10 months ago I discovered that I have Hashimotos. At that moment my THS, T4, T3 were all normal, I just had antibodies. I had an ultrasound done and the results were:
Both lobes and istmus normal size. No abnormal vascularity. No evidence of any cervical lymphnodes seen. Few tiny thyroid nodules.
Tiny hypoechoic nodules -
Inferior pole of ride lobe 3.0x2.3x1.6 mm and 3.4x3.0x2.7 mm
superior pole 2.5x2.4.1.7 mm
inferior pole 3.6x3.4x1.9 mm and mid pole 2.9x2.4x0.8 mm
I didn't take it seriously at that moment because the nodules were tiny. But I was going through my papers and found this report again and noticed that these nodules are actually hypoechoic.
Do hypoechoic nodules always cause cancer?
The reason I'm so worried is that my sister had thyroid cancer and had her thyroid removed. She is fine now but she was just 21 when she was diagnosed.
95% of thyroid nodules are benign and although there may be an increased risk of malignancy when nodules are hypoechoic they don't always become malignant.
Your nodules are tiny and it is unlikely they will be able to do fine needle aspiration biopsies until the nodules are >1cm which may take years as nodules grow very slowly.
I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
I had a repeated ultrasound today privately showing that there are more nodules now in both lobes, some of them are bigger in size (the biggest is 6.5 mm x 4 mm). All of them are hypoechic. Is it consistent with hashimoto? I'm booked with GP but the appointment is only in 3 weeks time, and GP wasn't interested last time because hormones were within normal range. I wasn't even referred to ultrasound within NHS
6.5mm x 4mm are still very small, almost certainly too small to do a fine needle aspiration biopsy.
I don't think nodules are indicative of Hashimoto's although it's not uncommon to have both. Hashimoto's usually causes a coarse dark texture to the gland.
Thank you again for your kind reply. What questions do you think I may ask my GP? Do I need to be referred to Endocrinologist? Is it uncommon to have multiple nodules? I have quite a lot of them
Multiple nodules or multi-nodular goitres are fairly common. There's no need for referral to endocrinology until the nodules become large. Most nodules are slow growing so an annual scan to monitor their size will probably be sufficient. Once nodules are >1cm it will be possible to order a fine needle aspiration biopsy to rule out malignancy.
Ask your GP for your thyroid results and ranges and post them in a new question for advice.
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