From time to time all through my thyroid problems and treatment with T4 (7/8 years) I have occasionally had difficulty swallowing food (it seems to get stuck and I have great difficulty swallowing it down and feel like I'm going to bring it up again - sorry!) and a tight feeling in the base of my throat most of the time. Both my doctor and consultant have felt my neck and say I don't have a goiter. As I have had problems swallowing both my lunch and evening meal today (whilst out with friends - very embarrasing), I am starting to wonder if this is something I should look into more. Could it be that I am not on enough medication for my hashimoto's (have recently (two weeks ago) been given 15mcg a day of T3 and reduced T4 to 125mcg from 150mcg).
Does anyone else suffer from this swallowing problem? I am getting quite worried now.
PS I very often have a dry throat and drink a lot of water.
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Katkin1
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Since diagnosis, I always have to have a drink beside me when I eat. It is not pleasant when you cannot swallow as your throat is dry. It doesn't happen all the time but - just in case. It is a horrible sensation.
I am on enough meds and I feel well too. My throat feels dry very frequently. I think it is to do with hypo. When out I always have a small bottle of water in case I have a fit of coughing.
Hi If voice also effected, ask for an ultra sound, enlargement and nodules not always visible on exam Other than thyroid there are lots of causes of this.,. Thyroid make sure you have tSH, T4 and Free T3 tested, on line if difficult gP, Your tSH may be fine, but the others may show thyroid disease if very low.
Hi Jackie. Yes my voice is also affected and sometimes I almost lose my voice as if I have a cold. I am due to have TSH, T4 and T3 checked again in a few weeks as I have now started on T3 and reduced my T4 after seeing a consultant.
Hi. Have you ever had an ultrasound? You may have a substernal goitre which cannot be palpated as it is further down your neck. I had the swallowing problems you described with my goitre. Also, some can grow inwards, rather than outwards so you wouldnt be able to see much but would affect your swallowing.
Hi - no I have never been offered an ultrasound. I think it might be a good idea for me to ask for one in light of what you have replied and I did wonder if this might be the case. I am seeing the doctor on 10 May so will ask about it then. Many thanks for your help.
Just reading these posts and it has got me wondering.
I have a partial Thyroidectomy for suspected cancer 8 weeks ( I was diagnosed with follicular variant papillary cancer after the op) and I am still having problems swallowing. I was having problems swallowing on and off before the operation and I still do. It happens at least once a day and is very uncomfortable. My endo led me to believe that it would take a while for everything to get back to normal after surgery. Could I have a substernal goitre? I was told I had a goitre on my left lobe but when an ultrasound was done prior to the operation it had gone.
Also, I still get discomfort from the scar across my neck. The nurses couldn't remove all of the stitches, they got stuck upon removal, and I get a tingling, stinging sensation in this area that has moved across the full length of the scar. Is this normal?
Thanks for any advise it will be very much appreciated.
Hi. Do goitres just 'vanish'? I find that surprising. I'm sure someone on here will know the answer to that, but I think you should get checked out again just to be sure.
Hiya. I too get strange sensations on my scar ( I'm 9 weeks post op tomorrow). I think that is normal. Sometimes if i touch it the feeling is so horrible that i want to puke lol. Other times its numb. However my swallowing was improved after the op and I have no problems with that now. I think you should ask the gp or doctor for an ultrasound or ct scan. Mine was picked up better by ct scan. I think it would be unusual for a goitre to suddenly disappear but I'm no expert. Only you know your body the best and if something isn't right, then don't be afraid to keep on asking the docs. Good luck with it all
I think I will monitor things for the next few days and if I don't improve see my own GP. I have an appointment next Friday with him to give him some paperwork from the hospital and to give him an update of my condition.
The sutures were one long string with plastic and metal beads at either end. The nurse snipped the left side to remove the beads and then pulled it through to the right. Unfortunately though, it snagged half way through and I had to go to hospital for the rest to be removed. A different nurse tried to remove the rest but couldn't and so the endo said to push it back in and let it heal. He said that my body would absorb it and it shouldn't cause any problems but if it did he could remove it at a later date. I just don't know if the stinging is caused by the stitches or just part of the healing process. It's a bit of worry!
My scar was opened up twice so is fairly wide and thick,its never worried me tho as having the op saved my life, i had a thyroid storm and was in intensive care for 3 weeks, it was all a bit touch and go,
we do all go through some traumatic stuff with this dam illness dont we lol.......onwards and upwards
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