Thyroiditis

[Mac2013]

I am a 64 year old female and after being diagnosed with endometrial cancer (successfully treated) in Feb 2022, I was then diagnosed with suspected thyroid cancer in Mar 23 after a large goiter appeared on the RHS of my neck.

However, after a FNA and core biopsy this was subsequently diagnosed as Thyroiditis.

The hospital discharged me back into primary care after the last ultrasound in July, showed a significant reduction in the nodule size and I am now monitored through my GP since September 23 and offered no further advice on how to support my thyroid.

During this time I have also discovered that my BP and cholesterol have risen (but apparently within the range of normal for my age) and I am also prediabetic.

My BMI is in range and I eat healthily and exercise daily and I am learning how to manage my stress better but with x3 elderly parents x2 with Alzheimer’s and the other at 93 with mild cognitive impairment that’s not so easy…….

My GP has been incredibly supportive though out all this time and is monitoring my TSH 6 monthly and my last TSH had increased from 4.5 up to 6.5 and she now believes my thyroid may have become permanently hypothyroid and require medication. We are testing TSH again in two weeks.

I am concerned after reading numerous posts here that the full testing needed and advice may not have been provided and I could be doing much more for myself to help my thyroid recover or to diagnose appropriate treatment if required and even more worrying how can I be confident that I am doing all I can at this time…….. I am concerned right now and incredibly grateful to have found your site!

[Bertwills]

Hello, welcome to this forum. You’ve had a rough time from the sound of it. You’re definitely hypothyroid. Your TSH is showing that already. The NHS is slow to diagnose hypothyroidism but your TSH reading is out of range already so there wasn’t really any need to make you wait for another test.

There’s a great deal of information available here and from Thyroid UK. It’s a good idea to read as much as you can as the NHS doesn’t treat hypothyroidism well. I recommend reading posts here and looking at the Thyroid Uk main site for information . It’s possible that your GP won’t be the best source of information. The more you educate yourself the better your health will be.

Hopefully you will be given a starter dose of levothyroxine (T4) when you next visit the GP with a test 6 weeks later before an increase in dose. The T4 is replacement thyroid hormone not a drug. Your rising cholesterol , blood pressure & prediabetes are likely caused by your hypothyroidism. Once on the correct dose of T4 these should reduce. Don’t accept statins, they aren’t recommended for people with hypothyroidism.

As you were diagnosed as having thyroiditis this means you have Hashimoto’s disease and you body is producing thyroid antibodies.

Your goitre should disappear when you are taking T4, mine did but some doctors will say otherwise.

Many people on this forum use private blood tests to get a better picture of their health. Many use Medichecks but there are other options. The NHS generally uses the TSH reading only which is inadequate & sometimes misleading. Do post more questions.

[Mac2013 in reply to Bertwills]

Thank you for your advice and guidance. I will do further research. I was actually diagnosed as having subacute thyroiditis that had caused the goitre and told that it would settle over time which it did in regards to improvements in the goiter.

However, I was also told that I may become hypothyroid which was the reason for referral back to GP for monitoring.

I am concerned that I will start on medication and feel worse as right now my symptoms are pretty minimal and I am mostly managing them with diet and lifestyle pretty well but very concerned that I’m clearly not managing the deterioration in my metabolic health

Will keep researching as you advise 🙏🏾 but would welcome any further advise from others who may have experienced similar.

[Bertwills in reply to Mac2013]

You are already hypothyroid so mananaging your symptoms with diet etc is not going to do much in the long run. You shouldn’t feel worse taking hormone replacement although it’s true that as you start & build you dose you might have more symptoms which will reduce as your dose increases. Remember it’s not medication but simply replacing a hormone that your body is no longer producing in high enough quantities.

There’s a very good question & answers in yesterdays list. See if you can find it. Titled RA by teresaE1971. You can search with her name. It covers so much of the information that you need.

If you’d like more info do post more questions. Best way to learn