graves/thyroid cysts/MGUS and chronic oral candidiasis

[madeline07]

i was diagnosed with GD 10 years ago (at 26yrs) and medicated for one year. I have never required neomercazole again. My t3/t4 stay in normal ranges but my TSH has fluctuated above and below normal limits up until a year ago when i commenced thyroxine after experiencing symptoms of underactive thyroid. When my thyroid antibodies are tested they are always elevated, although they havent been done in years now.I developed MGUS three years ago which is monitored by a haematologist 3 monthly and fairly stable. A year ago i began experiencing throat discomfort on swallowing (not food though, just normal swallowing??) and pain in the neck region/under the jaw/some earaches. its just like an ache. i also had two lymph nodes come up at the side of my neck (just pea size though) which have stayed there ever since and get no larger (came up a year ago). I have also had chronic oral thrush for at least 8 months now which does not respond to ampohotericin or diflucan. I asked my gp for a thyroid ultrasound (as i dont see an endo) because i was fed up with the throat discomfort. Whilst the thyroid is larger than it was 10 yrs ago, it is still not enlarged and i now have 2 'tiny cystic nodules" (<2mm) and 2 small cysts at the anterior aspect of the isthmus (<4mm) with both lobes of the thyroid appearing 'mildly heterogeneos in echotexture with some increased vascularity which may reflect thyroiditis" .  I left the drs surgery being told there was a bit of thyroiditis......but my question is this: Is this whats causing my throat discomfort and will it go away?/how long will it last? or will i always have a degree of it with the graves disease? IS this what is causing my oral thrush? And how often do i need to get the cysts checked out? i guess with my background of MGUS i feel a little bit nervous about a malignancy (as the mgus can precede myeloma or lymphoma) I also had CIN 3 of the cervix 10 yrs ago and have had yrly pap smears since then (always a little abnormal).  thanks a lot for giving me yr advice on this matter! (-:

[madeline07]

Hi Stella! thanks so much for your reply. I hope you had a good new years eve!
As for the oral thrush (well its in my throat actually, not my mouth), i have eliminated  yeast from my diet and try to only have natural sugars (i exercise 5 days a week and eat a healthy diet)....without being fanatical, that is! I eat mostly fresh fruit and vegies and rice and proteins. Ive eaten this way for about 5 years now. I just dont know what else to try to get rid of the thrush....any suggestions? i also seem to get 'the other' thrush quite regularly. nice.
I dont know what my hormones are doing as i never get them checked but i have never had a wonderfully regular cycle!  Would you recommend getting this checked in relation to my throat issues? how are they related? i do notice that in the two weeks before my period, i barely sleep, and am awake at least 4 times a night, if i get to sleep at all. The insomnia is terrible and it seems to be a little bit cyclical. i now have to take sleepers during these periods altho they dont do much. Am going to try magnesium and calcium now.
i have my thyroid function tests done probably about each 6months and 3 months ago they were fine. i havent had antibodies done in 3 years now but the last lot done 3 yrs ago were elevated. I dont recall them ever being normal since my initial diagnosis and i figure they always stay elevated. Is that the case?  Do the cysts form because of the constant inflammation in the thyroid? The question i wanted to ask the doctor was.......is there anything that can treat this 'thyroiditis"?.  i just want my throat to feel normal, not hurt, and sleep better. if thyroiditis is responsible for these symptoms, 1. what can i DO about it?  and 2. how can i stop it from inflaming again?
Thanks so much for helping me out. I feel pretty uninformed about this whole disease process as it all seems back the front to me....i start off overactive 10 yrs ago and never become overactive again, yet am now underactive without thyroxine.....And i dont seem to see thyroiditis as being an issue for graves disease sufferers anywhere in the literature. It always seems to be hashimotos that is mentioned. I seriously wonder whether i actually have hashimotos not graves. The graves was diagnosed on the elevated t3 and t4 and suppressed tsh alone. I had a radioactive uptake thing a year later while i was euthyroid(?)(with increased uptake) with a different specialist.  Thanks Stella, its lucky we have ppl like you to help us understand! (-:

[stella5349]

I don't see any recent labs to best determine where you are with thyroid - however it sounds like candida is an issue and starving that out of your body would be my course of action to see if that is rearing your thyroiditis issues.

Also depending on lifestyle, thyroiditis can become active and causing discomfort. Have you had any female hormone changes recently?