Question about thyroid

[Iwantakitchen]

There is a history of thyroid in my family (both my sisters and my mum have thyroid issues) and for the last few days I have had a swelling in my neck and feeling tight around the neck, no pain as such but feeling like I am wearing a tight chocker neckless! It's very uncomfortable and I am wondering if it's something other people with thyroid problems might have experienced. I will see gp on Monday about it anyway but I am curious to know. Thanks!

[amarmai]

in have an enlarged thyroid and def am aware of it e.g. espec if i swallow and even not.

[Pleasemrstweedie]

It sounds as if you need to get it checked out. I had those feelings for years before I finally got my thyroid treated.

[Willdoitinaminute]

If it has appeared suddenly it could be a cyst. Thyroid nodules grow slowly but they can bleed and form a cyst which appear overnight. Nodules are hard and lumpy but cysts feel are rounder smoother.
I noticed a lump about 12mnths ago, same symptoms as you have described. In my job I examine necks for lumps and bumps and regularly examine my own thyroid so knew it had appeared suddenly. I saw my GP and was referred for an ultrasound. They diagnosed a large cyst with a couple of small nodules. I then saw the ENT surgeon who reassured me that it's appearance on the ultrasound also didn't suggest it was any of the tumour types. Nodules are very common, most people have them but unless they cause problems will never know.

Anyway, next stage was fine needle aspiration and biopsy. The plan was to remove the fluid from the cyst an biopsy the nodule. Unfortunately the cyst was not fluid filled but a colloid cyst so couldn't be drained. They were happy to leave it as it was since the biopsy was negative. But eventually I would need to have surgery.

Fast forward nine months and I had a haemorrhage into the cyst and it doubled in size so at this point surgery was needed. I had half my thyroid removed about a month ago. All went well and apart from a bit of swelling around the incision site which will take time to go down I'm back to normal.

Thyroid nodules/cysts don't usually cause problems with thyroid hormone levels so you may find that tests show normal thyroid levels. The main problem with cysts is that they cause pressure and discomfort on surrounding structures. If they can be aspirated that is preferred treatment but after a couple of times they advise removal of part of the thyroid. The remaining part will work normally.

Obviously there are a number of thyroid conditions that could be causing your symptoms but hopefully it will be easy to diagnose and treat. Good luck.