ENT referral

Recently have had hyper symptoms although I've been hypo for 4 years, meds decreased and anxiety is better. I have had a sore throat for 6 months, voice changes and ear pain, have referral to ENT, what can I expect?

[Hidden]

Hi, I attend the ENT, originally for dizziness and balance issues.. In the early days I had hearing tests and ear pressure tests , alsoI had a test where I wore goggles and had to watch moving lights (sorry can't remember what that was called?). Also filled in tick box of things that applied to my condition. ( originally my own GP suspected it was Menier's but that wasn't the case). Also Epley Maneuver. That initially made me more dizzy. I have Tinnitus and a perforated eardrum which doesn't heal up ( some do). I should have been keeping the ear dry but didn't know about the perforation! Along with the drops I was given and water going in when in shower...it was not helping at all. Since keeping it dry and doing the balance exercises, ( not what it sounds like at all lol, I had to look at a marker level and move my head from side to side without taking my eyes from the marker, my marker was my thumb..handy because it's mobile lol , forgive my humour) I feel a lot better these days. When I became dizzy I had to stop the exercise. This I did 5 times a day, when I could do this for two minutes without getting dizzy I was told not to do anymore. I was given a DVD of the exercise which helped to do it correctly. I see a lovely lady at the ENT every few months and she is so helpful with advice, I was invited to relaxation classes but other health issues prevented me from going, this was for the Tinnitus.

I don't know if any of this is relevant to your condition at all but I hope you feel reassured that you will be looked after at the ENT, all the staff I've seen have been fantastic.

All the best to you.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

That's very kind of you to share with me that they were good. I wonder if my ear problem is thyroid related or something else,

Sue

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi,

I was told that the ear, nose and throat are very interconnected ( Bit of an obvious statement really lol ). But they can affect each other. I know that because of having several issues at the same time. Last winter I had dreadful earache, (things have settled so well, I had forgotten how awful I felt ) The right side of my face was swollen and bright red and my throat hurt and my sinuses were uncomfortable as well. Make notes of your questions for your ENT appointment it helps. I write all my symptoms down and after saying 'Hello' I sock it to them with my notes.

[Jaybrooke]

Hi sue, you say hyper symptoms although you have hypo can you say what they are please? Also sore throat and ear, voice changed ? Is that more pain and discomfort in throat area , neck jaw and ear ?? I have this and no doctor or endo knew this could be a symptom of Hashimotos!! Jay

[Hidden in reply to Jaybrooke]

Hi Jay

Thanks for taking the time to reply to me. A few weeks ago I was having palpitations and raised heart rate, anxiety through the roof, dizziness. Bloods came back slightly wrong, so lowered thyroxine to 75mcg rather than 100. Took 2 weeks but I feel better in respect to those symptoms. The throat is sore, pain at the front of my windpipe, ear aches, pain in jaw yes and feel my nodes are swollen. Have had one doc say these symptoms are nothing to do with thyroid, although she changed my meds! The doc that referred me to ENT prob just passing the buck as I've been to the doc 3x this week trying to get noticed..

Have never been referred to endo and basically I was told I was hypo after horrendous symptoms and that was that!

Sue

[Jaybrooke]

Hmm!! Sue, this sounds very much like myself , all those symptoms I have had plus a few more which you may not have associated with your illness. When you have hashi flare , you go from hypo to hyper to hypo so the symptoms are very mixed I have been told by many GP s doctors and a few endos , the pain and discomfort in my throat neck jaw ear etc are in no way related to my thyroid so must be something else causing it! This is an excerpt from " notes from an endocrinoigists lecture"! Normally hyperthyroid or hypothyroid disease does not cause localized pain in the throat or neck , or referred pain to the face or dental structures. One exception that occasionally occurs is pain that arises from hashimoto thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune inflamatory disease of the thyroid gland. It can cause painful or tender enlargement of the thyroid and in a small percentage of cases , pain can be referred into the mandible or other submandibular sites! NOTE: the mandible is the lower jaw , submandibular is the area beneath the lower jaw . Sue I went to ENT nothing was found I had deep X-rays at the dental hospital nothing was found ( luckily no cancer) no doctor knew these symptoms could be connected to my Throid but I knew .!! Because my blood tests were always normal thyroid was dismissed and I was left to suffer . The pain at front of windpipe well that is where your gland is and when your gland becomes inflamed , because antibodies are attacking it , your lymph nodes swell , you will be able to feel the lumps with your fingers. Hashimoto disease is said to be the biggest cause of hypothyroidism , in countries with enough iodine in there diet. My advice is to ask for a thyroid ultrasound which will show any inflamation , swelling, nodules etc. or shrinkage ( because it is gradually being destroyed) peroxidase and antithyroglobulin tests should show antibodies presence . Hope this helps at least to get a definite diagnosis , once you have that you can be given the correct medication . Best wishes Jay

[Hidden]

Hi Jay

I really appreciate this information, thank you. I hinted at a scan while at the docs yesterday, he dismissed my thyroid being the problem, even tho I said I feel my thyroid gland itself is swollen.. I don't expect the test at the ENT apt will show anything, I'd have been happier with a scan.

I'm wondering if you have had any pain anywhere else in your body? I have experienced pain and unexplained.

After the ENT apt I will ask for a scan, I'm thinking the worst if I'm honest, lumps and bumps, odd feelings in my throat, but I would rather know what I'm dealing with.

If I am suffering from hashimoto, then would my treatment be different?

