Thyroid scan

[Welchy1]

Well I had my first thyroid ultrasound since diagnosis of Hashimotos 7 years ago. The sonographer was surprised that neither my GP or Endo had sent me for one until now. The reason for having the scan was to rule out an enlarged thyroid causing the terrible throat tightness I seem to be suffering from..

If I wasn't lying down already I would have fallen off over when I was told " your thyroid is now tiny and completely shrivelled.." Its so small as a result of the antibody attack that there is no way it can be causing your throat tightness...

In a sense I was relieved... that maybe this means the Hashi immune attacks will be over soon as there will be no thyroid left... But I am nervous about entering another Rabbit hole for throat tightness...

[Rmichelle]

Hi there i think yiu will find alit of people on this forum with throat tightness and hashis, i am one of them, i was diagnosed in july as hashis and are due to have my 2nd thyroid scan very soon, my 1st scan revealed nodules and thickening of isthmus, i have tightness and the being breathless and i have been sure all along that sonething is causing a pressure on my trachea, my endo is doing another scan as i am not happy with my symptons of uncomfortable feeling in the trachea and throat clearing and sometimes swallowing problems, previous to being diagnosed i had a endoscopy, barium swallow scan, 2 lyranoscopies at ENT, and inhalers. I was hyperthyroid but have now hit hypo on titration doses of carbimazole. Im sure others will respond, was thyroid was of normal size.😊

[Rmichelle in reply to Rmichelle]

Sorry for spelling errors havent got specs on!!😨 meant to say scan was in keeping with hashis and normal size thyroid-im sure others will respond.x

[Welchy1 in reply to Rmichelle]

No worries - my spelling's no better....

[Welchy1 in reply to Rmichelle]

Wow, Rmichelle, you have been through the mill. You have my sympathy.. I have periods where the tightness disappears (after eating normally or drinking) but then will come back a little later... like I have something stuck in it..

The sonographer suggested I ask for an ENT referral.. but I see a lot of discussion on here that it might be linked to low stomach acid which is common in Hashis sufferers... Which is why I am nervous of going down the 'conventional rabbit hole' I've tried apple cider vinegar and enzymes but neither really worked..

[Rmichelle in reply to Welchy1]

Yep been there done that-mine is thyroid connected 100% as it only started just before diagnosis, docs even said twice it was a virus and then given ppis to take for acid reflux but it was not that even though i do have a hiatul hernia, forgot to mention that i also had a CTscan as they thought it may have been a clot on my lung, even though i kept telling them no pain in the chest!!

Do you have any nodules?

Dont be surprised if somewhere along the line gps will say it is acid reflux and prescribe you ppis, they tend to do this when they cant find anything wrong and they dish these out like sweeties-you can also look into older posts on here and find other people with the same problem..xx

[Apollo11 in reply to Rmichelle]

Yes, I was prescribed ppis as in late 2017 I was suffering from a lot of mucus in my throat which was verified when the consultant looked down my throat with a small camera.

I too have nodules, one 8mm in the isthmus (other 4mm), and I get a tight feeling in the throat at that exact area. Consultant said nodules can’t cause the tight feeling but I believe that they sometimes can. I also have a clicking larynx when I swallow, the click is also from the same area as the nodule.

I didn’t take the ppis as I didn’t believe it to be reflux and they have a lot of side effects. I’ve been using a Selenium supplement along with Curcumin and B12, also an external Magnesium spray. After a month the mucus is 90% better and the clicking 60% better. Throat tightness 50% better and it feels like the nodule is decreasing slightly in size.

[Rmichelle in reply to Apollo11]

Wow, i have this clicking noise too but failed to mention it, so glad you mentioned it, mine has been better recently but still get it, yes i also get trapped mucous,my ferritin and folate are dire and i supplement these now, so is selenium the answer as i dont take that, my b12i s top range. My nodules are 5mm in size and isthmus 4mm and my endo said the same but i do think they are to be blamed as i knowvmy nodules are on my left side and can feel them swell and press on trachea and will do my best to get rid of them. I have another scan being done on the 5th march as im not happy. I did take the ppis for 2 months and never took them again-poison.😊😊

[Apollo11 in reply to Rmichelle]

It’s good to meet someone else with very similar nodule location on the Isthmus. I’m uncertain if Selenium is the answer but I did start taking this first at around 5 weeks ago so it can’t hurt to take it. I am told that any nodule below 1cm isn’t worth having the fine needle aspiration. So essentially a watch and wait approach, pretty much what I am doing. Don’t worry about the clicking apparently a lot of people get it. I’ll check my ferritin level too, that’s one thing I hadn’t checked so thank you.

Other changes I made were to completely eliminate coffee, most sugary stuff and to start gentle yoga. Maybe some of these things helped too. I was told by the consultant radiologist that much of the population are walking around with thyroid nodules and that actually she had one herself, found incidentally years ago when teaching students how to perform a neck scan, so that made me feel a bit better

[Rmichelle in reply to Apollo11]

Good you are not worried, i am not however i have been told if you think the nodules are causing you difficulty then you can get them removed cancerous or not, the list of symptons are uncorfortable feeling on trachea, swallowing probs, cough, clearing throat and breathlessness-i tick all these boxes so i am fighting to be rid of tbem, i have requested disc of my scan on thyroid from november, i sort of have little faith in the medical profession as they get so many things incorrect and they are not always correct in saying it cant cause you any problems!! I think we have to take charge sometimrs. What strength of selenium do you take?

[Apollo11 in reply to Rmichelle]

I take this one, hollandandbarrett.com/shop/...

One tablet a day and also Curcumin from the same place, one tablet a day, B12 one a day, all with food. Would recommend the magnesium external spray they sell there too. Also have started to have one tablespoon Virgin coconut oil per day. It’s a lot to try I know but if it even alleviates 50% of symptoms then it’s worth trying. I know what you mean about the symptoms, I have got to the point many times of the symptoms getting me down but try not to let it anymore. If I was to guess I would say a combination of Curcumin and Selenium is good to fight thyroid issues and inflammation. The other items probably help in their own way too. Hoping that this is of some help to you.

[Rmichelle in reply to Apollo11]

Thankyou very kindly Apollo11 i agree i tend to get on with it now and like you said if it is a little better it is better than no improvement, i have been umming and rring for ages over selenium and i will start rattling soon. I have seen a jar of organic natural coconut oil (looks quite gloopy) in my local pharmacy £14.99 i thought it maybe a good investment.😊

[Apollo11 in reply to Rmichelle]

I think Selenium and Curcumin are definitely worth a look. Yes, I got much the same jar of Organic coconut oil. It took some getting used to having a tablespoon of it every day but I quite like it now 😊 Best of luck and hope you are feeling better soon

[Welchy1 in reply to Rmichelle]

Yes, I have a nodule on the left side which the sonographer said is 'quite common and likely benign so not worth worrying or taking action over...'. He didn't really expand further... I take Vit D, selenium, magnesium and probably ought to get my B12 checked again....

[Rmichelle in reply to Welchy1]

But if it is causing problems you should push it, i think i need to get my backside to holland and barratt i think for selenium-have you had any side effects from it?

[Welchy1 in reply to Rmichelle]

I havent noticed any side effects no.... but I have noticed improvements either... I was advised to avoid Holland & Barrett due to all the fillers and additives that go in their vits... I try and buy from Natures Best online...

[Rmichelle]

If you go into your profile and then scroll down to search and type in tight throat, i dont bother with the anxiety posts as i know it is not that.xxx