COPD & thyroid problems

[Polly-PV]

After having what I thought was an elongated COPD exacerbation lasting over 8 weeks which has resulted in me taking 4 lots of antibiotics and 2 lots of steroids, it’s now been suggested that I may have a thyroid problem. I always felt the problem was in my throat region, with lots of throat clearing, dry cough and wheeze there so after a barrage of tests, I’m finally waiting for a specific blood test result which shows thyroid function. I know my lung function is also compromised (48%) but I had never thought this latest episode of SOB could be due to thyroid problems and was due to my COPD degenerating further. Has anyone else had anything similar?

[horseygirl_0103]

I have ILD & constant coughing & clearing my throat My lung function tests are never good

[Polly-PV in reply to horseygirl_0103]

Thank you for this x

[Alberta56]

I now know why my doctor gets my thyroid checked almost every time I go to see him. So far tests all negative. I hope they can sort out the cause of your problems and put you on the road to better health. xxx

[Polly-PV in reply to Alberta56]

Thank you. We’ll see what the blood test shows hopefully next week!

[Lutontown]

I hope you've had a sputum sample test and then been put on the correct AB for the bug you have. Some bacterium are harder to knock out than others. I had a bug Staphylloccus Aureus which lasted end of March into November 2014, and needed an intravenous AB to sort it out. The oral AB I was prescribed hardly touched it. I believe that long stint with that bug caused me to contract bronchiectasis, which showed up on the CT scan I had in November 2014. I also believe my surgery let me down by not getting me seen by a consultant sooner.

You don't know I presume, if you have over active or under active thyroid problem? A few people in my family are under active (hypothyroidism). This makes you tired, lethargic, tendency to put on weight, and can make one feel dizzy, and, a number of other symptoms. It can be controlled with a drug, Thyroxine. Don't know anything about overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism).

[Jfb1]

Hello there! I’ve had thyroid problems all my life. Started aged 30 with a multinodular goitre and overactive thyroid. Had to have surgery to remove the goitre, only a small remnant was left, plus thyroxine treatment to treat loss of thyroid gland. Over the years the remaining thyroid gland did produce sufficient thyroxine and I no longer needed the drug. However, the multinodular goitre began to grow again and now it’s absolutely huge. My thyroid function remains within the normal range. No surgeon would voluntarily attempt to touch it again because of the scarring from previous surgery and any attempt to remove it would only be undertaken if it was crushing my windpipe, or I was having difficulty swallowing, or it was compromising my ability to breathe and it was affecting my voice and my ability to speak. I also have apical emphysema. I personally can truthfully say that I have never found any correlation between my COPD and my thyroid condition. Don’t know if that’s much help to you really but certainly in my case they are two separate conditions which have never interacted.

[Polly-PV in reply to Jfb1]

Hi and thank you for your reply and I’m sorry to read you needed surgery for your goitre. I would never have made the connection between COPD and thyroid problems if my GP hadn’t brought it up and of course, I researched it when I got home, as you do. But I also get that you feel there’s no correlation between the two as your experience suggests. All I know is that I need to get to the bottom of this latest elongated bout of SOB as it’s really sabotaging my life! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply Jfb1, I really do appreciate it x

[Karenanne61]

Hi! Due to a very large goitre I had my thyroid removed about 11 years ago and have taken levothyroxine ever since. I also have severe copd but I have never really thought about the correlation between the two. Except the excercises and throat care taught by the speech therapist - thyroidectomy damaged vocal cords - also help breathing.

[Polly-PV]

Thanks for this Karen. I’d never made any sort of connection until my GP mentioned it on Thurs last week. Good to know you’re experiencing really good after care too! X