Doctor Doesn't Give Biopsy Results

Why do doctors not give results of tests (labs, ultrasounds, biopsies) in a timely manner? Don't they know that in cases like a biopsy, where they are testing for cancer, that the patient is probably waiting anxiously for the result? My results were supposed to be in. My doctor's nurse was supposed to call me today. They told me it would be today (I specifically asked when I called this morning). I was told, "yes." I wasn't called. I also sent an email through the patient portal asking them to provide the results of the biopsy by today so I didn't have to wait through the weekend.

I know they results are there because the receptionist checked when I called. When they aren't there, they tell me they aren't in yet. She tried to get the doctor's nurse, who was busy at the time. They told me she would call me TODAY. I am so unhappy with this doctor and her staff.

Edited to add: I just called the hospital where the biopsy was done. They sent my doctor the results on May 20th. She's had them over a week and yet she, her nurse, or anybody else in her office couldn't find the time to give me the results?

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Educating Yourself about Thyroid Disease

I've had thyroid disease for almost eight years now. After all this time, I don't know enough about it. I know what most doctors say but I am finding there is another layer to it, a thyroid movement for lack of a better phrase, of people who are proactively managing their thyroid disease WITH their doctors, not just doing what their doctors say blindly. In many cases, the "norm" isn't what is best for you. I've done the "norm" and believe me, it's not working.

I have a lot of work to do. I really want my thyroid levels optimized so I feel GOOD again. I feel overwhelmed on how to go about starting that.

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48 Hours After the Thyroid Biopsy

It's been 48 hours since my thyroid biopsy. I am a bit sore, especially when I try to lift anything with weight to it for very long. My neck is still swollen. My husband says it looks like I have a golf ball in my neck (sweet huh?).

Compared to Monday afternoon though, I feel a lot better. The first afternoon was a bit on the miserable side (headaches, brain fog, pain in neck and shoulder, discomfort at incision site). Yesterday was better than the day before. Today is better than yesterday. Tomorrow should be great.

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Video of Fine Needle Biopsy

This isn't my fine needle biopsy of my thyroid. This woman is entirely too happy for this to have been me at my biopsy this past Monday. I was like her with my first biopsy but this second one was a bit rough compared to the first. I'm not sure if they're all supposed to be rough and was just spoiled by the first doctor who did it so well.

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Thyroid Biopsy is Done

My thyroid biopsy is done. I am trying to keep my mind off of it but blogging isn't doing the job. This biopsy was worse than the first one I had. My neck and shoulder feels sore. Since they biopsied the right side, and I am right-handed, well...it's a little sore to move. Laughing is sore. Swallowing is sore. My neck is swollen, my head hurts and I feel just "icky". I didn't feel this bad after my other biopsy.

The results will be back in 7-10 days.

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Thyroid Ultrasound Results

I finally connected with the nurse at my doctor's to talk about my thyroid ultrasound results. I've always had multiple nodules on my thyroid that were cystic since developing thyroid disease eight years ago. However, the ultrasound showed that I have several solid nodules now (three to be exact). When I asked her if I should be worried about them being solid, she said, "Well, it's not normal that they're solid."

Alrighty then. I looked it up online and the risk of cancer increases a bit for solid nodules vs. cystic nodules.

She is going to schedule a biopsy at the hospital for me. Something to look forward to eh? It's a little creepy thinking about it.

If you'd like to read up on thyroid nodules, here is some interesting reading.

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Thyroid, Sexual Health & Infertility

I finished reading Thyroid Solution: A Mind-Body Program for Beating Depression & Regaining Your Emotional & Physical Health. It had some good points in it but I am glad I didn't buy it since there is a newer copy out called The Thyroid Solution: A Revolutionary Mind-Body Program for Regaining Your Emotional and Physical Health which I would rather have on my bookshelf.

I'll go on with some important notes that I made on the rest of the book (to see my notes from the beginning of this book, click here):

• After your thyroid levels are brought within normal range, you still should exercise and eat right. I need to do this more myself.

• Thyroid & Sexual Health: Hypothyroidism can lead to lack of interest in sex, which may decline a bit or vanish completely. If you have never been tested for thyroid imbalance and are exhibiting loss of interest and your gynecologist can't figure it out, have your blood drawn. It's as simple as that to rule out your thyroid being the problem in the bedroom. I am thankful this hasn't been a problem for me or maybe because I was a bit oversexed to begin with, it just brought me down to a more normal sex drive, lol. If you have the opposite problem - a raging libido - could be hyperthyroid. Get a blood test! Dr. Arem suggests that if you are still having problems after your hypothyroidism is fixed, to consider a T4/T3 combination (which can also help with persistent depression).

