View Full Version : thyroid or neck lump - I am seriously screwed aren't I?
Hello,
I posted in the medical procedures bit but thought I would also post on here to see if anyone has been through anything similar.
I am a 34 year old female and I am having an ultrasound on my thyroid as there is a lump there, my mum also has severe thyroid issues where she had radioactive iodine to kill her thyroid. I had to force the doctor to have a proper look and feel, as first she just said 'its nothing just a gland' when i told her about it .Then she felt it and referred me for an ultrasound. So I went from relief to abject terror in 0.2 seconds. I have been out of control worried ever since, so much so that I have booked a private ultrasound for this tuesday (the doc said NHS US appointment would arrive by 6 weeks) at 5:30pm, i have never had an ultrasound before and waiting for results etc is just not something I am very good at, infact right now I feel like an insane person.
I have had CBT for very bad panic attacks I had when I was younger, and have not had a panic attack in about 6 years which is good, I used to just get them out of the blue... now it feels like I am about to go on the scariest rollercoaster ride, I cannot eat, have not eaten in roughly three days, I am just obsessed that it is not my thyroid and that I have some awful disease that has spread. I'm so scared of the ultrasound, not of it itself, but of what they will find that even imagining being there is killing me.
i had abnormal cells in my smear test a few years ago, and although i was worried it was nothing like this, and I managed to get through it even with the long NHS waiting times. Stuff in the neck near and wind pipe really creeps me out. A LOT.
Basically I am going absolutely bonkers, planning my own funeral in my head, went to watch Independence Day at the cinema on Friday and cried the whole way through non-stop, you can imagine people thought I was pretty odd getting so emotional over some aliens lol. when i got back to the car I broke down totally, could not breathe, almost went to hospital but eventually i calmed down and basically went catatonic till the next day.
Just wanted to share my story and writing it down seems to seriously help. I keep praying this lump will be gone everytime I wake up.. but its still there. It started off as a sore throat last weekend and last Monday I saw the lump, it just appeared so suddenly....I'm at the point I am hoping it is my thyroid and not anything else really bad.
Hope everyone is ok today :) thanks for reading I know its a bit TL;DR.
Hi,
There are glands throughout the neck, and since you had a sore throat and then noticed the lump, perhaps it could be glandular, but if not, it doesn't necessarily mean that this is something serious. I speak from experience!
A couple of years ago I had a very similar series of events to yours. I had been feeling unwell - sore throat, aching neck and then out of the blue, I felt my neck and noticed a lump on one side, right next to my thyroid location. When I swallowed, I could literally see it moving up and down. To say I was freaked out is an understatement.
Like you, I was very worried it was serious. It didn't hurt me, it just looked so noticeable, to the point I wore a thick, beaded choker necklace to hide it.
I saw my doctor who referred me urgently for an ultrasound (so that also scared me witless as it was urgent) The scan showed that it was a thyroid cyst. It was a doctor who did the scan, and he sat there for what seemed like an eternity, studying the lump. They can tell if it is a cyst or solid by how it looks on the ultrasound.
To cut a long story short - after a big fight with the NHS, who wanted to operate to remove the cyst, at which I dug my heels in, as I KNEW a cyst could simply be drained - I ended up going privately to see a Consultant Endocrine Surgeon, who was horrified that the NHS would waste money on full surgery, when it could be drained in 5 minutes with a needle and syringe. He did it right there and then in his office!!
Anyway, I just wanted to illustrate here that a neck lump does NOT have to mean something bad. I was just as scared as you, and mine turned out to be easily solved.
Stay strong! I am sure things will be fine for you too. x:hugs:
Hi Debs!
Wow i was not expecting such a detailed and thoughtful reply! You are a star!
Yes the NHS do love the ol' surgery route, my mum also had a big fight as they wanted to remove her thyroid completely..eventually a brilliant consultant suggested the iodine treatment and she is now doing very well!
I can see the darn thing moving up and down when I swallow too, it totally creeps me out, I want to just cut it out myself almost (I won't do that obviously lol) but its so awful just seeing it there, being all lumpy and vile!
Weirdly I feel a little guilty going for the private option for the ultrasound, not sure why, feel like I'm cheating the system or something, but there is no way in hell I could go up to 6 weeks feeling like this, no way in hell! They couldn't even fit me in for the blood test until next wednesday, and then I would have to wait a week for those results... just nope :(
I have made another doc appointment with a GP guy (in my GP you end up seeing different ones each time) but this GP is very calming and knowledgeable so I want to ask him some things before I go for the ultrasound and bloodtest, as when I saw the GP who referred me for the ultrasound I was literally stunned into scared silence like a total idiot!
I will let you know how i get on after all this on Tuesday evening, thanks again for taking the time to reply you have no idea how much it means to me.
:)
Sorry I can't be of much help. I can only imagine how you are feeling especially with your Mother experiencing thyroid issues. My Mam had similar issues last year and had a thyroid 'mass', it was causing other symptoms too which ceased after the mass was removed. All benign. I'm sure yours will be a similar situation.
It must be awful knowing your Mum has thyroid issues as no doubt you feel this is in your future too (my Dad has an underactive thyroid and I've had some of the symptoms however mine is fine, I still feel like eventually it will happen to me though).
Good luck hope everything turns out fine, I'd say try not to worry but it isn't that easy is it.
Hi link!
