Thyroid ultrasound results - seeing endocrinologist tonight - scared stiff

[mumtokidsandcat]

Hi! First post from me - I'll be honest I'm terrified. I went to the GP a month ago as I had slept awkwardly and cricked my neck and the pain wasn't getting better. She agreed it was muscular and gave me some strong anti-inflammatories. As I was sitting opposite her, she asked me - totally unrelated to my neck pain - whether I had noticed my neck was larger than usual. She said I had a slim face and my neck looked too large. So she said she was referring me 'on a whim' to get my thyroid scanned by ultrasound.

I went on Monday and received a call from my GP on Tuesday telling me there were several nodules and she wanted me to see an endocrinologist. I am fortunate to have private medical cover through my husband's work so I have an appointment tonight. I went to the GP this morning just to collect a letter from reception and, reading my results I am absolutely panicking. It's so silly because I don't really understand the results and Dr Google is throwing all sorts of things at me.
This is what the scan says
US Thyroid: The thyroid gland echo pattern is heterogeneous and contains several nodules
The right lobe of the gland measured: 15.7 x 15.3 x 45.5mm. It contains a large nodule which extends from the lower pole of the isthmus to the lower pole of the thyroid gland measuring 23.3 x 13.4.28.0mm. There was a halo around the nodule. There was increased blood flow periphery of the large nodule.
The left lobe measured: 18.4 x 14.7 x 38.4mm. It contains several nodules, the largest is in the lower pole measures 13.7 x 8.7 x 9.3mm There is no thin halo present. There was certain some increased blood flow peripherally. It also contains a further nodule mid pole measuring 13.6 x 7.8mm, it also contains an ? in the cystic area measures 7.0mm. There is some increased blood flow present. The isthmus appears nodular, with a nodule measuring 4.9mm on the left side.

[mumtokidsandcat]

to add...
Conclusion: Nodular thyroid gland (U2) - Clinical referral may be indicated.

So the U2 sounds good - I've looked that up and it says benign but the other information sounds worrisome (to me who doesn't really understand it much) - any help to understand would be amazing.

[MichaelSheensNextDW]

Hello, sorry to hear you've had a scary finding.
I have Hashimoto's which has given me a big thyroid but no nodules, so I'm not able to be very helpful on that front; I didn't want your post to go unacknowledged.
It's great that you're able to see endocrinology so quickly - my understanding is they won't see a need to do fine needle aspiration for what looks like benign nodules on screen; however I don't know whether going private means you could ask for this to be done as a double check.
I imagine they will give an opinion as to whether removal or partial removal is advised (if it's particularly big and potentially causing compression of any neck structures), recommendations for further monitoring via blood tests and imaging, and discuss whether the thyroid is actually malfunctioning and if this needs medicating.

Best of luck and let us know what they say

[June2008]

I had a growth on my thyroid, similar to you it was noticed by my doctor when visiting about something unrelated. I had scans, a couple of fine needle aspirations and further scans with some dye to make them clearer (can't remember the correct term). Ultimately I had the growths removed as they were restricting my breathing. All benign. Five years post surgery and I take a relatively high dose of levothyroxine. Happy to answer any questions!

Hope it went well.