Hashimotos does the swelling of the thyroid go up and down?

[Woodhouse]

I'm wondering if I might have Hashimotos as my symptoms go up and down. I'm trying to get GP to do antibodies tests to have definitive answer. Am going for an ultrasound of neck next week and was just wondering does the swelling in the neck go up and down. Or once it's swollen does it stay swollen?

[nicolajane]

Hi, I have Hashimotos and I can tell you that in my case the swelling seems to come and go and can last anything between a couple of days to a couple of months. I cant find any pattern to it but I believe (though I'm no expert) that with Hashimotos the thyroid can become swollen/inflamed when under attack from antibodies. Funnily enough though I never experienced any noticeable swelling until I started taking thyroxine. You definitely need an antibodies test - I managed to get my gp to do one after the ultrasound showed my thyroid was enlarged (though raised autoantibodies will make no difference to the treatment they give you). Hope this helps..