Whats going on with my thyroid?
Maybe this will help you feel better for a bit…it sounds similar to the thyroglossal duct cyst that came on suddenly for me a decade ago. I had surgery, they took it out, sewed me up…no problems since. (Although it is more common in children, some adults get them. I was in my 20s.) Before the surgery, my throat/neck was uncomfortable and I had trouble swallowing. I suppose it could interfere with breathing. But I didn’t have surgery right away — I think it was a couple of weeks or more. So don’t panic. There are lots of benign reasons for lumps to form. The important thing, for now, is that you got it looked at.
My mom’s right where you are right now. She’s getting her US-guided needle biopsy in a week or two. The take home point is that 95% of such nodules are totally benign and would never have amounted to anything bad, whether biopsied or not. The other 5% of them are malignant cancers, which mostly are pretty treatable, especially if diagnosed early. So, go get it biopsied, but don’t sweat it.
A followup, finally! On the 28th I had the left side of my thyroid removed. After numerous tests, a couple needle biopsies, and three doctors, no one could figure out what it was. Since it was bothering my swallowing, the best choice then was removal. Simple surgery, one night in hospital. Unfortunately, a few days after that, my neck swelled up like a balloon and nausea and fever ensued. I ended up with a serious staph infection that put me in the hospital and on harsh antibiotics for a while. All this within two weeks of our baby daughter (Molly Elizabeth, 6 lbs 7 oz, 32 hours of back labour then a c-section – but it was all worth it. Named with good advice from another AskMe question I posed) arriving. In other words, it’s been one hell of a month, and I am glad things will hopefully start settling down now. Thanks for the advice and caring!
I can’t even begin to guess what you have, won’t even try, but I can say that thyroid trouble runs in my family, and having it surgically removed has more often than not brought on no bad effects. The usual mode has been to leave only a sliver of thyroid in, and it kind of kicks in and does the job of a whole thyroid. And the rest of us sufferers, myself included, just have to take daily meds, no big deal. So don’t fear the doctor. Get it taken care of, this is not one of those situations where the awfulness of the cure rivals the awfulness of the disease.
“Hot” nodules are composed of functioning thryoid cells (which means the nodule is almost certainly not cancer), vs. “cold” nodules which are nonfunctioning (which means the nodule is slightly more likely to be cancer, but even then is unlikely.) According to this article, Nodular disease of the thyroid gland is quite common in the United States. The lifetime risk for development of a palpable thyroid nodule is estimated to be 5-10% and is more common in women than in men. In general, nodular disease of the thyroid is common; however, malignancy of the thyroid occurs in only 0.004% of the US population annually (12,000 new cases per y). Roughly 5% of thyroid nodules are malignant, whereas the remainder represents a variety of benign diagnoses. and oh yeah: good luck, kickstart, and please try not to worry. Thyroid diseases and disorders of all stripes are pretty common and very treatable.
