thyroid confusion - can you help?

[lulu1989000]

Will try and keep this short.
26 years old, female, no other health concerns.
I’ve suspected a thyroid issue for years, due to “ticking yes” on so many of the symptom lists out there. Ones that caused primary concern for me was fairly intense loss of hair, slow but steady weight gain, fatigue and a non-painful but incredibly annoying lump in the throat feeling which caused some difficulties with swallowing. There is also a family history of thyroid issues. I’m not sure of the details, I just know my cousin had trouble getting pregnant until she was diagnosed with something to do with her thyroid and she’s on medication. My TSH and T3 levels have been tested two or three times in the last 5 years and I was always told they were normal.

Recently I went back to the doctor because the lump in throat feeling returned and it was driving me crazy. Got tested and the results were
Free t3 3.2 (range 2.2-4.1)
Free t4 1.47 (range 0.88-1.81)
TSH 0.95 (range 0.35-3.73)

So seemingly very normal. However, the doctor said I could have an MRI if I wanted so I went ahead with that. Just got the results back and the doctor said I have a tumour on the thyroid. I live in Japan and his English of course isn’t fluent and we also only spoke for two minutes (they rush you through here) but he wrote
7-8mm tumour
Adenoma
Cystic lesion
L plus
USTG
Benign

I couldn’t ask questions but he told me to come back in a month and he would refer me to another doctor and I think he said something about an ultrasound (is that what the USTG refers to?).

Bit confused now. I’ve tried to do some research and from that I can see that tumour was probably the wrong word ;) and that cysts or growths are common.
How come my bloods are always normal though? Surely it’ not a coincidence that I have hypothyroid symptoms, a thyroid growth and a painful thyroid?
Any advice would be great. Bit hard being in a non-English speaking country!

[lulu1989000]

Thank you so much, that's exactly what i needed to hear. Here's 'hoping' it's hashimotos - I'm sick of not knowing :)

[Barb135]

Most likely, the best term for the growths on your thyroid are "nodules", which are very common.  The fact that they are benign says a lot and should ease your mind considerably...  Ask for clarification on this.

The next time you see your doctor, ask for thyroid antibody testing to determine if you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  Hashimoto's is an autoimmune condition in which the body determines that the thyroid is foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it.  While your thyroid is producing well, right now, if you have Hashimoto's, eventually, it will produce nothing.

The antibody tests you need are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb).  

With Hashimoto's, it's not unusual to swing from hyper to hypo in early stages and it almost looks like that might be what you're doing, since your FT4 is at 63% of its range, which is pretty high and your FT3 is at 53% of its range, which isn't "high", but certainly isn't hypo, either.

Hashimoto's can be present for years before we know about it and symptoms of hypothyroidism can, also, be present long before labs (TSH, FT3 and FT4) go out of range enough to indicate hypothyroidism.

Some doctors are willing to treat symptoms when one has Hashimoto's, even if labs are "in range", others are not, even the treatment is for hypothyroidism, not Hashimoto's, since there's really nothing to be done for that.

You may have to find a different doctor that speaks better English so you can actually converse with her/him.  I'm sure your doctor understands what "you" are saying, but you have to be able to understand what he is saying, as well.  Even though they try to rush you through, make sure you insist that he take the time to talk to you so you understand what's going on. "You" are the only who can advocate for yourself, so if he refuses, find a different doctor.

[lulu1989000]

Thanks that's really good advice. So if i get the other tests will that definitively diagnose hashimoto's? Or does being in a current non hypo state (as it appears i am) affect those results too?

[babypodoffour]

I am currently going through something similiar.  Don't really have any advice but I can say you are not alone.  Keep us posted on what you find out.  

[lulu1989000]

thanks :) I appreciate it