dr. appointment update (thyroid)
 

many of you have asked about my dr. appointment. thank you soooooo much for the kind words and concern. you are all so sweet!!!!

the dr. called today and told me my thyroid results showed that the levels were high. i think it is called "hyperthyroid". he asked if i ever feel "jittery" or sleepless. i said that i am normally bogged down, tired, and fatigued.

weird.

he suggested i see a specialist to see if treatment is needed. he said it isn't "really high" but it is elevated, which explains the swelling. He will be calling me on monday to recommend a specialist. he said that serious treatment is most likely not needed.

i will let you know how my next appointment goes :)

Good Luck. Let us know.... I actually got an at home/mail in test recently to test mine. I lost my family doctor and have never found a new one yet, so I thought this might prompt me to do so. I haven't done it yet. I told my hubby I wanted him to prick me. I doubt he will. Thyroid problems do run in my family, so I guess there's a chance mine could be off too. I've got all the symptoms of they hypo variety.

I have also had a bout of hyperthyroidism, and it's interesting if you google it you will find that high thyroid can have a lot of the same symptoms as low thyroid...fatigue, joint pain, hair loss. I was surprised.

I'm going through the same thing with my thyroid but my is hypothyroidism - not making enough of the hormone. I had an ultra sound done and now they want to do an uptake scan where you have to take a radio active pill one morining at the hospital and go back the next morning for the scan. I'll be glowing inside. :rolleyes: They were going to do a biopsy but the guy didn't think he would be able to get it. (there is a growth on mine, too)

Let me know when you have your appointent, I'd be interested in knowing what they have to say.

I am Hypo and diagnosed as Hashimotos disease. I had a nodule on my right gland, had an ultra sound, and biopsy to check if it was in any way cancerous but it wasn't. Over time with the meds, the nodule has gone down in size, but I get annual ultra sounds to make sure. I was never at the point where the glowing pill was brought up, I hope they can sort it out for you.

Pepe Mint: You may have to play the dosage game with meds, but once it's figured out you will really notice a difference in the way you feel.

if its the same raido active pill i had to take dont go near small kids or your dogs!

That is odd because normally with "hyperthyroidism" you are jittery, dark circles under eyes, loss of weight, "hyper"....and with "hypothyroidism", you are normally low on energy, weight gain, "low"....

Thyroid disease is sometimes are to detect.....I know they all say a simple blood tests shows your thyroid levels...but sometimes, they need to go further.

I have been dealing with thryoid issues for years and the doctors still are not for sure. Each doctor...even the specialist have all told me something different.

My main concern was that one said of my neck has gotten huge in the last three years...then the weight gain (40lbs of it) and no matter what not loosing it and the lack of energy, hair and nails became brittle and changed, etc.

My last specialist appt found that I have two goiters and a muscle mass that is covering my thyroid on one side. He couldn't explain how the other doctors only found one goiter in the past or how only one doctor in the past noticed the huge muscle mass or why all of the sudden a muscle mass was formed. I mean, it is noticeably bigger...never that way before. I have trouble swallowing too...always seems like I am thirsty and I have to swallow all the time.

I have had numerous scans, even CT scans and nuclear scans....it is a pain. Right now, I am taking a break from my thyroid issues....this newest specialist said that surgery on mine would be very tricky because of the muscle mass and he said that he would just have my goiters checked every 6 months....aurgh..........

Good luck....and keep after the doctors!

Why???????:confused:

I have had three of those done...they are nothing really...you go in, in the morning and take a pill (you can't have a multi-vitamin for the week before taking the pill or allergy pills, etc...but they should tell you all of that --- well, my first appt they didn't tell me until they called to remind me of my appt and I had to have that rescheduled):mad:

Anyway, you take that pill and then go back later that afternoon for your scan...it is like an open MRI machine (or mine was) and then you have to go back in the next morning and they check your levels of radiation...they just scan your thigh (or they did mine - even though it was for my thryoid)...I forgot what they said about why they scanned my thigh to check for the levels. Crazy.

