Swelling of thyroid

[Shrewsue]

Hi in 2008 I had a thy 3 follicular tumor on the right side of my thyroid gland resulting in the removal of half of the gland . Fortunately the tumor was benign .

I have recently found that the left side is now swollen & went to the doctors today & he is arranging a blood test & scan.

Has anyone else had the same thing happen ? & is it common for this to happen again ?

Thank you Sue x

[Clutter]

ShrewSue,

The blood test will show whether you have low thyroid levels. This can cause enlargement of the gland in order to increase thyroid production. It would be a good idea for your GP to test thyroid antibodies too.

The ultrasound scan will show whether the lobe is atrophied, enlarged, inflamed or whether there is a thyroid nodule on it. Autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto's) can cause inflammation or atrophy.

I had nodules on both sides of my thyroid gland although only the one on the left side was malignant.

[Shrewsue in reply to Clutter]

Thank you for the reply x

[jacsrab]

Hi there Shrewsue, I had my right lobe removed in March this year as it had a 4 cm mass which was pretty uncomfortable for sleeping etc. The biopsy confirmed that it was due to nodular Hashimotos thyroiditis so nothing to worry about but the reality is that it is the same autoimmune disease that is attacking the other side now. My left side is swollen , sometimes worse than other times, depending on my stress levels, I think! I'm waiting for another ultrasound to see what is happening. My blood tests have been TSH of 8 and then back down to 3.8, so there's definitely something going on. I read that some Doctors recommend a therapeutic dose of thyroid hormone but it seems to depend who you go to.I wonder if taking a low dosage would take the pressure of the remaining thyroid, but maybe it doesn't work like that?

It sometimes aches and feels as tho it's inflamed. I take some ibroprofen which seems to help, altho this may just be psychological as much as anything else!

It's difficult to assess how swollen one side is when you haven't got the other side to compare it with, isn't it?

[Shrewsue in reply to jacsrab]

Yes I know exactly what you mean it's difficult to tell , I'm struggling to swallow at the moment on the left as well.

Blood test tomorrow & been referred fir a scan so time will tell , thank you for your reply goid to sisal to people who know what I'm talking about , good luck x

[Shrewsue in reply to Shrewsue]

'Talk'

[jacsrab in reply to Shrewsue]

How are you now? I'm off to the consultant soon as I feel the left side needs investigating and is feeling more swollen.