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Pain in neck and trouble breathing

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DollyM
DollyM

Please can someone help, I am 29 years old and had an ultrasound of my thyroid in 2012 and the following comments in my report were made:

"Clinical history - lumpiness of neck with mildly enlarged thyroid. Right level 2 and 3 and left level 5 lymphadenopathy."

"US Neck: The thyroid gland is mildly enlarged but no intrinsic abnormality of concern. It is mildly vascular but significance of this uncertain. No significant cervical lymphadenopathy bilaterally down the neck. No discreet mass lesion or region for dysphagia identified. The submandibular glands bilaterally are enlarged as are the sublingual glands with myelohyoid fenestration."

I went back to the doctor on numerous occasions about problems swallowing following the ultrasound but all they kept saying was "the thyroid is fine."

It was only when I went back to the hospital 2 years ago and requested a copy of this report that it turns out my thyroid is not as fine as the doctors thought. So is it possible the doctors did not receive this report?

The right side of my neck is now more swollen than my left and my previous doctor said that the muscles on my right side of my neck are probably more well developed than my left so nothing to worry about. But I can feel lumps in my neck, my thyroid feels swollen, sometimes irritated and during the time of the ultrasound I had a goitre which made my voice hoarse and it was hard for me to swallow food/drink. Now I am starting to feel as if my breathing is slightly obstructed when I breathe in, as if the air I'm breathing in is touching part of my windpipe. Food is also slowly going down my throat after swallowing and I have had some choking fits and times when I've regurgitated food.

I also have pain in the right side of my chest and I can feel lumps under my skin and just under my collarbone. I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and I am taking Levothyroxine. So far my TSH is within range but my endo would say it is not optimal.

Please can anyone help, I am very worried about this and I have a double appointment in which to raise this. Any advice on what to say would be of great help to me. Thank you.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • MikeD2
    MikeD2 DollyM

    Posted

    I know those choking fits well, keep pushing that point. They just monitored mine for years, ultrasound scanned it, and took the odd byopsy and said it was OK. Eventually after a lot of perseverance I had a barium swallow where they take X-rays of your throat while you drink a milkshake which tasted OK to me. Off I went to the surgeon who said that a distortion of only 1/4 of the area of the windpipe reduces the air intake to 1/16 as there is some multiplying factor. This test resulted in an operation to remove the thyroid. Lots of people have lumps in the thyroid if it's Hashimotos, I presume it's bits that have been destroyed. My surgeon said mine was as hard as wood and he had trouble getting it out, so don't leave it too long if you can as it only gets harder to do. The surgeon said he would operate in a fold of the neck and I have never seen any scar, so ask any surgeon where he will do the operation and his answer will give you an idea of how proud and experienced he is of doing a good job.

    i was in for four days and as I felt so normal  they let me go home after three.

    The big question is where do we get these antibodies in the blood that give us Hashimotos thyroid, along with other autoimune problems like my dried up tear glands, and if you are unlucky arthritus. Do you also have IBS, bloating, or food allergies. There are conditions such as leaky gut syndrome, chrones, celiac that cause irritation in the gut that, it is believed by some, could allow partially digested food to enter the blood stream for which antibodies will be made. Processed food such as margerine is proud to advertise its polyunsaturated fats full of Omega 3, and semi-skimmed pasteurised milk is advertised as good for you, but these are long complex molecules that if they are only partially digested create Quite a lot of smaller sub molecules from these complex fats which look like parts of the human body, and there is growing belief (hardly a theory as yet, but a lot of books on the subject) that links antibodidies thus created to diabetes, certain cancers, chronic fatigue, heart disease, the list goes on. In fact simple short molecule saturated fat may turn out to be better and safer for some of us to digest.

    i rant on.....hope this helps, push on the choking problems and ask for a barium swallow to measure distortion of the windpipe, and if the doctor doesn't know tell him a 1/4 area distortion reduces volume to 1/16 and get him to send you to a surgeon, or pay privately for a consultation (about £300)

    • DollyM
      DollyM MikeD2

      Posted

      Thank you Mike, I will persist with the ENT referral I think.

      I get IBS, bloating and intolerances when eating milk and gluten but my GP said that my symptoms don't relate to food sensitivity - the symptoms I get when eating milk and gluten are gas, constipation, abdo pains, dry skin etc. I was told by a complementary health therapist I had lactose intolerance. I thought that lactose-free milk would help but I was told by other Hashimoto's sufferers that lactose-free milk doesn't help.

      But yes, I will push for an ENT referral. This has been going on for too long now.

      Thanks smile

  • MikeD2
    MikeD2 DollyM

    Posted

    I don't know why my first reply is being moderated, I did not include any links to websites, etc. I suggest you ask for a barium swallow test as this shows up an enlarged thyroid pushing on your windpipe. I too found lumps under the skin, some were sore, and worried about many things. Stick for the moment with the one problem of swallowing and breathing and see my first reply eventually.
    • DollyM
      DollyM MikeD2

      Posted

      Thank you Mike for your replies. I'll look at the first one you posted once it shows up. My previous GP practice did suggest a referral to an ENT because I was on Omeprazole and she said if the Omeprazole didn't work then I could look to be referred to an ENT.

      Because I changed GP practices the practice I am now with has no record of me taking Omeprazole and so now I feel that if I go back to my current GP practice about this they will not take my word for it, stick me back onto another course of Omeprazole which didn't do very much and the referral will just get pushed back all the more.

  • MikeD2
    MikeD2 DollyM

    Posted

    I have exactly the same symptoms as you when I eat white flour, and processed food products, but I am OK with a reasonable amount of wholemeal flour. The problem seems to me that when you have Hashimotos antibodies, you need to find what other antibodies you have also, and what will they do. I am beginning to feel that stress with me triggers all my allergies/intolerances, or whatever they are. My wife died in 2012 and I am planning to get married again and my new partner has children. I have a family business run by my children, and I just have to start thinking about inheritance issues, family problems, etc., and my skin, mouth, eyes all dry up, my stomach knots up, and IBS returns with a vengeance. It's easy to blame it all on thyroid issues, but my doctor has said that the dryness issues are another antibody, and stress triggers IBS, and poor digestion of food probably caused the antibodies in the first place.

    An ENT specialist sounds like a good idea to me, try to get him to agree to a barium swallow test, it's not unpleasant, and it will show up a distorted windpipe from an enlarged thyroid.

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