Goiter and other thyroid problems

After years of doctors feeling my neck and commenting on how small my thyroid is, my current doctor said, "Uh oh." My thyroid has enlarged. Not too much to be noticeable, but enough that my doctor could feel it.

Figures my mom's contributions to my genes would catch up to me (besides the stubborn 20+ pounds that refuse to go away). I'm surprised it took this long, though. Every woman on that side of the family with thyroid problems either went on medication or had surgery in their late teens or 20s. A cousin went through with the surgery, but because of improper intubation... well, she's no longer with us.

I'm concerned. I already have SI joint problems (but an SI belt helps with that), already have high cholesterol, and I might have acid reflux issues. I'm hoping that extra supplements will maintain the thyroid, maybe shrink it. My doctor put in for a referral, but it'll be a while until I hear from the hospital about a screening.

I have no idea yet if it's hypo- or hyperthyroidism, but I want to start preparing for treatment. Prepare myself for a lifetime of maintaining something that was once so low maintenance. I guess the first step is grieving the loss of not worrying about my thyroid and accepting that more "mom-side" health problems might arise.

Anyone else with thyroid problems? How did you deal with them, and are you still managing them?

I have hypthyroidism and yes it does run in my family. Both of my sisters have it as does a great aunt of mine. Currently I take 100 mcg of synthroid. I have been on synthroid for a few years now but have felt no reprieve from it. You mentioned that you put on some weight so chances are that you are hypo and not hyper because hypothyroidism slows the metabolism down.

Thyroid problems run in my mother's side of the family--my grandmother, aunt, mother, brother, and I have had these issues. It's hypothyroidism for me. Some years back I had been on Lexapro and my weight ballooned from around 180lbs to 237lbs, so I quit, then my weight plummeted in about a year back down to around 170lbs...and then it started mysteriously coming back. At my heaviest I got to around 255lbs, and that was when I was eating LESS. And then I was hit by the fatigue. My brother had recently gone through this, so I suspected the cause, and was then diagnosed in autumn 2012.

They put me on generic levothyroxine and changed the dosage over and over again...they kept telling me my levels were normal, but I never felt any better. My fatigue didn't diminish, my weight didn't go down, even my brittle fingernails didn't improve. Switched to brand-name Synthroid...same deal. Switched back to levothyroxine and upped the dosage for the umpteenth time. No change. Took prescription-level dosages of vitamins D and B12 whenever I tested low for those. No difference. Went on a sixth-month wait list for a specialist. Saw an endocrinologist who gave me all sorts of high hopes, tested more levels, then lowered my dosage again, told me to see a nutritionist, and bailed out of her practice and disappeared. ("Family issues," I guess. )

Seeing the nutritionist required attending some sort of conference with other people and then having to talk with her privately...just so she could give me advice on how to eat better, which I already knew wouldn't change anything...plus I have severe social anxiety and a bladder condition that would make attending a conference hell...so no thank you.

I even tried prescription appetite suppressants (though I didn't have much appetite to begin with--my gallbladder gave out around the same time my thyroid did) and stimulants such as Strattera, Ritalin, and Adderall...they made me feel ill and drowsy (!). Talked about trying out a different class of drugs like Provigil or Nuvigil for my fatigue, but Medicaid refused to cover them unless I take a sleep study (Medicaid would cover a sleep study, but not a medication??)...and again...anxiety, and bladder issues...so I gave up on that hope.

Finally a month or so ago I decided to try Armour Thyroid and my doctor agreed...but I still don't notice any significant changes. My weight seems to have gone down to around 230lbs (though I'm feeling fatter again, I'm too discouraged to keep track of it anymore), but that had happened before the medication change. I have yet to get my blood levels tested on Armour Thyroid and should be due for that soon, but I'm dealing with the bladder issue at the moment and can focus on only one thing at a time. I already know the answer, though..."normal." -_-

In 2012 the doctor told me I should feel improvement in about eight weeks. It's been four years now and I'm just so hopeless about it ever improving. My brother got better, but I haven't, and I don't understand that. And I can't think of a single thing left to try.

I have Hashimoto's which is a auto-immune type of hypothyroidism. My immune system attacks my own thyroid so I don't get enough hormones. I take synthroid supplements, but it's hard to keep my levels constant since my auto-immune system doesn't attack at a continuous level, it goes up and down depending on what's going on in my body. Even when they say the level is fine, or that the medicine has pushed me too far into hyperthyroid territory (and want to lower the dose, please no!) I'm always overweight and fatigued.