Does my neck look suspicious? : My doctor has... - Thyroid UK

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Does my neck look suspicious?

11 Replies

My doctor has booked me in for an ultrasound because my lower neck is sometimes swollen. Im still waiting for a confirmed date and I'm absolutely obsessed with it!! I get anxious on a night and can't sleep. I've been told it may just be a generally fat neck. I can't decide if it looks normal. I'm completely neurotic about it.

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11 Replies
Marz profile image
Marz

Have you had a blood test for your thyroid ? These are the tests you need - TSH - FT4 - FT3 and the anti-bodies Anti-TPO and Anti-Tg.

I would say your neck does look swollen and you have the tell-tale sign of the lines like necklaces around the neck - alerting observers to the thyroid. This is possibly an old wives tale - but was told to me by a Greek Doc who always knew when someone had a thyroid problem as the two lines on the neck gave it away :-) I live in Crete and observing the patient is still part of the diagnosis.

If you are wishing to speed things up then could you have some private testing done through Thyroid UK ..... ?

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Being anxious can be a low thyroid symptom - along with Low B12 - so have the suggested Vitamins and minerals tested too. B12 - Ferritin - Folate - Iron - VitD.

in reply to Marz

I was tested last year and my bloods fell just inside normal range. They tested me because I was tired and I have dry skin in various places. I haven't been tested for a while. I'm so self conscious about my neck at the moment. One doctor had me convinced it was all in my head and another told me it was 'fatty deposits'. It's only since moving to a new town and getting a new doc that I feel I'm being listened to- but now I'm worrying that I am wasting doctors time!! Ugh! I worry about everything

greygoose profile image
greygoose

How long has it been like that? I, personally, don't believe in the 'fat neck' theory. People don't have fat necks. And, if they did, it would be fat all the way up, not just at the bottom. It could be a temporary swelling of the thyroid, though. Have you had an infection lately? You really do need the blood tests, as Marz suggests. :)

Beverleyb profile image
Beverleyb in reply to greygoose

I had a fat neck greygoose as I have mentioned to spekticalface, perhaps thats why GPs ignored mine for so long, but I also had a definite lump at the side of my thyroid, which the doctors shouldnt have ignored.

Beverleyb profile image
Beverleyb

Your neck does look like mine did at one time, it does look like a line of fat, i had put on weight (unusual for me) ,so GPs ignored it, I did have a definite lump though. Its good you are having a scan as mine was like that foe 10 years, turned out i had a goitre diagnosed by a ENT consultant I saw about a snoring problem .

in reply to Beverleyb

I've also put on weight and reallllly struggling to get it off. I dunno what scares me more! Them finding something or them not finding something!

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to

Do you have copies of your last thyroid tests ? Do post them with ranges and members will help. Docs will say normal - when they mean in range. It is where you are in the range that is important initially.

in reply to Marz

They tested my TSH

1st Feb 2015 - 11

2nd June 2015 - 3.9

26th Aug 2015 - 4.29

Because they normalised they told me not to worry any more.

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to

Nothing normal about those results - normal is an opinion and NOT a result :-) Look at the link below about understanding Thyroid results. You also need results for FT4 - FT3 and thyroid anti-bodies Anti-TPO and Anti-Tg.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Check out the third column. Also look around the website and learn as much as you can about the thyroid and the Testing .... There is Private Testing available under one of the menu headings -- used by many here.

Diti profile image
Diti in reply to

Hi, I have the same problem. I am 33 years old, height-5,2, 51 kg. I have neck lines, and it looks swollen. My doc said it neck fat and nothing can be done about it. I am very conscious. And keep thinking what can i do about it. Have you found any solution, please share, It will be a great help. Thanks

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK in reply to Diti

When you see a user name of Hidden, it means that the person is no longer a member of this forum.

We often close posts that were originated by people who have left - there is no point in wasting our time making replies. Occasionally, the thread might still be active and popular and will be left. More often, it is simply a case of none of the admins noticing!

If you wish to call your post to the attention of another member, such as someone on the old thread, you can follow this Help topic:

support.healthunlocked.com/...

I shall now close it to replies. I suggest you write a new post - I expect you will get some responses from current, active members.

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