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[wearyWanderer]

Hi there,

I really hope you can help me. My medical story is long and so i will start with a quick question about the thyroid before i go into detail about my history as i might just get what i am looking for without boring you all to death.

I have looked at many thyroid diagrams and they all seem to depict the top of the gland stopping roughly in line with the pointy bone that sticks out. Is this the same for everybody with a health thyroid gland or does it vary from person to person. Also, are they always symentrical ?

Thanks for your time !

All the best

WW

[Marz]

Hi - you can type your Medical History onto your Profile page to save having to repeat yourself and members can refer to it.

Yes the thyroid can inhabit different areas- even in the chest ! - but mostly in the lower neck ...

[wearyWanderer in reply to Marz]

thanks for your response and suggestion.

my thyroid seems to extend up my neck a good inch above the points bone and is large at the top on one side.

it also feels like cartillige rubbing on cartalidge in my neck when i swallow which has become uncomfortable.

just wondering if it might be enlarged

[Marz in reply to wearyWanderer]

Have you had a scan ? Is your thyroid causing a problem ? Not all thyroids are perfect butterflies - but worth checking 😊 Do you have Hashimotos ?

[wearyWanderer in reply to Marz]

I am going to talk to my GP about it this tuesday. No scan yet or any thyroid related diagnosis.

Basically I have been ill for about 2.5 years (I will do my history later) and doctors have stuggled to decide what the issue is. I have kept a journal about how it is a feel during my worst days and upon reflecting on it i keep mentioning that swallowing feels strange. My Dentist said my thyroid was enlarged without me even mentioning it. Now it would be very easy to think that a doctor would have noticed but i have been on steroids while i have been sick and am trying to come off them. They have a antiinflamitory effect and i wonder if by coming off them it is revealing an enlarged thyroid because it is being allowed to become inflamed.

I came to this forum because i thought i might see if there was anything to this and came across the thyroiduk website. I seem to tick the box for nealry all hyperthyroid symtoms including. Large appetite but loosing weight with almost no muscle, muscle weekness to the point that somethimes my legs just fold up on me when attempting to get to the bathroom, terrible bowel issues, extreme thirst, dizzy/drunk feeling and at times an enlared breast. (i am male).

I did have a thyroid test about a year or so ago and the Dr who reviewed the results (not my GP) noted that i may have signs of early hyperthyroidism.

FREE THYROXINE * 22.4 pmol/l from a lab range of 12.0 - 22.0

I will leave i there for now but it has become quite interesting. I am looking for anything because I have felt so bad that after this amount of time I really want my life back. At the moment i need help making lunch.

[Marz in reply to wearyWanderer]

You need the correct testing to rule out Hashimotos or Graves.

thyroiduk.org

There you will find the Private Companies that do the tests the NHS do not under the heading - About Testing.

If the FT3 result is over range you could be Hyper - but that wasn"t tested ...

[wearyWanderer in reply to Marz]

thanks for your help.

Interestingly the test i had was from medichecks and that is listed on the website, under private companies.

My results were..

Thyroid Function

THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE 2.15 mIU/L 0.27 - 4.2

FREE THYROXINE * 22.4 pmol/l 12.0 - 22.0

TOTAL THYROXINE(T4) 91 nmol/L 59 - 154

FREE T3 5.9 pmol/L 3.1 - 6.8

REVERSE T3 19 ng/dL 10 - 24

Result from Referral Laboratory ID [894].

REVERSE T3 RATIO 20.21 15.01 – 75.00

Thyroglobulin Antibody 11.6 IU/mL 0-115

Method used for Anti-Tg: Roche Modular

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies <9.0 IU/mL 0 - 34

Method used for Anti-TPO: Roche Modular

Thyroid Function

THYROXINE BINDING GLOBULIN 14.3 mg/L 10.90- 27.10

It will be interesting to see what my GP says on tuesday as this test was over a year ago and i didnt have the throat complaint i have developed in the last 9 months or so.

[Marz in reply to wearyWanderer]

Maybe time for more up to date tests and a scan ... The above results seem fine but things could have changed.

[wearyWanderer in reply to Marz]

ok thats great. thanks for your keen eye.

Two last questions for now.

1. do thyroid hormones fluctuate during the day ? if so in what way ?

2. How quickly can thyroid hormones change ie, could you be considered normal one day but not the following week ?

[Marz in reply to wearyWanderer]

TSH is higher early in the morning . Sorry that's all I know ... we are all so individual too.

[humanbean]

Goiters / goitres (enlarged, swollen thyroids) are quite common. Goitres can develop in hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.

nhs.uk/conditions/goitre/

[wearyWanderer in reply to humanbean]

thanks