0.27-4.2
T3, FREE " " 1.80-4.20
T3 30.1 Ref Range: 27-42
T4 9.6 " " 4.5-12
T7 2.9 " " 1.0-3.8
TSH 3.79 " " 0.27-4.2
T3, FREE " " 1.80-4.20
1. A high uptake may indicate that hyperthyroidism is caused by Graves' disease. However there could be a possibility test was wrong. Perhaps something influenced
the test. I couldn't even somke the day of the test. Did you eat anything that contains iodine, etc.
2. 5 cm (2 in.) long and 5 cm (2 in.) wide
3. Someone who has had surgery will have to answer.
4. This is an individual issue. However it does take time to heal, especially if you have had thyroid condition a long time before being diagnosed and treated.
5. TSH suggest slight hypothyroid, but may not reflect actual thyroid condition as yet, but will in the future, whereas, perhaps, RAIU is a better indication. In some thyroid conditions hyper will be hypo for a little while first. Likewise, in some thyroid conditions hypos will be a little hyper first for a little while.
Also keep a watch on the difference between your Ts, if span gets larger, they might be of some concern.
Good Luck!
Just my personal opinion and/or experience. Always discuss your health issue with your doctor , always adhere to your doctors advise and, you always have the right to a second opinion. Nothing is a 100% or a 100%, 100% of the time. However, we are not all alike!
GL,
1990 - Hyper/Graves'
1997 - Dia/RAI
1999 - TED - slight Thyroid Eye Disease
1999 - Visible Nodule (suspect hyperfunctioning)
1997 - MVP - Mitral Valve Prolapse
2000 - SAD - Short Attention Disorder/Span
2002 - IED - Intermittent Explosive Disorder (Graves' Range)
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jun2006/nimh-05.htm
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx51.htm
the test. I couldn't even somke the day of the test. Did you eat anything that contains iodine, etc.
2. 5 cm (2 in.) long and 5 cm (2 in.) wide
3. Someone who has had surgery will have to answer.
4. This is an individual issue. However it does take time to heal, especially if you have had thyroid condition a long time before being diagnosed and treated.
5. TSH suggest slight hypothyroid, but may not reflect actual thyroid condition as yet, but will in the future, whereas, perhaps, RAIU is a better indication. In some thyroid conditions hyper will be hypo for a little while first. Likewise, in some thyroid conditions hypos will be a little hyper first for a little while.
Also keep a watch on the difference between your Ts, if span gets larger, they might be of some concern.
Good Luck!
Just my personal opinion and/or experience. Always discuss your health issue with your doctor , always adhere to your doctors advise and, you always have the right to a second opinion. Nothing is a 100% or a 100%, 100% of the time. However, we are not all alike!
GL,
1990 - Hyper/Graves'
1997 - Dia/RAI
1999 - TED - slight Thyroid Eye Disease
1999 - Visible Nodule (suspect hyperfunctioning)
1997 - MVP - Mitral Valve Prolapse
2000 - SAD - Short Attention Disorder/Span
2002 - IED - Intermittent Explosive Disorder (Graves' Range)
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jun2006/nimh-05.htm
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx51.htm
Thank you so much for responding. :)
They didn't tell me not to smoke :( However, they told me to eat a low-sodium diet for the week prior to the test. I had/have no idea how much sodium is considered low so I mostly ate zero sodium mini wheat cereal. The milk naturally had some sodium but not much.
I don't see how I could possibly be hyper-t ... the symptoms for hypo-t match just about everything wrong with me ...
1) severe fatigue, loss of energy (I can't even sit through a movie w/o falling asleep ... even if I am very interested in the film).
2) weight gain, difficulty losing weight (I weighed 311 pounds and then managed to lose 46 of them. Though I never cheated even once and have continued on a low-carb plan with 1250-1500 cals per day ... I am gaining again).
3) depression and depressed mood (I won't even get into the hell I went through in this area. These days however I feel that ... I don't hurt because I am depressed .. I am depressed because I hurt).
4) joint and muscle pain, headaches (severe, debilitating migraines ... and I feel like I have been run over by a very large truck the majority of the time)
5) itchy scalp, hair loss (sometimes I swear I need to be saving all the hair found on my pillow so I can have a wig made ... I will need it soon if it keeps falling out).
6) irregular periods, PMS symptoms (my uterus was removed when I was 23 but I recall the frustration I went through over my periods ... I never knew when it was going to start. Pain was so bad sometimes during them that I actually passed out in the hallway at school as a teen)
7) breast milk formation (not sure about this one ... I have fluid coming from my nipples. I just had another mammagram and breast ultrasound and they are full of cysts ... so ... ?)
8) constipation (I have a bm about once every 4-5 days. Very uncomfortable)
The list goes on and on and on.
I guess I will just have to wait it out and see what happens with the docs next. This is a scary thing to do since I have found from reading here and from a lady at a low-carb forum that it can be difficult to get proper diagnosis and proper treatment.
They didn't tell me not to smoke :( However, they told me to eat a low-sodium diet for the week prior to the test. I had/have no idea how much sodium is considered low so I mostly ate zero sodium mini wheat cereal. The milk naturally had some sodium but not much.
I don't see how I could possibly be hyper-t ... the symptoms for hypo-t match just about everything wrong with me ...
1) severe fatigue, loss of energy (I can't even sit through a movie w/o falling asleep ... even if I am very interested in the film).