The first one, they told me that the radiation was no higher than going thru an airport?! Then the other one, which was actually the same, just a different tech, told me not to hold babies or hold Mojo, etc. But my MIL went in the room with me for the scan. The third time, they told me the levels were not high enough to worry about, but they wouldn't like my daughter (teen) go in the room for the scan...although a nurse who just had a baby was walking around back there showing off her baby:confused: So go figure?!

I went through this several years ago and would like to offer some unsolicited advice. If they decide to treat your thyroid with radioactive iodine (sometimes used for overactive glands), your thyroid may then become low. If it does, I highly recommend you ask your doctor about the natural thyroid medication (made of pig thyroid - it stinks, but just hold your nose when you take it). A lot of doctors are against it, but it works soooo much better than the synthetic stuff. It may take some time to get you to the correct level, but just hang in there. You'll be amazed how much better you will feel. People don't realize how many different things your thyroid affects. Good luck to you!

my doctor told me that if they mention the radioactive iodine, to tell them no and to have them call him. he doesn't feel it is necessary and would rather offer some other treatments. i'm glad he feels that way. it seems doctors like to give you all kinds of pills and such. he is not like that at all. i really like him!!!

It sounds like you have a good doctor...those are hard to find anymore (IMO). I had an awesome doctor that I used for years...I honestly loved him, but then he moved back to his home town....it was horrible. I haven't been happy with any doctor since!

All the doctors I have seen regarding thyroid said that a few years back, too many doctors prescribed the synthetic thyroid meds...just about to any and everybody, so most of them now, shy away from those drugs....UNLESS you absolutely need them. Before, you could be border line and you could take them to get back to the correct level...even if you were just barely borderline, now....no way.....in a way that is good, but then, in a way it would be good to be on them for a short time to get you back in the right place. I guess it all depends on the doctor.

I have also been there and done that. In my case the thyroid was overactive, sub acute thyroiditis. It eventually burned itself out and after awhile it went under active, which is the norm. I am now on thyroid replacement and feel so much better. I think the hardest part is the waiting...and feeling like crap for months and months, my worst symptoms during the hyper phase was insomnia/yet tired all the time...rapid heartbeat/was given a beta blocker...and last but not least the moodiness/unable to concentrate/as if you're PMSing all the time.
The nuclear thyroid scan and uptake is not really a big deal...but a necessary test especially to diagnose Graves Disease/Hyperthyroidism. Hashimoto's Disease is a bit confusing as it has symptoms of both hyper and hypo. I never had a goiter, so biopsy was not an issue for me. But ultrasounds are used to check for size and stability of structure.
I had already been through menopause at a very early age...but I felt as if I was going through it again when I was diagnosed as having Hyperthyroidism, luckily it was mearly inflamed and needed to be cooled down, which it did do but it seemed like an eternity.
You should all check your vitamins for Iodine...Do not take anything, not even salt with Iodine in it, when you have issues with your thyroid gland.
I am so happy that is all behind me now...Hypothyroidism is so much easier to deal with and to treat, just take a thyroid replacement pill daily, check your blood for thyroid activity and adjust dose as needed. Good luck to you all, be well...

i never really asked but my dr told me it could be bad to expose them so i listened. i think its almost like what ever it is to kill prostate cancer i know they cant be by babys or small animals eather.

I'm not going to be treated with it, it's just for the scan. :)

A couple months ago, I was in the hospital and a dr. gave me a prescription for a synthetic med for the hypothy.... it messed me up so much that after two weeks I quit taking it. Then I went back to my own doc. I was having panic attacks that would last for hours. I would cry uncontrollably, etc.... I felt like I was going crazy. I wouldn't go back on that stuff for anything.

That's what all these tests are for - to find out exactly what is on my thyroid and if I do have to take any meds or not. I wish they could have just done a biopsy - it would have been much easier.