• Your Thyroid & Infertility/Miscarriage: Having an overactive or underactive thyroid can make it hard to conceive and it may be overlooked. The book talks of couples going through years of infertility treatments (and debt) only to find out it was as simple as a blood test to check thyroid levels! This was a big one for us. Despite having four kids, three out of those four children were difficult to conceive. It took about a year for our first child to be conceived. It took over a year for my son to be conceived. My third child was conceived the first month after we decided to try for a third child (during a big fight with my husband's sister...husband was being loving and consoling me and voila! A baby!) It was after this third child that I developed thyroid disease though I do wonder if my thyroid levels had been off just enough prior to diagnosis to cause problems conceiving my oldest two children. After diagnosis, it took almost two years for my last child to be conceived...the doctor was getting ready to give me infertility treatments when I finally got pregnant before he was to do that.

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Does a solid nodule indicate cancer?

What does "solid nodule" mean for a person with thyroid disease?

For years, I've had multiple nodules on my thyroid but they were more cystic. After an ultrasound last week, I still have the multiple nodules but now there is a solid nodule as well. What does this mean? Is it indicative of cancer?

My doctor didn't bother to call me. I signed onto the patient portal at her office and saw the results of my ultrasound about the solid nodule and that she was referring me for a biopsy of it. Why would a doctor post something like THIS, which she should imagine would be scary for the patient, without explaining it? She posted this on May 6th. She should have called me on May 6th or May 7th or May 8th! This is just another item on my list on why I am not happy with this doctor. I am going to be searching for a new doctor.

I've been doing a lot of research and I want my TSH levels down to 2 at the maximum. From what I've read online, TSH levels between 1-2 is when most people feel better. Since my TSH levels are so high, it explains why we had such a hard time conceiving our last child. High TSH levels seem to affect fertility.

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Stress & Thyroid Disease

I am reading The Thyroid Solution by Dr. Ridha Aremwhich I mentioned in the previous post. I am finding some interesting points that I wanted to start to share here. So, as I read through the book, I'll post some interesting points.

First is how stress affects your endocrine system. The book says, "under stress, the brain emits chemical messages that trigger major responses of the endocrine system. One such response is the overproduction of the stress hormone cortisol by the adrenal glands. Repeated overproduction of this hormone and other chemicals results in many of the deleterious effects associated with stress. If you handle stress well, the response of the endocrine system is minimal and short-lived. But if you are stressed for a long time; experience major upheavals, setbacks, or traumas; or have difficulties coping with stress, your endocrine system becomes chronically challenged and causes health problems."

I married a non-custodial father with a not-so-nice ex. We went through years of constant stressors trying to deal with the fallout with the kids because of the nastiness, violence, visitation hassles, court hassles, etc. in dealing with a situation where one home would not co-parent with the other, where everything was a fight. I was in a constant state of stress for years leaving me constantly stressed, angry and unable to sleep. I would toss and turn most nights, unable to fall asleep, because my mind would not shut off thinking about what was done, what had to be done, etc. I didn't just brush the stress off; I lived in the stress 24/7 - anger, frustration, tears - that was never ending. This was on top of too many years of my own family's dysfunction. Stress on top of stress...it was an unhealthy situation to be in all the time.

I've heard quite often about how stress can hurt you. I certainly believe it is a possibility. Your body can only live in a certain state for so long without it causing damage.

Hashimoto's, as an autoimmune condition, means the body attacks itself. The immune system amps up the antibodies that attack the thyroid gland/functions.

Again, according to this book:

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis causes "gradual destruction of the thyroid gland and leads to an underactive or even moribund gland." In the same paragraph, "stress is one of the precipitating events that may disrupt the functioning of the immune system and thereby trigger the production of these thyroid-harming antibodies."

"...a study that revealed that people hospitalized for depression have a higher frequency of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis than the general population" showing another relationship between mental stress and Hashi's.

"...stress undoubtedly increases the severity of the autoimmune attack upon the thyroid gland, even when the patient has been stabilized..."

So what do you do about it?

Learn to handle stress better. Easier said than done eh? I know that first-hand. The key is finding something that works for you as a stress reliever. Mine were: moving away, outside the vicinity of everything stressful and then my husband bought me a horse so I can get away from the house and spend time with her which has a huge calming influence over me. Perhaps I should look into Tai Chi as well.

So, this is where I am at in the book so far, and the important points I took from what I've read. I'll share more as I read on.

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Weight & Thyroid & Cancer

People have the misconception that people who are overweight can't or won't control their eating. They probably imagine overweight people pigging out with more than the "normal" amount of food (damn do I really hate that word "normal" right now). For some, that may be true. For others, like me, I don't eat a lot. It's medical and that makes it worse for me because I feel helpless in being able to do anything about it. Especially when my own doctor won't use up-to-date recommendations so my thyroid is being treated correctly. I hear that is a problem with a lot of thyroid patients. Why won't doctors, and the labs they use, start using the newest recommendations for TSH? People shouldn't have to go years feeling like hell. If I was pigging out and making myself fat, then it'd be my own darn fault. I just want to find a doctor who I can trust. I wish more naturopaths took insurance because I think I'd have better luck getting a doctor who cared.