2) weight gain, difficulty losing weight (I weighed 311 pounds and then managed to lose 46 of them. Though I never cheated even once and have continued on a low-carb plan with 1250-1500 cals per day ... I am gaining again).
3) depression and depressed mood (I won't even get into the hell I went through in this area. These days however I feel that ... I don't hurt because I am depressed .. I am depressed because I hurt).
4) joint and muscle pain, headaches (severe, debilitating migraines ... and I feel like I have been run over by a very large truck the majority of the time)
5) itchy scalp, hair loss (sometimes I swear I need to be saving all the hair found on my pillow so I can have a wig made ... I will need it soon if it keeps falling out).
6) irregular periods, PMS symptoms (my uterus was removed when I was 23 but I recall the frustration I went through over my periods ... I never knew when it was going to start. Pain was so bad sometimes during them that I actually passed out in the hallway at school as a teen)
7) breast milk formation (not sure about this one ... I have fluid coming from my nipples. I just had another mammagram and breast ultrasound and they are full of cysts ... so ... ?)
8) constipation (I have a bm about once every 4-5 days. Very uncomfortable)
The list goes on and on and on.
I guess I will just have to wait it out and see what happens with the docs next. This is a scary thing to do since I have found from reading here and from a lady at a low-carb forum that it can be difficult to get proper diagnosis and proper treatment.
Milk might contain iodine - that is how farmers disinfect dairy equipment and clean utters. Did you eat sea food? Mexican or Italian food, red dyes (and other dyes). The list goes on.
Some hypo and hypers share the same symptoms, as well as other health conditions.
Symptoms are not necessarily conclusive to thyroid nor should be we blame every ailment on thyroid.
Some hypers will gain weight, while some hypos lose weight. It a matter of our personal system. I am Hyper/Graves' as states in my signature and I suffer or have suffered from most of what you listed, while others I have not seen on a list of hypo or hyper symptoms and believe me the lists are long, some made up by patients experience (however without medical backup so not really creditable, as much as they would like to believe).
It was never hard for me to get diagnosed. My doctor was very thorough. If you have a thyroid problem it will show up in blood test and with other test to confirm, its that simple!
Its people who make it difficult because they don't want to believe their doctor(s) or test. And if we don't believe, then we have the right to a second, or third or fouth.......opinion.
Just my personal opinion and/or experience. Always discuss your health issue with your doctor , always adhere to your doctors advise and, you always have the right to a second opinion. Nothing is a 100% or a 100%, 100% of the time. However, we are not all alike!
GL,
1990 - Hyper/Graves'
1997 - Dia/RAI
1999 - TED - slight Thyroid Eye Disease
1999 - Visible Nodule (suspect hyperfunctioning)
1997 - MVP - Mitral Valve Prolapse
2000 - SAD - Short Attention Disorder/Span
2002 - IED - Intermittent Explosive Disorder (Graves' Range)
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jun2006/nimh-05.htm
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx51.htm
Some hypo and hypers share the same symptoms, as well as other health conditions.
Symptoms are not necessarily conclusive to thyroid nor should be we blame every ailment on thyroid.
Some hypers will gain weight, while some hypos lose weight. It a matter of our personal system. I am Hyper/Graves' as states in my signature and I suffer or have suffered from most of what you listed, while others I have not seen on a list of hypo or hyper symptoms and believe me the lists are long, some made up by patients experience (however without medical backup so not really creditable, as much as they would like to believe).
It was never hard for me to get diagnosed. My doctor was very thorough. If you have a thyroid problem it will show up in blood test and with other test to confirm, its that simple!
Its people who make it difficult because they don't want to believe their doctor(s) or test. And if we don't believe, then we have the right to a second, or third or fouth.......opinion.
Just my personal opinion and/or experience. Always discuss your health issue with your doctor , always adhere to your doctors advise and, you always have the right to a second opinion. Nothing is a 100% or a 100%, 100% of the time. However, we are not all alike!
GL,
1990 - Hyper/Graves'
1997 - Dia/RAI
1999 - TED - slight Thyroid Eye Disease
1999 - Visible Nodule (suspect hyperfunctioning)
1997 - MVP - Mitral Valve Prolapse
2000 - SAD - Short Attention Disorder/Span
2002 - IED - Intermittent Explosive Disorder (Graves' Range)
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jun2006/nimh-05.htm
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx51.htm
Was interested in what your symptoms are. I am having about the same ones! Hair loss/thinning, fatigue, weight loss. I have appt with internal med doc for checkup this coming Wed. I take Synthroid .88 in mornings and my level usually ran in the 2 to 3 range but last time checked...past June 06...it was .079.
I had radiation iodine treatment for a toxic nodule and endo doc has only checked me once since (been about 8 years). Since I work for a family doctor I usually do just a TSH level and thats about it. I have to see a hypertension doctor for systolic hypertension that has also begun flaring up on me again lately, with a low heart rate.....as low as 50, but averages 50 to 60s most of the time.
Good Luck for you.
I had radiation iodine treatment for a toxic nodule and endo doc has only checked me once since (been about 8 years). Since I work for a family doctor I usually do just a TSH level and thats about it. I have to see a hypertension doctor for systolic hypertension that has also begun flaring up on me again lately, with a low heart rate.....as low as 50, but averages 50 to 60s most of the time.
Good Luck for you.
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