update, still pain of unknown cause diagnosed thyroid issues

[mamabird]

Hi all,

I posted back in january with my mine complaint of chest pain. I made it into the dr when insurance kicked in feb 1st.

I had xray, ct scan, orginially diagnosed with pleurisy, went for ct scan, diagnosed with large thyroid nodule. It was biopsied and is benign, but it is still going to be removed because it is very large, as well as my right lobe. I have a consult with a 2nd dr since my insurance changed again. Also both my pcp and the ent said the nodule IS NOT CAUSING my pleurisy. I have had it now constantly for 6 months! It is not going away! I have also had my knee pain flare up again for this past month and my sciatica is back this weekend. I have gotten a new PCP for a second opinion on the chest pain and plan to ask for an xray of the knees. Is this anywhere close to the realm of fibro? My thyroid panels are all normal according to my last ENT. I am just at a loss as to what to ask at the dr. My pcp visit for my pain is the 18th. All my blood work is always NORMAL. Advice please.

ETA A new issue I am having is joint popping. All the time. hips, feet, shoulders. I cannot move without one popping. Only my knees/chest hurt atm. The other popping does not hurt.

Also the PCP doesnt care about my pleurisy pain. She said get my thyroid issue resolved first then we can figure out the cause of my pleurisy. That was my original main complaint! So I am finding a different dr. Hopefully the next one will listen that I am in pain.

 

[jaminhealth]

Hi, over many years I spent a lot of time on thyroid support groups....Have you ever gone to any thyroid group and discuss your issues? I have a long history on thyroid issues going back to 1991...I had some nodules from an ultra sound over 5 yrs ago, but never did anything with this....I take Armour thyroid, daily iodine and selenium. I also had the Hashimoto diagnosed years ago and the selenium is working the Hashi issue.

Just today again, a friend I play bridge with talked about her thyroid issue and how a doc removed most of her thyroid and it should not have been done...her nodules were calcium nodules/deposits as one MD told her it was OK to "suck" tums for calcium needs...not GOOD advice.... She regrets having a lot of her thyroid removed and it was a mistake.

I can't speak on pleursy issue. I deal with joint issue and sciatic mess from a hysterectomy over 30 yrs ago...I stretch out the sciatic nerve area. I deal with a mess from hip replacement in 2010. lots of complications.

Hypothyroid Mom is a good blog with all kinds of thyroid support from many people and the owner gets involved to with people who go to her blog.

Stop The Thyroid Madness is a book I own and the author also has a blog that is pretty busy. Just some ideas.

 

[mamabird]

as far as my thyroid nodule, it is very large, which is why i have to get it removed. It is 4.4 cm. It is growing down it ends at my sternum, is pressing on my trachea and esphogus. I do not want the surgery but because it is causing minor issues and likely will become even larger with time it was caught before it went below my sternum. My full thyroid panel was all NORMAL! no thyroid issues according my dr except this giagantic mass growing.

 

[cmetryme]

mamabird, hello again!

I was not sure what pleurisy is.

I looked it up. if it were me, i would go to a specialist on that right away.

You said: Also the PCP doesnt care about my pleurisy pain. She said get my thyroid issue resolved first then we can figure out the cause of my pleurisy.
the PCP knows nothing and you are right for finding a new one.

i wanted to pass on what i have learned about it. it sounds very serious.

What Is Pleurisy?
Pleurisy, also called pleuritis, is an inflammation of the pleura, which is the moist, double-layered membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the rib cage. The condition can make breathing extremely painful. Sometimes it is associated with another condition called pleural effusion, in which excess fluid fills the area between the membrane's layers.

now this part tells me go to a real doctor and not a pcp that works on colds and flu.

What Causes Pleurisy?

Viral infection is probably the most common cause of pleurisy. Some of the other causes include:

Lung infections, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis
Other diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE lupus), rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, liver diseases, and pulmonary embolism
Chest injuries
Drug reactions

Pleurisy is generally only as serious as the underlying disease causing it. If you have pleurisy, you may already be undergoing treatment for the underlying disease; if not, seek medical attention immediately.

As a man with SLE Lupus. this maybe what is causing all your pain too. it's very painful!

There are only two meds for lupus. ask your doctor for the prescription to try them and see if it stops the pain. if it doesnt help then stop taking them.
rule out that first. blood tests dont tell the whole story. better to try something then do nothing for 30 days or your next appointment that you are telling them the same thing.

talk to the pharmacy about the meds your taking and see if is causing it.

start a treatment for the pleurisy.stop messing around with thyroid. meds will take care of that as it did mine.
treat all until it stops.

you are the one in control here. not the doctor.

please find something that helps you.

 

[mamabird]

thanks, I go in to meet the new pcp next week. I actually went to urgent care and that dr diagnosed me with pleurisy, he said if I had no improvement in a week to go back to my old pcp and request a ct scan. I did that and literally pleaded with them as I was worried about pulmonary embolism. The ct scan of my chest is what found my thyroid nodule. I am going to a completely different dr next week for a second opinion and the knee pain. I will ask her what dr to see what type of specialist? for the pleurisy? I am not sure. They say my heart and lungs are all fine per the ct scan.

wanted to add, I never had a virus! I hadn't been sick for months, likely years in my chest/lungs when the pleurisy began. I had occasional sneezing but that is it.

 

[mamabird]

the only drugs i am on is the birth control pill and pain meds on occasion for the chest pain

 

[cmetryme]

im so sorry. i hope you find someone to help you.

