I had a cold about 3 weeks ago, and for the last 10 days have been free of cold symptoms, but have had a really painful throat - not red and raw inside, but just feels swollen, like a lump, and very tender from the outside as well. Swallowing is extremely painful. None of the normal sore throat rememdies help at all (soluable aspirin, lozenges, etc) because it doesn't feel like that kind of sore throat. It hurts to yawn or cough, and I can feel it when I move my head from side to side. It also hurts a bit (like swollen glands) up towards my ears. The pain comes and goes a bit, and does seem to be improving now. I've not had a fever, though just kind of hot and sweaty at times, and a bit edgy. From what I've read, it sounds a lot like viral thyroiditis. I went to see my GP the other day, though, and she suggested nothing like that. She felt along my throat and glands, but said there were no lumps she could feel, and said it was probably from my cold, once she'd excluded the possibility that it was something caught in my throat that could have scratched or got stuck or something (which it doesn't feel like at all). She didn't suggest anything about my thyroid, and just said to wait and see. How likely is it that it is something like thyroiditis, and is she missing something or just intentionally waiting for a while before doing any further tests? It's a common enough problem that she would be suspect it, given that I'd just had a viral illness, right? So how long should I wait before going back? If the pain is getting better now, does that make it less likely?