Will taking left side of thyroid help

[Loubelou1621]

In not diganosed I have symptoms of under active , I had a scan on my kneck they found two nodules there they did a biopsy but tests came back as inconclusive so he advised it would be easier to take out left side of thyroid will the right side cope or eventually pack in

[Hennerton]

Can they do some more testing before being so gung-ho about taking out half your thyroid? I know nothing about living with half a thyroid but I have had TT and it is no fun having nothing. I hope someone else will come along with more knowledge of this but in the meantime, I would certainly ask for more conclusive tests. I have certainly seen posts on this site where people eventually go hypo. I hope you get the info you need and that it is good news!

[bantam12]

You can manage just fine with half a thyroid and not needing any meds, I did for over 30 years but I had Graves and it returned.

[sheenah]

I completely agree with Hennerton. If the tests were conclusive it would be one thing but to take half your thyroid out based on inconclusive tests seems extreme to me to say the least. I am certainly no expert in this field, but if I was told they found lumps in my breast which were inconclusive but they were going to remove it anyway I'd be leaving the country!! Don't let them do anything rash - get second opinions!! XX Good Luck

[Loubelou1621]

It'll be biopsy every 6 months to check it's not cancerous my sisters had hers removed years ago so I think he's just being safe plus dad died of non hodkinsons (cancer of lymph glands) so I think he's not taking any chances so I think he's being safe this is my endo that suggested this and I'm off for a chat to the surgeon

[ThyroidThora]

Hi,

What do they mean by inconclusive? I had a calcified nodule ultrasound scanned and a fine needle (FNA) biopsy was done too. They measure the results on a scale of 0 to 5 with 5 definitely being cancer, i.e., 100%. Mine came back 5 but they down graded it to 4 because the hospital was inexperienced at doing the test and they had a conference call with the local teaching hospital before seeing me about it. They said the 4 was 80% cancerous but not sure if malignant or benign and I'd need the right lobe removed and biopsied during surgery to be sure. This happened 3 weeks later and they couldn't do the biopsy during surgery because they couldn't cut into the nodule, they had to extract the fluid and do further tests. Two weeks later it came back malignant follicular variant papillary cancer, and this type is hard to give a definite 5 from the FNA alone. Ask for the FNA readings to get a better understanding of their reasoning.

As regards only having half a thyroid gland, I too was told that the left side would take up the slack and work for both sides. This didn't happen and went seriously hypo within a month. One year on and I'm still very ill even when been on alternating daily doses of Levothyroxine of 125mcg and 150mcg. I need the Levothyroxine to prevent the return of the cancer, high TSH causes increased risk of cancer, and my TSH was 1.0 last December and they don't want to increase my Levo because I'm on the max dose. Therefore, my endo started me on T3 this week after I saw him Tuesday just gone. I've been taking it since Thursday (10mcg with 100mcg of Levo) and I don't feel any better but it's early days yet. I think if you are already Hypothyroid then having half your thyroid won't help matters but the main thyroid cancers and their variants are slow growing and can take many, many years to develop so waiting and seeing won't do much harm and it will give you time to research and think about your options. My cancer started showing definite symptoms 5 years ago but was not picked up by my GP but from my medical records I think it started at least 10 years ago, if not longer.

Try not to worry and the 6 months will pass by soon and hopefully you'll know more.

Good luck and you're welcome to PM if you need someone to chat to.

[Loubelou1621 in reply to ThyroidThora]

All they did for me was scan my neck In March the lady who scanned said I had two nodules on my left side of the thyroid so while I was there she did a biopsy she got enough fluid of and I went to the endo for results Wednesday he then said it was Inconlusive so neither yes or no he thinks with family history it'll be easier to take out left side .... I'm ok with that I'm just hoping right side can cope

[Hidden in reply to Loubelou1621]

It's odd how thyroid biopsies are so frequently 'inconclusive'. However, if you're happy to cut sorry ... ;O) - to the chase, you should pin your Endo down about how the remaining lobe will cope. Although I think there's a concensus here that what's left should cope fine.