 

[jaminhealth]

I'm one here who believes Thyroid controls so much. I did a little searching and here is what someone said on another health group:


((Difficult breathing, breathlessness, air hunger are descriptions I have used with hyper and hypothyroidism but I have only had pain like you describe on inhalation when I had pluerisy. Pleurisy is another name for pluritis. It can be caused amongst other things by a bacterial infection and can happen rapidly or overnight as you say.

When the thyroid levels are imbalanced you can be more prone to infections not just in the chest so perhaps that is the link.

You describe being weepy and depressed - symptoms of low thyroid, so perhaps this is making you vulnerable to infection?

Have you had your thyroid levels checked recently? Your doctor saying they are 'in range' is not the answer. In range for who? What are your optimal levels?

I know it's difficult but I think you need to get copies of your very recent tests or have new tests done and then post them here.

 

[jaminhealth]

I love Mary Shomon's thyroid book and I consider it my bible...I just looked up the long list of symptoms of low thyroid and many doctors it says believe low thyroid function can cause more infections....I don't know but sure sounds like some connection to me.

 

[Ruralchick]

A few years ago I had growths on my parathyroid, 2 surgeries later I improved and a bone density test showed I was fine there as well, (parathyroid can tell your body to dump calcium). A year or so later I had Graves disease. My thyroid was going super-nova and I nearly died from it. I had to take radio-active iodine to kill it off before it killed me. I also love the book from Mary Shoman, but I read all the library had on the subject-and bought a few. It was a long, drawn out affair with doctors who were inept, uninterested or in denial. It took 4 docs until I finally found a GREAT one--a naturopath that specializes in hormones.
Anyway, a messed up thyroid can cause all kinds of horrors, I don't blame your doc that said to take care of it first. I sure hope the new doc works well for you!

 

[mamabird]

my immune function is very well. I don't get respiratory illness. I am surrounded by 4 young children sneezing, coughing, vomitting and diarherra and I dont get even a fever or anything. I have had a slight cold in the past 2 years and occasional fever of like 99.5 (like once a year) but that is it. I don'it think my pleurisy is caused by a bacteria because I was never inflicted with any respiratory infection.

What i do have is lethargy, made worse in particular by the sun and also the rain and cold. I debated seasonal affective disorder ,but even the sun exhausts me. I cannot be outside for long without feeling the ramifications of it. I am extremely fair skinned but don't allow myself out in the sun much. The weather makes me extremely tired. heat, cold, moisture etc. it all effects me. I have a very small tolerance for heat and cold. I have found my perfect temp is 73.5 F. If it is hotter I can tell in the house or if it is colder I get cold. I have been like that for years.

I am all for believing my pleurisy is caused by my thyroid issues, if only the drs would say it is possible but so far the pcp and ent said NO. So it makes me feel there is something else wrong with me and why have found a new pcp and ent (though I would have kept the ent if I hadn't had to switch due to insurance). The pleurisy (if that is what I even have) is worse with physical excertion and eating as well as coughing, deep breathing, sneezing etc. I think my sneezing was due to a dirty hvac, because now we got the filter changed and the furnance isn't running I am not sneezing anymore.

 

[jaminhealth]

Lethargy, fatigue, weakness, cold/hot ALL thyroid related. Can you get to an integrative MD or naturopath...SO MANY docs don't get it. I was there for 10 yrs with a miserable doc who didn't know what he needed to know....

Stop The Thyroid Madness is another great book and education.

The Thyroid Mom has a great blog.


It just dawned on me, you have 4 young children. And I'm not a doctor by any stretch of the imagination and I only had 1 child, but I would think the more children women birth, the more they are losing all their vital nutrients as they give so much to their babies. My sluggish thyroid hit me at about 53, after menopause. Long after I birthed a child at 25. Just thinkin. My daughter had 4 pregnancies, 1 miscarriage, 1 still born at 8 months and 2 fullterm. She's 52 soon and I do believe she could use thyroid support and other things I talk about but she listens to doctors too much and as I said doctors don't know everything. We have to search for ourselves....and often TRY to educate them.

All this thinking comes with aging and experiences..

 

[mamabird]

Only two of them are biological children. I do try to take multivitamins. I had my thyroid tested 5 years ago they told me it was normal. I then had my second birth. I had suspected for a long time thyroid issues, but the drs keep telling me it is normal, it just has giant mass growing on it. Should I be looking for an endo? I am still so nervous about having the surgery, but it seems the general rule is anything over 2cm needs removed and mine is over 4cm.

 

[jaminhealth]

Oh, I had typed a long message to you and lost it.....somehow.

What I would do IF I were you is talk to those on the 2 blogs I mentioned as many many have nodules....About the general rule thing, we are not general...I've had nodules for years and I don't know what size they are, they could be gone. I take thyroid support, selenium and iodine for years....

I have no faith in endos, unless you can find an exceptional one...I'd seek integrative MD or naturopath and go with your story. Anyway, I'm pooped type and dam that I lost some info.

I was told for 10 miserable years WITH LABS that I was normal. My osteopath called in Armour script with no labs....I have so much history on this thyroid mess..

Are you have breathing/swallowing problems? Surgery should be the last resort...alternative MD's for the most part think like that. Anyway, hope you will find your way on this.

 

[Ruralchick]

I did not have breathing troubles with Graves. But my naturopath said he treats the patient, NOT the numbers on the blood test. It took a LONG time to get things regulated but have been doing well for a few years now.