Fast forward to July. I got home from South Africa and couldn't get my groove back. I thought it was from the insanely long flight home that did me in. My knees hurt terribly on the plane, my legs swelled up, I hardly slept. I just figured my extreme fatigue was jet lag.
About a week later, I still didn't feel right. I could barely keep my eyes open. My clothes were not fitting well, nor had they been for a couple of months but even the ones I bought right before our trip were tight. I figured with that lump, my weight gain, and my tiredness it was probably a thyroid issue.
I went to the doctor on Tuesday night, July 22 2014. I got on the scale and flipped out. It was 32 lbs more from where I was a year ago at this time, 14 lbs since my appointment in April. When the doctor came in, I was bawling my eyes out. I was so tired and so frustrated, that crying was my only option at the time.
She felt around my neck. Told me that the lump is one of the largest nodules she's felt in a long time. Said my symptoms were right on target with an under-active thyroid and sent me to the lab for blood work and to get an U/S appointment for my thyroid.
I got my U/S appointment for first thing on Friday and my labs were still pending due to the Utah holiday that Thursday. I was told not to expect anything until Tuesday of the next week; however 45 minutes later the doctor called me back with some of my labs and the U/S results.
I was told my thyroid was 4.75 when it should have been under 3. I was told I had multiple nodules on my thyroid. They called in a medication called Armour Thyroid. My B12 (which I have pernicious anemia from) was completely normal, so that must be where my tiredness is coming from... the thyroid.
The U/S said that the lump I can feel is not related to my thyroid issues. They said it showed as a 2.1 cm enlarged lymph node and I needed to go to an ENT for an evaluation. By the time I tried calling my ENT, they were already closed so I called first thing on Monday instead and got an appointment for Tuesday morning.
The ENT wasn't available so I saw his PA. We talked for a bit, he felt my throat, made me drink while he held my throat, etc. He said I more than likely needed an excisional biopsy, but wanted me to get a CT Scan first. I asked why I needed the scan if he was planning on taking it out but he said he needed to know placement, depth, etc. before they removed it. Luckily, they were able to get me in the next day.
I went in for the CT Scan on Wednesday and things were pretty routine. They put a marker where I felt the lump, I laid on the table, they did their thing. When they started the contrast, I got nauseous. My body was hot in the inside and I felt like I was going to pee my pants. When I sat up, I thought I was going to throw up. Blah. I ended up having diarrhea the rest of the night. Yuck!! They told me that I should have the results by the end of the week if not the beginning of the next.
Friday rolled around and the nurse called. The CT Scan results were back and it showed a 2.1 cm lymph node. Well, duh. I already knew that. She wouldn't tell me anything else. She said that it needed to be removed for "further diagnosis" and the next available surgery time is August 20th. Considering she was calling me on August 1st, I kinda freaked out because that's an awful lot of time to wait. That's the day my kids go back to school... our new house should be finishing... and my husband was going out of town. I asked her to talk to the Dr to see if there was anything else he could do or if another ENT could do it sooner.
She called me back a few hours later and said the ENT moved his schedule around and I'd be able to have it removed on Wednesday 8/6/14 instead. Phew. Regardless of the results, I just want to know.
Of course, my mind has been wandering. I talked to a nephew's mom who's had lymphoma. I've Googled way too much. My gut isn't telling me much... I know that the lump is causing me to choke on things and lose my voice, so regardless having it out should help a ton. If it happens to be something cancer related, then we'll deal with it. I have faith that God has a plan for me... so either way, I will be ok. Them not originally scheduling me until 8/20 makes me think it's no big deal if they were willing to wait 3+ weeks to remove it. If they thought it was cancer, then they wouldn't have made me wait that long.
Tomorrow is my pre-op appointment... then I'll find out my surgery schedule... then Wednesday will be surgery. The patient portal doesn't have my CT Scan report posted, so I want to get a copy of that while I am there... and find out how long it takes to get the pathology report back. It's the waiting and unknowing that drives me nuts. Let's just get it done!
***Update: the doctor is pretty sure it's a benign reactive lymphnode. We are waiting on the final pathology report as the sample was sent to another lab for verification. I should know for sure by the end of the week. ***
I was told my thyroid was 4.75 when it should have been under 3. I was told I had multiple nodules on my thyroid. They called in a medication called Armour Thyroid. My B12 (which I have pernicious anemia from) was completely normal, so that must be where my tiredness is coming from... the thyroid.
The U/S said that the lump I can feel is not related to my thyroid issues. They said it showed as a 2.1 cm enlarged lymph node and I needed to go to an ENT for an evaluation. By the time I tried calling my ENT, they were already closed so I called first thing on Monday instead and got an appointment for Tuesday morning.
The ENT wasn't available so I saw his PA. We talked for a bit, he felt my throat, made me drink while he held my throat, etc. He said I more than likely needed an excisional biopsy, but wanted me to get a CT Scan first. I asked why I needed the scan if he was planning on taking it out but he said he needed to know placement, depth, etc. before they removed it. Luckily, they were able to get me in the next day.
I went in for the CT Scan on Wednesday and things were pretty routine. They put a marker where I felt the lump, I laid on the table, they did their thing. When they started the contrast, I got nauseous. My body was hot in the inside and I felt like I was going to pee my pants. When I sat up, I thought I was going to throw up. Blah. I ended up having diarrhea the rest of the night. Yuck!! They told me that I should have the results by the end of the week if not the beginning of the next.
Friday rolled around and the nurse called. The CT Scan results were back and it showed a 2.1 cm lymph node. Well, duh. I already knew that. She wouldn't tell me anything else. She said that it needed to be removed for "further diagnosis" and the next available surgery time is August 20th. Considering she was calling me on August 1st, I kinda freaked out because that's an awful lot of time to wait. That's the day my kids go back to school... our new house should be finishing... and my husband was going out of town. I asked her to talk to the Dr to see if there was anything else he could do or if another ENT could do it sooner.
She called me back a few hours later and said the ENT moved his schedule around and I'd be able to have it removed on Wednesday 8/6/14 instead. Phew. Regardless of the results, I just want to know.
Of course, my mind has been wandering. I talked to a nephew's mom who's had lymphoma. I've Googled way too much. My gut isn't telling me much... I know that the lump is causing me to choke on things and lose my voice, so regardless having it out should help a ton. If it happens to be something cancer related, then we'll deal with it. I have faith that God has a plan for me... so either way, I will be ok. Them not originally scheduling me until 8/20 makes me think it's no big deal if they were willing to wait 3+ weeks to remove it. If they thought it was cancer, then they wouldn't have made me wait that long.
Tomorrow is my pre-op appointment... then I'll find out my surgery schedule... then Wednesday will be surgery. The patient portal doesn't have my CT Scan report posted, so I want to get a copy of that while I am there... and find out how long it takes to get the pathology report back. It's the waiting and unknowing that drives me nuts. Let's just get it done!
***Update: the doctor is pretty sure it's a benign reactive lymphnode. We are waiting on the final pathology report as the sample was sent to another lab for verification. I should know for sure by the end of the week. ***
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