# Hashimoto flare?



## ksgal (Nov 19, 2010)

I hear about people talking about hashimotos roller coasters or flares I think it is called. I have been diagnosed with hashimotos - suspect I have had it for a long time. I have a multinoduler goiter also - and it seems to get bigger and then smaller - sometimes overnight. Last night I felt terrible, hoarse, no energy and the right side where my thyroid was sore to the touch and the whole right side of my neck into my ear hurt. Today, not so bad - still tired but the pain isn't as bad....but I know it will be back sometime.

Is this the hashmotos flaring and destroying my thyroid? I have had problems with heart palpitations - sometimes way worse than others, sometimes really bad and then they seem to settle down for awhile. My TSH seems to be slowly creeping up but is not as high as some have on this board. Would this get better if I had my thyroid out? I am so tired of just not feeling good - it is like my body is telling me that something is wrong. I have had FNA's in the past with the last in January and they came back "ok" although there was a nodule behind my collarbone they could not sample but they assumed it was ok. I have been bouncing back and forth between just living with it or having it out...and I am worried if I can't find a doctor locally that does more than just test TSH...how will I deal with it if I don't have a thyroid? If I could guarentee it would make me feel better I would call the doctor today and push to have it removed (my PCP is willing to make that recommendation but the ENT thinks it is acid relux)....but I am just not sure. I wish I could take it out and see how it works and if I don't like it...put it back in. My gut instinct tells me something is wrong and I need to keep pushing.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

When was the last time you had an ultrasound of your thyroid?


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## ksgal (Nov 19, 2010)

I had one in January this year - they said it was ok but there was a nodule under my collarbone in my "thorasic inlet" I think that they couldn't sample. They assumed it was ok....


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## tdagostino (Sep 7, 2015)

Does your lymph nodes flare up in your neck chest and arm pits. mine do and hurt so bad that I can barely breath. What do you do about it to stop it?

Tara


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## ksgal (Nov 19, 2010)

Recently I had a sore spot in each armpit - very sore - like even my tshirt brushing it hurt. Not really sure about the chest but I do feel pain in my neck. I am not sure what to do...still trying to figure all this out. Wishing I could find a doctor with a good grasp of all this.


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## Airmid (Apr 24, 2013)

You sound a lot like me. I have tachycardia while I'm hypothyroid (kind of the opposite is expected from what the various doctor have told me). I had an FNA about 1.5. years ago of my biggest nodules but the really horrible part is when they first found out I had cancer it wasn't in something picked up by the ultrasound at the time. Though I blame the Endo at the time for wanting to do his own tests.

I swing all over the place, from marginally normal to way out in space and have regardless of thyroid dose.

Did they talk about why they thought it was in any way reasonable to have a nodule under your collar bone? That shouldn't be happening. It doesn't mean cancer but it does mean your thyroid is distressed.

Heart burn is also caused by hypothyroidism. It's not a cause for your symptoms as far as I understand it.

What are your test results?

I have a couple of family members now that are doing just fine without a thyroid by the way, it took a while to find the right dose of meds but they are doing well.


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## ksgal (Nov 19, 2010)

Thanks for the reply Airmid! They didn't really say anything - just that there was a nodule they couldn't get to. No concern about it being clear down there (seriously...how does that happen?) I have had the two tests for hashis and they were both high - seems like one was really high but I can't remember which - the antibody one. My TSH is around 2.49 last time I had it tested - I know that is not that high but I wanted it down around 1. I had to pratically beg the doctor to up my meds and he finally said we could try a higher dose for 3 months - I go back the end of this month for more bloodwork. I am now on 75 MCG. I need to dig out all my results I had done a few months ago - I went to a natural doctor and he did a lot of testing but then told me he couldn't adjust my meds like a regular doctor could so I decided to just stick with my PCP. I take my meds for my palpitations each day - I can usualy tell when it is wearing off. I just find it strange that with everything I have going on that no one is more concerned than they are.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

You do need an ultra-sound of your thyroid and also a test for Lupus which is Anti-dsDNA.

This does not sound right and further testing must be done.

Hugs,


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## ksgal (Nov 19, 2010)

I wondered about the lupus - I don't have the red butterfly on my face. I was tested for Lupus years (and years and years) ago and it was negative. I haven't been to a rheumatologist - would that be a good place to look further? Thank you for all your help!


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## ksgal (Nov 19, 2010)

If I have had the testing to be diagnosed with hashimotos....can the antibody test from that be confused with the antibody tests for Lupus? I have also read that thyroid problems can be a symptom of lupus....so maybe I have thyroid problems, but I am looking at it the wrong way? Calling my thyroid problems the problem when they are a symptom? Thanks!


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## Airmid (Apr 24, 2013)

ksgal said:


> Thanks for the reply Airmid! They didn't really say anything - just that there was a nodule they couldn't get to. No concern about it being clear down there (seriously...how does that happen?) I have had the two tests for hashis and they were both high - seems like one was really high but I can't remember which - the antibody one. My TSH is around 2.49 last time I had it tested - I know that is not that high but I wanted it down around 1. I had to pratically beg the doctor to up my meds and he finally said we could try a higher dose for 3 months - I go back the end of this month for more bloodwork. I am now on 75 MCG. I need to dig out all my results I had done a few months ago - I went to a natural doctor and he did a lot of testing but then told me he couldn't adjust my meds like a regular doctor could so I decided to just stick with my PCP. I take my meds for my palpitations each day - I can usualy tell when it is wearing off. I just find it strange that with everything I have going on that no one is more concerned than they are.


Do you know if your antibodies for Hashi's went up while you are being treated for it? That along with the growth of your thyroid means it is not under control and one of the big reasons that TSH alone is a poor measurement for thyroid issues. While I've mentioned her before I'll point to my aunt again who had normal thyroid panels despite the fact that her thyroid grew in and down into her chest.

You shouldn't have a nodule under your collar bone and in an ideal world it would be monitored. With proper treatment the idea is better suppression of your thyroid which tunes down your bodies attack on your thyroid and reduce it's size. It takes the pressure off the gland so that your thyroid isn't alone trying to maintain proper levels.

Sometimes it takes a proper doctor that pays attention. If you're younger you also have a lot of problems getting people to listen. These problems started in my 20's and it was often with the VA doctors that I was told that I shouldn't have things wrong with me while I was young.


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## ksgal (Nov 19, 2010)

I have only had one doctor willing to do the hashimotos testing - my PCP doesn't think it is an issue. Said that yeah, you have it...but the numbers really only just show that you have it and it doesn't change how they are going to treat me.


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