Friday, February 21, 2014

Answers to my Big Neck, Large Thyroid, Wacky Hormone Problems

I had my BIG thyroid specialist doctor appointment last Friday. I wasn't nervous. I knew of the issues based on blood work and ultrasounds that my other doctor had already completed. 

I wrote about my initial symptoms and thyroid issues in this post. To break it down: I have put on a TON of weight in a short time since babies, I am tired all the time, I am always cold, I have extremely dry skin, and I  just don't feel like myself. Oh, and I have a GIANT neck!

Dr. Sokol is amazing! I have never had a doctor take that much time to really dig deep into my medical history. He spent an hour going over all of my past tests, charts, biopsies, ultrasounds, and listening to my stories. He explained everything as he went and made me feel extremely confident and comfortable with his expertise.

Yes, I have hypothyroidism. I will now be on Synthroid medicine the rest of my life. I will need it to regulate the thyroid gland. He made it clear that my thyroid glands were both so large he wasn't sure that the meds will actually shrink the size of them. But the meds will help with all of the other above mentioned symptoms. I already am starting to feel more like myself. I feel like I am in a better mood after only a week of taking the medication. 

I do have to get another biopsy done this spring. My thyroid gland has grown 60% in 18 months so he is a "tiny bit" concerned about thyroid lymphoma. Of course, this sucks and is scary to think about. Dr. Sokol followed this statement up with that he is nearly certain this is not the case but wants to rule it out entirely. 

One of our conversations involved Dr. Sokol mentioning that he wished I had seen him back when I was 21 and the goiter was first noticed. (I was never referred to a specialist since my TSH levels were always fine.) He said that I may have never had infertility issues and I definitely wouldn't be in the position that I am now. 

Yes, it ticks me off that this entire 4 year infertility battle could've been avoided. However, I would NEVER in a million years wish it away. Jeremy and I would not have Max and Harper without those four years of struggle. It was meant to be. I wouldn't change it. 

Now I just take my lovely, yellow pill every morning (FOR...EV...ER-imagine this in the voice from The Sandlot movie) and hope that my symptoms continue to improve. I am hoping they do. I am ready to be back!

-Lisa-

6 comments:

  1. Hope your symptoms resolve very quickly!!!

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  2. Oh goodness, so glad you got some answers, but like you said, it's at the right time! Hope you feel better soon xoxo

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  3. Hmm, what are the measurements of a huge goiter?
    it does not look prominent on the profile photo:)

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    1. I'm not sure the exact number. It is noticeable though when looking. The profile picture was before pregnancy and it had grown quite a bit since then.

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  4. Just for your information, the average volume of thyroid (adult female, US) is 7.3 ml (cu. cm). The WHO (2003) sets 18 ml volume as an upper limit for adult female.
    The cystic (fluid –filled) and complex nodules can shrink after PEI (ethanol injection) procedure.
    All the best!

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  5. This doctor sounds amazing. I'm so glad he's getting to the bottom of all this and wants to rule out lymphoma as well. Scary as it is, I have no doubt of that, better to know for sure and be able to take care of it before it's too late should it actually be positive. Also glad to hear that you are feeling a little back to normal and like your old self!

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