Sorry to be a pain, with yet another question,folks.
I've today had another ultrasound done with fine needle biopsy. I was again told I have several nodules and I have been told they are being checked for cancer but the 24 hour feeling I have of my throat feeling partially closed over and the horrible choking on food grows worse every day but the consultant is another one today insisting it is not caused by the nodules or anything to do with my thyroid.
When I had the ultrasound today, I specifically asked if the thyroid gland was inflamed and mentioned my G. P's thoughts on Hashimotos but he didn't like my asking about that and said I didn't have a 'typical' Hashimotos goitre but I was showing 'some' small inflammation now on my left side of the thyroid. Last scan showed no inflammation.
I'm with my G.P. and other folk on here. Im convinced I have Hashimoto's, with typical symptoms and raised TPO antibodies but I really want to know.........are any of you Hashimoto's folk constantly being told your nodules/swelling of thyroid is TOO SMALL to be behind your choking ? If so, have you been given other diagnoses for that side of things?
Sorry to ask so many questions but this choking and coughing is really getting me down and it just seems too much of a coincidence that I might have problems from something unrelated too. Sadly my endocrinology appointment came in the post yesterday....for MARCH so I just don't know who else to ask all these questions of until then.
Thank you for reading.
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chocoholic17
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Chocoholic, you're not being a pain and you're welcome to ask all the questions you need, that's what this forum is for.
Raised TPO antibodies are absolute confirmation of Hashimoto's. If there isn't a typical Hashimoto's goiter or typical Hashimoto's damage to the thyroid it doesn't mean you don't have Hashimoto's, just that goiter or damage hasn't occurred. I had Hashimoto's with a large nodule on one side and two smaller ones on the other side but no goiter. I didn't know enough at the time to ask whether or not there was coarsening or damage to the thyroid gland and the information wasn't offered.
18mm x 11mm nodule is too small to cause such choking. Your doctors should be checking out other reasons for it. Has hiatus hernia been ruled out?
Thank you for your kind reply, Clutter. No, hiatus hernia has not been checked out. I don't know much about that but I'll have a read up later on that.
I know this sounds odd but I have a drippy nose too that never seems to actually develop into a cold and I'm still awaiting coeliac screening results from the G.P. If my body doesn't like gluten I wonder if that could cause the choking. I don't think so but I'm open to any ideas really.
Chocoholic, check out post nasal drip too as that may irritate your throat and possibly cause the choking. The coeliac screen isn't very accurate and even if you don't have coeliac you may still have sensitivity to gluten so it may be worth trying g-f for 3-6 months to see whether the drip and choking sensations improve.
Hi Chocoholic, my cousin has recently been diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis. She has a major choking incident at a restaurant and was rushed to hospital where it was diagnosed. They have identified gluten and dairy sensitivities as the cause. Might be worth mentioning to your GP.
Ooh, never heard of that one,Winegum2. Thank you for your reply. I shall go and read about that.
It's interesting because since Clutter mentioned post-nasal drip, that led me to reading about GERD! Which led me right back to coeliac disease....which is what I am waiting to hear a result about soon.
I have been doing an awful lot of reading about Coeliac disease tonight and so much of what I've read rung bells with me. I'm not laying off the gluten just yet because I understand you need a biopsy after the blood tests but you need to be eating gluten to get a proper diagnosis.
Whatever the result, I intend trying to go gluten free to see if it helps.
Thanks for your reply, realyfedup123. I only know that my 'some' inflammation is on the left of my thyroid gland, so don't know how close it is to my throat, only that everyone keeps telling me the two things are not related.
hello chocholic.i read your post with interest as can fully relate to everything you say.i have had my cough since mid 2012-when lying down at night btu dismissed by drs cos in their words "chest is fine"and nothing else considered.i have also had several choking fits -at least three serious that have gone on for what seems like several minutes.
my neck feels tight too and given no reason for it.dr did refer me to "speech and language "dept and I thought it odd as nothing markedly wrong with my speech.turned out they dealt with swallowing problems.
she advised me what foods to avoid and one or two things to do before and during eating.but I still have the tightness in my neck and lumps under jaw and neck feels lumpy too.dr said "I cant feel anything".i have never had a scan specifically of my neck and think I need one but know gp will refuse.they have looked inside my mouth.throat and say theres nothing there but don't consider anything else that is causing the tightness and swelling I have in my neck.
my gp doesn't like me trying to help myself cos they don't give me answers .