Regards

Sue

[Jaybrooke]

Hi sue, to be honest GP s know very little about thyroid problems , I believe , through a lot of research, medical students have half a day on thyroid disease and are taught the basics , hypothyroidism hyperthyroidism nodules , goiter and thyroid cancer. They are taught the TSH blood test is the most important test and if results are high you are diagnosed with hypo and the treatment is thyroxine and as you say ' that is that' you will learn from this site and the many sufferers , there is so much more to the thyroid gland and the many many nasty symptoms caused by it not functioning properly. Yes pain in all parts of the body is another symptom of hypothyroidism and hashi , you didn't mention fatigue but I would expect you to have it? I had difficulty getting in and out of the bath because of the pain in my knees so I opted for the shower but the dizziness made it unsafe so I struggled on with the bath! Carpel tunnel ( pain in wrists) made things difficult. . There are so many different symptoms and not every one is the same . You mentioned change in your voice and yes another symptom a friend always knows when I am having a bad day just by my voice. As for treatment and cure if you have hashi , sometimes difficult as nothing much can be done about the autoimmune disease and as it causes hypo the treatment is usually thyroxine, but I know from experience and research ( re dr Gordon skinner dr John Lowe) it is not that simple for many patients.it has been proved some people do not convert the t4 to the t3 so thyroxine will never make them completely well also some do better on natural dessicated thyroid I am afraid it is trial and error . I will leave it at that as I don't want to confuse you but others on the site may want to add some info that may be of help , I hope you have a listening doctor who will think outside the box and refer you for an ultrasound this was the clincher for me it showed shriveled very small and inflamed !! Good luck Jay

[Hidden in reply to Jaybrooke]

Hi Jay

Thanks for all the information, I just took for granted that being on thyroxine would help after years of feeling very unwell. I was pleased to have a reason why I'd be sleeping all day, having to think up reasons why I couldn't go to work, lie rather than saying I was tired beyond tired.. My original results were bad,

I have good "mood" days and some very low "mood" days.. I feel down most of the time but for the sake of my family (2 teenage boys and hubby) I get on with it, depression, pain in my body, especially in my ribs, soreness.. I won't go on.. My doctor is unfortunately not sympathetic, at my lowest ebb last week, looking quiet unwell, she said ' I don't believe these symptoms are your thyroid, you just look very fed up'

I switched off like a bulb going out at that point.

However, I will endeavour to find a doctor that will at least listen, and until then I will do my own research. 😀 Thanks for input. Sue

[Jaybrooke]

Hah ! How many times have I heard that ' these symptoms aren't thyroid' you just look very fed up ' of course you're fed up you're really ill and. In constant pain !! I would be surprised if your doc hasn't blamed all your symptoms on depression that is like a get out of jail card to most GP s . Yes you may be depressed but that is not the cause of all the awful things going on in your body it is a symptom!! You need to get to the bottom of this you have a husband children a home to run life doesn't stop just because you are ill, the trouble is sometimes you can look well and manage to cope and others don't understand how you feel on the inside . You probably have some days much better than others then boom it all starts up again. I would suggest you look for another doctor the one you have now has no understanding of thyroid disease , all a GP does is send TSH and T4 blood tests to the lab and when they come back normal hypo or hyper are dismissed , if they come back raised TSH low T4 the only answer they have is thyroxine and as you said that's an end to it . There is so much more to the thyroid gland . You said , I think, you feel gland is swollen and it certainly could be not always visible could be more inward just wondering do you have any difficulty swallowing . Ask or better still tell your NEW doctor you want a thyroid ultrasound for starters and the antibodies bloods would be good best of luck sy

[Hidden in reply to Jaybrooke]

Hi, good to hear back from you, I remember many years ago now, having a blood test done by a very good locum and she said that my antibodies were not right. Having no thyroid issues back then and knowing nothing about the future with these problems, I asked her what this meant she said she didn't know but would find out! She left the surgery and nothing more was ever said, until however when my work oc health nurse (after my hysterectomy due to endometriosis) she noticed my swollen throat, my husky voice and my overall appearance. She suggested thyroid check. She was right, when collecting my results the doc was surprised I could walk, even stand and told me not to drive they were so bad. She also said 'we were expecting this after the results of the antibodies all those years ago'

Thanks for giving me the heads up doc...

When I've worked (12+) hours my throat does feel blocked, I have difficulty swollowing tablets, thus get acid reflux, I can bend forward and literally just throw up.. Told GP, showed no interest!!

I have found a Gp in my practise that seems more interested..

Sorry for long speal...

I have started taking vit tablets after research and I feel pretty good (at the moment)

Thanks for reading this far!!

Sue

[Jaybrooke]

Hi sue , another case of bad doctoring should have looked into antibodies results when dealing with the hysterectomy and well done your nurse for spotting possible thyroid .i take it you are on thyroxine only as I said earlier you probably are not converting the T4 to T3 so you will never feel well , thyroxine is the usual meds for hypo and hashimotos but what is needed is the correct med for each individual patient and we are all different , some do well on T4 some onT3 some on T4+T3 and some on natural dessicated thyroid hormone . Certainly needs looking into , the swallowing difficulty acid reflux all part of hashimotos . I am not an expert it is only my bad experience years and years of being told there is nothing wrong connected to my thyroid and all my years of research . Others on this site will have more knowledge if you get a print out of your blood test results and vitamin tests ! Best wishes Jay