I was finally referred to an Endocrinologist last week. Then my ultrasound results came back and those say that I have multiple nodules (which I knew) but now there is a solid nodule as well. That worries me. When they were cystic, I didn't worry that much. I don't know what "solid" means though. My doctor didn't call to explain any of it. I had to log onto their system and see the ultrasound results and that they were referring me to a Radiologist type specialist for biopsy (I thought that was what I was going to the Endocrinologist for). So, I have no idea what is what right now. My doctor should have called to explain the findings to me instead of leaving a scary message like that on the patient portal without explanation.

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What I Have

I have thyroid disease. I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and hypothyroidism with goiter/nodules. I have several nodules on my thyroid that I had biopsied for cancer years ago. Because you can only get a small percentage of cells out of millions during a biopsy, even a biopsy isn't 100% accurate, which still leaves me to wonder. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder.

Despite blood tests showing me within normal range, I still suffer from brain fog. My memory, which used to be very sharp, is now like swiss cheese. I lose my train of thought often. I forget things very easily. My skin is terrible - very dry and prone to contact dermatitis. My hair, which was never smooth to begin with, is more coarse. At least it's not falling out anymore though (which is a symptom by the way). I used to be a skinny chick - - now I'm overweight and having a difficult time with how I look and feel about myself. My metabolism is next to nothing anymore. Exercising leaves me winded within the first couple of minutes. I am more irritable with less patience (I didn't have that much to begin with so that's bad). Even a "normal range" blood test does not mean all the symptoms go away.

If you are looking for a source of information, check out About. I am currently reading Thyroid Solution: A Mind-Body Program for Beating Depression & Regaining Your Emotional & Physical Health and have found a few good points that I will post about in another post soon.

A really good book that I've read is:

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When My Thyroid Betrayed Me

Three months after the birth of my third child, I didn't feel well. My neck was sore and I had a fever. My neck was really bothering me so I started feeling around. I became very scared when I felt lumps in the front of my neck. At the time, I had three young children (all under four years old) and hoped the lumps weren't cancer. I didn't want to leave my babies so young.

I went to my family doctor who did the blood tests to check my thyroid. Her diagnosis was Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Hypothyroidism & Goiters. I had several nodules on my thyroid. She prescribed Synthroid and referred me to an Endocrinologist.

At the Endocrinologists, they biopsied my nodules and put me on the schedule for regular check-ups. The nodules were negative for cancer. They stabilized my medication dosage over the coming months. They said the goiter/nodules would go away once the medication was stabilized, but they never did. My hair stopped falling out but the holes in my memory continued. I couldn't lose weight. I was tired and just felt off. The Endocrinologist, going by my lab results, said everything was fine. I didn't feel fine. This went on for five years.

Then we moved. I went to my daughter's new ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor) who did an ultrasound and blood work. He said he could biopsy it again (at that point, it'd been about five years since my last biopsy), however, he didn't hold a lot of faith in the biopsy. He said out of the millions of cells in the area, the biopsy only grabs a small bit of those. It can get cells that aren't cancerous, but it doesn't mean that cancerous cells aren't present or that the nodules aren't cancerous. He didn't biopsy.

Because we moved, we had to find a new family doctor. My weight has continued to increase. She said she could manage my thyroid problems. Like the Endocrinologist, she manged it according to my lab work and didn't pay any attention to my continuing symptoms over the next two years. My most recent labs (from last week) are like this:

• My TSH: 3.70

Their lab is using the old recommendations for TSH. The old recommendations were 0.35 to 5.5 ulU/ML. The 2003 recommendations from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists is 0.3 to 3.04.

• My Thyroxine: 5.2

Recommended normal range is 4.9 to 10.9 UG/DL. I am at the low end of "normal".

• My T3, Free: 2.80

Recommended normal range is 2.3 - 4.2 PG/ML. I am at the low end of "normal".

The letter from my doctor that came with my lab results says my levels are great. I don't feel "great." I feel bad. I feel fat. I feel clueless when I can't remember what I planned to do 30 seconds ago because my memory is like swiss cheese.

The crowning moment from this last doctor visit is that my weight went up even more. I'm at 172 now. The only time in my life I've weighed this much was when I was pregnant. So when I received this letter talking about how great my levels were, I held back tears. I've held back tears for the last two days. I'm not asking to be a size 2/4 again. I'll take an 8! They now say they will refer me to an Endocrinologist (after they get their own ultrasound...not sure why they just can't let the Endocrinologist handle it). My referral is being held hostage until after I get the ultrasound (which is scheduled for Tuesday).

I just want to have some resemblance of who I used to be. I feel lost. I feel fat. I feel helpless. I feel like an airhead who would forget her head if it wasn't screwed on. I feel like I'm just a piece of paper showing my lab results and the rest of me doesn't matter. I want a doctor who will listen to me and treat ME, not just the lab results.

To read a little more of my past thyroid posts, they're here. I've created this blog you're reading now to be just about the thyroid and will post about it here from now on.

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