No worries at all. I hope it helps you to have someone else who can totally relate to your fears about this bloody horrible thing.
Don't feel AT ALL guilty about going private. That is your right, and if the NHS don't like it, then they need to up their game and see patients such as you more promptly. You have every right to seek out other options that work better for your piece of mind.
I think that seeing another GP for a chat is a great idea. It helps to get your mind in a more informed place.
I was livid with the attitude of the NHS doctors I saw. When I had my consultation, I refused the surgery, so the more junior doctor that I saw scuttled off, and dragged in a very arrogant and patronising Consultant who basically told me 'well there is no other way, and that is the way it is, and we need to get rid of ALL the cyst to deal with this, blah, blah, blah.'
I was crying with frustration when I left. That is when I did a giant Google search and found the fantastic and lovely doctor in the private sector, who informed me that the NHS doctor was talking total balls, and he would just drain it for me.
Yep, please keep us informed as to how you get on. I am certain things will be ok for you! xx:hugs:
hi debs! that is awful to be left in tears and frustrated like that, excellent that you were strong
enough to take things into your own hands to get another opinion and treatment! you inspire me to be strong in my own convictions.
keekee, your reply helps immensely! so
you HAVE helped by just taking the time to reply :) thank
you so much!
i am ofcourse grateful for the NHS and for the most they do a wonderful job, no denying it, but you are right Debs i shouldnt feel guilty for needing to hurry things along! it just weirded me out how the dismissive the doctor was, i was half way out the door when i asked them to check it properly ha! i am glad i was assertive enough as usually i will just agree and walk off! im not very pushy by nature.
i have my gp app on tuesday morning early so i will update on here after it, just to let you know how it went with this other GP :)
thanks again, you wonderful creatures!!! :)
Hello! I wanted to update on how it went today :)
Well the private place had 'lost' my appointment..naturally...said I couldnt have the ultrasound ect.. queue a very tearful me, but then they felt guilty about the mess up and managed to get the radiologist to come and do it an hour later... By that point I was just relieved it was actually happening!
Had the ultrasound and it went really well, not half as scary as I had imagined, I was a bit worried by the beeping thinking it was beeping every time a tumour was there haha, but no that is the case incase anyone is wondering lol.
So I have some thyroid 'nodules' which apparently are very common (more so in ladies) and nothing to get worried about, one of the nodules had a bleed into my thyroid...which caused my big nasty cyst! So that is that, it is a cyst. Relieved doesn't even describe it. Apparently when things on the thyroid appear quite suddenly and are 'dramatic looking' like mine it usually indicates a cyst from a bleed from a nodule. Weird eh :) It should slowly reabsorb on its own, can take a good few weeks for this, but I don't need any further tests on it like biopsy etc which is one of the things I was really scared of.
I'm going to have my blood test tomorrow for thyroid function, back with the NHS now (and to be fair they had sent me the letter for the NHS ultra sound today for the 21st July, so they were not too bad in getting me seen) but I am so happy I had it done today and got the results straight away. So now to get my thyroid function checked, discuss my ultrasound with GP and then if I need meds/treatment for my thyroid then that is fine. Knowing it is not something sinister growing there is such a big relief! I trust the doctors completely, they don't mess around with things like this and I'm glad my GP referred me although I kind of hated her for a few days haha.
Hope everyone is ok and thank you Debs and Keekee for replying and keeping me sane, you helped immensely! My mind is my own worst enemy but at least didn't end up with hospital with a huge panic attack so that's a bonus!
Thanks again!! :) :hugs:
Hi there. Glad to hear you got the all clear. Ive got a scan for the front of my neck at the end of this month. My own dr says hed be very suprised if anything came back on the scan (wasnt him that reffered me) but still freaking out which has started my lymphoma fears again. Roll on the 28th and see what scan says xx
So I have some thyroid 'nodules' which apparently are very common (more so in ladies) and nothing to get worried about, one of the nodules had a bleed into my thyroid...which caused my big nasty cyst! So that is that, it is a cyst. Relieved doesn't even describe it. Apparently when things on the thyroid appear quite suddenly and are 'dramatic looking' like mine it usually indicates a cyst from a bleed from a nodule. Weird eh :) It should slowly reabsorb on its own, can take a good few weeks for this, but I don't need any further tests on it like biopsy etc which is one of the things I was really scared of.
I'm going to have my blood test tomorrow for thyroid function, back with the NHS now (and to be fair they had sent me the letter for the NHS ultra sound today for the 21st July, so they were not too bad in getting me seen) but I am so happy I had it done today and got the results straight away. So now to get my thyroid function checked, discuss my ultrasound with GP and then if I need meds/treatment for my thyroid then that is fine. Knowing it is not something sinister growing there is such a big relief! I trust the doctors completely, they don't mess around with things like this and I'm glad my GP referred me although I kind of hated her for a few days haha.
Hope everyone is ok and thank you Debs and Keekee for replying and keeping me sane, you helped immensely! My mind is my own worst enemy but at least didn't end up with hospital with a huge panic attack so that's a bonus!
Thanks again!! :) :hugs:
Excellent news, link! :yahoo:
So relieved for you.
Yep, now for the thyroid tests. That may help pinpoint why the nodules occurred in the first place.
It is so easy for us to get in a right tizz with stuff like this. That is the curse of an anxious mind, but so happy that things are on a more relaxed path for you now.x:yesyes:
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.