I’m headed to Children’s Hospital tomorrow with Norah, so she can have an ultrasound on her thyroid and an appointment with the endocrinologists. A few weeks ago I thought her neck looked a little swollen, but then she changed position and it looked normal so I didn’t think too much of it. Then on Monday I was sitting on the bottom stair and I saw her neck from a different angle. As soon as I touched it, the 3 other grown-ups standing there pointed out that something was wrong. You can see the lump in the photo of Norah with our friend Norm at right.
I called the doctor and he didn’t seem worried at all. He said to watch it for a few days and to call him if it bothered her, if it was hot to the touch, became red, or changed size. This morning I made an appointment to see him, and when he came into the exam room it went like this:
Dr: “So, you’re here.”
Me: “Yup.”
Dr: “Did it get bigger, turn red, or get hot?”
Me: “No.”
Dr: “Is it bothering her?”
Me: “No, but it’s bothering me, so you can tell me I’m crazy but I want you to look at it.”
Dr: “You’re crazy.”
He then commenced the exam…
Dr: “Yup, that’s a lump.”
Me: “Well, it doesn’t look right to me and I have thyroid issues so I get concerned when I see swelling in that area.”
Dr: “It’s bigger than what I was imagining when we talked on the phone. You were right to follow your instinct.”
Considering that he didn’t ask me how big it was when we talked on the phone, I’m assuming that he had already decided it was nothing during our phone conversation. In the office today he said that he thought it was definitely thyroid-related because the lump moves when she swallows. Norah’s blood pressure was also high which is a symptom of hyperthyroidism.
They sent some blood off to the lab, and this afternoon another doctor called with the news that yes, her thyroid levels were very elevated. The doctor from Children’s also called to talk about tomorrow’s appointment, and she said that it’s not that common for kids to become hyperthyroid, but it does happen. The ultrasound may give us a clue as to what’s causing the excess thyroid hormone, but most likely it will just show an enlarged thyroid, not an overproductive nodule.
From what I’ve read, it may resolve itself eventually so that she won’t need medication forever, or it may not. If it doesn’t resolve and she has problems regulating how much thyroid hormone is in her body at any given time, they sometimes “deactivate” the thyroid at which point she’d have to take synthetic thyroid forever (like I do). I’m guessing they will at least give her medication for the high blood pressure in the short term.
The doctor from Children’s asked me if I had seen any other symptoms. When I look at the list of possible symptoms I see lots of things that we thought were just part of Norah’s personality or a phase she is going through – hyperactivity, emotional issues, constant eating without weight gain, excessive pooping (sorry – TMI). It’s possible that by reducing the level of thyroid hormone some of these issues may be resolved. Or not.