I have resorted to speaking with the practice manager at my surgery in an effort to get gp's to accept what I am telling them and not fob me off with things like "its your stomach" or "i can't feel anything".
really fed up mentioned Eustachian tubes -don't know if this is my problem but I cannot hear the TV on full volume-it seems like it is on low or hear what people are saying at close proximity.have ahd nasal problems fro three-four years and no diagnosis-so could these be the cause of cough/choking (post nasal drip?) as some have pointed out on here.
I'm sorry you too are having similar problems and I understand your frustration. The lead G.P. at my surgery is actually very good but the others in the practice have me written off as an anxious individual who has depression, so I refuse to see those now.
I was watching an interesting American doctor(can't remember his name but he's quite a big man) talking about Hashimoto's and autoimmune problems in general and his thoughts interested me.
Because I seem to be starting a little collection of autoimmune diseases, what I'd really like to do, once this current bout of tests are concluded, is to research online to find anywhere in THIS country that looks at autoimmune diseases as 'a whole' to treat. By that I mean treating the root cause of autoimmunity, not dealing with the symptoms.
The American guy in the videos I was watching on YouTube was talking about depleted methyls or methols and IT was all a bit over my head,especially as I was viewing it very late last night and kept nodding off.
All I want to do is help myself and ,like you anbuma3, I sense some doctors don't like that approach from a patient. Well tough, surely it's better to try and help oneself and possibly get better because then we won't NEED to bother so much anyway. Everyone becomes a winner!
Oh my goodness. I can't imagine having these choking,coughing and swallowing problems for YEARS. That must be so wearing for you. If I get any joy in being treated myself, I will post up, just in case it might help you or others too.
Hi Chocoholic17, I saw your question and it reminded me of one of my symptoms but it may not be relevant to you. Do you have a dry mouth? A symptom of having a dry mouth can make you choke on food and have a bit of a choking feeling in your throat. Other symptoms would be your tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth and perhaps getting a bit of a sore throat sometimes. Dry mouth can be caused by quite a few things including another autoimmune called sjogrens which I'm being investigated for right now. Just wondering if perhaps this is what is causing your choking feeling? Hope you get to the bottom of this soon
The trouble with these people is that they believe there is a fixed list of signs and symptoms and you have to fit them all - a square peg in a square hole, so to speak. But this just isn't true.
I believe I have had Hashi's most of my life, judging by symptoms, but I wasn't diagnosed until I was 55. In my forties, I had terrible trouble with choking, coughing, losing my voice, sore throat, croaky voice, the feeling of a lump in my throat, etc. Saw an ENT, who shoved a tube up my nose and down into my throat - I was sick for a week after that! - and pronounced me fit as a fiddle! Said there was absolutely nothing wrong with me, but had no explaination for the choking, etc. He obviously had no-idea that the thyroid gland is just next door to his speciality!
Diagnosed at 55 - but only because of the weight I was putting on so rapidly! - I had an unltra-sound, and the technician complained (!) that my thyroid was too small to be causing any trouble!!! As if I was wasting his time, never mind the blood tests!
Considering I must have been hypo for a bout 50 years by that time, I imagine that most of my thyroid had been destroyed, and that is why it was so small. But I've never, ever, had a goitre. So, I don't fit into any of their little boxes, yet all the symptoms have been very real. They just have no idea!
So, Under-medicated for about five/six years, then Under/over/Under/over/etc. Finally at 69 and 10 months, since I took over responsibility for my own health, I feel I'm on the right dose. My thyroid is now just a shrivelled little pea. Poor thing! I don't lose my voice anymore, only have sore throats when I have a cold (and that's much less often than before), don't lose my voice now - although I think I've lost my singing voice forever! - and rarely choke on my food - although I do sometimes choke on my own saliva!
Its all such a mess and a maze, and I don't think any of them really know what they're talking about. Most of the time they're just winging it. So, take it all with a pinch of salt (pink Himalay for preference) and research it for yourself - or ask the good people on here! lol
Thanks Greygoose. Whilst I hate thinking there are so many other folk that are going through similar things to me, it's also very reassuring to know others understand how frustrating the process of trying to find answers is.
i have the same problem with a goiter s having a scan tommorow to see if more enlarged but i cough a lot esp after food and been told the goiter is pressing on my windpipe what i dont want is to have thyroid removed as this could possible make me put weight on which im already overweight
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Feeling of lump in throat causing constriction - scan shows *very* small thyroid nodules which doc says can't cause this. Any ideas?
Proof at last for one cause of nodules and goitres.
Nodule
thyroid nodule treatment 
Nodule on thyroid gland
