[kittyfaye]

It's just a shot in the dark, but I thought about it.
Last year my GP felt a lump on my thyroid and it turned out it was a thyroid nodule. I had an ultrasound on it, and had a biopsy. (god that hurt.) Anyway, the biopsy came back benign. I'm glad that it was benign, but nothing else has been done about it. They didn't check my thyroid levels or nothing. They never called me back for a follow-up either. I've been on ad after ad for three years now and nothing has seemed to work. I'm depressed, have social anxiety and anxiety attacks, and have pretty bad mood swings. Could there be a possibility that this thyroid nodule is causing hormone levels to be out of whack?

[glok]

Hello, kittyfaye. Have you asked your treatment team?

[kittyfaye]

No I have not, I don't go to that GP anymore. I have to go to a free clinic now and I'm not sure if they'd do anything either. :/

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[SnakeCharmer]

I have thyroid issues. It's really up to you to take the lead on this.

Ask the free clinic if they will test your T3, T4, and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone.)

Tell them about your symptoms of anxiety, depression and mood swings, as well as things like dry skin, temperature intolerance, rapid or slow bowels, sweating, hands shaking, changes in your period and so on.

Thyroid problems can have symptoms that manifest as mental health issues, but they're really caused by too much or too little thyroid hormone.

They may examine your hands or neck or shins, with touching, but they are not acting weird. They are looking for outward signs. Many thyroid problems are visible to a trained eye.

Not all thyroid nodules cause problems. My best friend has nodules, but her thyroid levels are normal. I have thyroid issues, too, but not nodules. It's worth getting checked out, but you may have to bring it to the free clinic's attention and specifically asked for the above tests. They are simple blood tests, not painful, and nowhere near as expensive as diagnosing nodules and doing a biopsy. Good luck!

[kittyfaye]

Originally Posted by SnakeCharmer

I have thyroid issues. It's really up to you to take the lead on this.

Ask the free clinic if they will test your T3, T4, and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone.)

Tell them about your symptoms of anxiety, depression and mood swings, as well as things like dry skin, temperature intolerance, rapid or slow bowels, sweating, hands shaking, changes in your period and so on.

Thyroid problems can have symptoms that manifest as mental health issues, but they're really caused by too much or too little thyroid hormone.

They may examine your hands or neck or shins, with touching, but they are not acting weird. They are looking for outward signs. Many thyroid problems are visible to a trained eye.

Not all thyroid nodules cause problems. My best friend has nodules, but her thyroid levels are normal. I have thyroid issues, too, but not nodules. It's worth getting checked out, but you may have to bring it to the free clinic's attention and specifically asked for the above tests. They are simple blood tests, not painful, and nowhere near as expensive as diagnosing nodules and doing a biopsy. Good luck!

Thanks, I'll mention that to them next time I go in. I do have some of those symptoms like irregular periods, my fingernails break when they grow barely over my fingers , and I sweat a lot.

[Perna]

It's an easy blood test to get your thyroid levels checked. But a nodule does not necessarily have anything to do with it (they may have checked your levels at some point and they were "normal" so they just didn't pursue that and didn't mention to you since it was not a problem). I have a tumor in my adrenal gland that was not discovered until my appendix burst in 2003 (when I was 53) and they did 3-day urine tests, MRIs, etc. and sent me to see an endocrinologist who explained to me the symptoms I should look out for if something was going wrong with the hormones being produced but, otherwise -- oh, well, it sits there and occasionally, every few years my GP may have me have an MRI or hormone tests, etc.

I have found that correct hormone levels are kind of like vitamins, they're necessary but not magic bullets that solve all that is wrong with us. I have to take my thyroid pill daily but over time I haven't noticed that big a difference. It's like being thirsty or something and you drink that water and aren't thirsty anymore but you aren't anything else either, you just forget what feeling so thirsty feels like, just that you don't want that again. I don't think most of our symptoms come from just one cause. I'm still tired sometimes now, but suspect it is meds, sleep quality, etc., there's too many other factors that make up the whole.

[-jimi-]

I'm not sure about legal matters there but if it was me I would ask for a copy of my chart including labs. And see for myself which tests were made.

If they never ran any thyroid labs, that makes them quite arrogant IMO.