Enlarged thyroid with nodule - have you had thyroid problems? Should I start these meds?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I had an ultrasound today which showed my thyroid is swollen, and has a nodule. Dr has prescribed medication to start off with, we did blood tests today which will be back next week. From the ultrasound and the fact I have type 1 diabetes, plus symptoms of awful fatigue and brain fog, he is quite sure I have Hashimoto's.

I don't know much about the thyroid and have confused myself, worrying in case it actually turns out it's overactive and then I take this medication for underactive and end up damaging my heart or something. I do get anxiety (not badly, these days, it's manageable) which is a symptom of overactive thyroid.

Anyway I'm posting here for traffic really as I think thyroid problems are quite common, especially in women.

Would you wait until the bloods test results are back next week, or would you go with the doctor's advice and start taking them tomorrow?

Follow your doctor's advice.

You can only usually have NHS tests at minimum time intervals of 3 months when trying to get meds right as Thyroxine does not act quickly. So, if you were to start them now, rather than in a week, there would not be damage to your heart.

Combined with, presumably, having questioned you on your symptoms, the Dr will have been able to make the correct diagnosis.

I would start the meds now but it isn't a big deal if you wait for the blood test results. Often drs start you on a low dose anyway for a couple of weeks before increasing based on your TSH level.

Anxiety can be caused by high blood pressure too which is more likely if you have type 1 diabetes. Hashimotos is often diagnosed in the early stages through antibodies and repeated testing and so the GP probably has a very good reason to start you on the meds -you will need thyroxine for the rest of your life so don’t stop taking it based on dodgy internet advice.

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not in the UK, it's a Manhattan endocrinologist I'm seeing, not a GP. I think part of why I'm hesitant is it's still surreal to me to book an appointment with a doctor and have things move so quickly. No NHS doctor thought my thyroid was a problem, but then none felt my neck/ did an ultrasound/ did a full panel of thyroid blood tests.

I don't have high blood pressure. More the opposite, I get bad low spells where I nearly faint. When very anxious it does go up but still within normal levels, it just feels really weird for me as not used to it ha!

@Whitleyboy It's really helpful to know that thyroid medication (mine is Armour) doesn't start working quickly - I see my doctor again in a couple of weeks so he will be monitoring the situation very closely.

low thyroid can also cause anxiety and depression. It can cause a lack of Vitamin D which affects those. It also causes the brain fog and fatigue.

My vitamin D has been coming very back low for years! I buy a supplement every time it's flagged up. Obviously knew it wasn't a good thing for it to be low but thought it was complete separate problem to thyroid.

Well, my vitamin D came back deficient and ferritin and B12 are on the edge of normal on the low end.

TSH is 1 which is good! I thought? It's been around 2.5 several times over the last few years.

But free T3 is too low - the doctor says it needs to be much higher to feel ok. Has anyone else had low T3?