[Loubelou1621]

Biopsys are not frequently inconclusive I think you've read it wrong he said he would re test with another biopsy but I don't want one it pigging hurt

[ThyroidThora]

Hiya,

It's difficult to say if your right side will cope for both sides because we are all different. My surgeon thought the left side of my thyroid would take up the slack, I think perhaps because I'd never been diagnosed as hypothyroid before I met him, but obviously this was not the case. I know when my daughter was born 22 years ago I had loads of blood tests for gynea problems I had after her birth and I was told that there was a hormone imbalance but I was told it wasn't bad enough to treat with tablets. They said that my progesterone levels were above normal but they told my GP that my blood tests were satisfactory. I personally think I was suffering with an under active thyroid since my daughter's birth but it's hard to prove because the hospital I attended has since shut down. I have an online penfriend in America and she was ill for over 12 years and was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last year and at the same time was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, her cancer developed because her under active thyroid was never treated because her symptoms were attributed to other medical problems and she was treated as if it was all in her head. I wonder if this is why I developed thyroid cancer but I cannot prove it. Upon reflection I wished I'd watched and waited for a while because I know that the cancer was a slow growing one, the problem is you don't know what type it is until it's removed and biopsied.

How old are you? Your age and the size of the nodules can determine what type of cancer it is. Papillary and follicular and their variants are the most common thyroid cancers and have a good prognosis. Medullary tends to be inherited and has a fairly good prognosis and the worst is anaplastic which, occurs commonly in the over 60's and the prognosis is not good because it doesn't respond well to conventional treatment and even chemo cannot rid it. Mine was follicular variant of papillary cancer and I was 49 when diagnosed. If you're 45 and under the prognosis is deemed very good if you have papillary or follicular and their variants.

Also goitres can come and go. The cancer was in the calcified nodule in my right thyroid but I was also diagnosed with a goitre in the left side but, by the time I'd had an ultrasound and FNA it had gone. I'm not sure this would happen to you but certain foods eaten raw or in high quantities promote goitre growths. Foods eaten from the brassica family (cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale) eaten raw causes goitres in some people, and so does turnip, beetroot, strawberries, almonds, walnuts, soya and peanuts. I eat a lot of vegetables because I'm not a big meat eater (I don't like meat) and I was eating a lot of these foods to help with my menopause symptoms, or so I thought were menopause symptoms, the symptoms were the same as my thyroid cancer.

Anyway, I'm going now because it's time for my shut eye. Try not to worry and please do PM me if you need someone to chat to.

Take care and night, night and God bless.

[Loubelou1621]

I'm 42 my endo said that too they don't know if or what the nodule is until they remove it I'm off for a chat with Sergeon soon

[ThyroidThora in reply to Loubelou1621]

Hiya Loubelou1621,

Your age is a positive sign and hopefully these nodules are benign. I knew that mine had a high risk of being malignant because it was calcified, like a little hard stone the size of a small marble, from the research I did prior to having the FNA and ultrasound. I think you need to get as much information from your surgeon during your consultation as you can and think hard about the consequences. I felt a bit pushed into surgery because of the unknown question of whether it was cancer or not, and I had my surgery 2 weeks after my meeting with the surgeon. If I'd been given better information from the first hospital I visited I probably would have waited and watched for a while because 1 year on my health is worse than even, I've lost my job and now I have to jump through the DWP hurdles to maintain my entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance.

Try not to worry, I know this is easy to say, but it's more than likely benign and if not it's 90% more likely to be either papillary or follicular cancer, the easier ones to treat.

Please do keep in touch and let me know how you get on.

Best wishes xx.

[Loubelou1621]

Hi everyone I've been back to see endo again and my biopsy results were abnormal no Inconlusive so my left side has to come out he said the nhs only go off two Biopsys and because I've already had a abnormal then it's best to remove he's also going on family history (dad) (sister) so I'm on the waiting list