Thyroid Goiters

Hi M.,

I'm 42 years old and was diagnosed with a goiter in the 80's. I simply follow a whole body nutritional cleansing program. It was about a year after following this simple program that my doctor told me my goiter was no longer a problem and I no longer required medication (I hate taking meds!). I can't say the nutritional cleanse is what did it, but I've seen too many great miracles the body can do to repair/heal itself to not think there was some (if not the only) correlation ;0) And, I've been feeding my body these great products ever since ...

G.

It is usually best to have it surgically removed. I had one for almost 7 years before finally having it removed. The left size was so goitered that it was supressing the right side and had gotten big enough that it was effecting my breathing. The surgery was a piece of cake! Have had not problems, have never had to take medication(because I still have half of my thyroid) and it has been almost 7 years. Good luck!

Try the Synthroid to see if the Goiter will go down...some will. If the Synthroid does not decrease the size, you need to decide whether to have it removed. If it is so large that it is interfering with breathing or swallowing or the look of the swelling bothers you, I would opt to have it taken out. However, find a VERY reputable surgeon to do it, because if the parathyroids somehow get messed up, it can cause problems down the road. Check Mary Shomon's website at About.com for a list of doctors. If you have it removed, you will have to take the Synthroid to replace the hormones it releases for the rest of your life. However, you may have to anyway if the goiter does not improve because basically, your thyroid is not working properly.

I don't have a goiter, but was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism (low thyroid), which is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland that can cause goiter and cannot be cured. My doctor wanted to take out my thyroid at 20 yo, but I opted not to have it done and have had success controlling it with the synthetic thyroid meds for the last 20 yrs. It is a bummer to take an Rx every day for the rest of your life, but totally worth it because I feel SO horrible if I don't. Take care and email me if you want to chat more about this.

Hi M.,
Kudos to you for empowering yourself by researching. Forty years ago I had a goiter. I'm now 60. Your treatment options are many, compared to way back then, so I highly recommend reading "Living Well With Hypothyroidism" by Mary Shomon. The 2005 edition is the revised and updated one. The author is a thyroid health advocate and the book is an incredibly wonderful resource for kinds of thyroid issues, including goiter. It's information is amazing and very supportive.

Good luck!
H.

First thing: find out if its' cancer. I had to have surgery and out of five women I was the only one that didn't have a cancerous lesion. Next step, talk to your doctor. I had surgery because it was putting pressure on my windpipe and causing breathing problems. Good luck. Surgery is only one option but it is best to start with the doctor first, unless he/she is a surgeon and then you know what their choice will be.

hi M.,

have you considered acupuncture and herbs for treating the goiter? TCM (traditional chinese medicine) works wonders for many health challenges.

it's worth checking out bdfore considering surgery. if you google goiter and acupuncture you will find many sites!

here's just one:

https://www.tcmassistant.com/symptoms/goiter.html

good luck to you!

G.

I have a goiter and if I do not take my thyroid medicine it can get enlarged. I never had surgery although I do remember a long, long time ago they had done a scan of some sorts on it, but that was as far as it went. I do not know what doctors are doing these days, but I am not sure you have to have it removed. Just take your Synthrord medication (no substitutes) and it should go down. Didn't your endocrinologist tell you that?

I have been on thyroid medicine for a very long time and no problems.

R.

I highly recommend MAry Shomon's Thyroid website....she has written several books on thyroid, has compiled lists of thyroid Drs. who are highly recommended in each area of the country and has a e newsletter where questions like this can be addressed. Here is header from recent newsletter....or do a google search for her:

From: Mary Shomon - About.com Thyroid Disease Guide
Date: 8/21/2009 12:46:43 AM
To: ____@____.com
Subject: About Thyroid Disease: Shortages, Menopause and Thyroid, Nia Vardalos

I am 34 and have a multi nodular goiter. They did a slew of tests and told me that there was no way to find out for sure if all of the nodulars are cancerous or not so they just have to "wait and see" if any of them grow in size. I haven't quite had it a year but after 6 mo. there has been no change in size. I have done some research and from what I get out of all of it is that it might actually be more harmful than good to have the goiter removed. If its not bothering you in anyway and you have no complications from it why would you want to have to risk of surgery to remove it? I was told by my Dr. that he would remove my goiter if I wanted him to but frankly I chose to watch it. I think that you are doing a good thing to talk to as many people about it that you can, but do your own research as well. Nobody knows whats best for you other than you!!!

Iodine can help if it is caused by iodine deficiency and still in the early stages, but won't shrink it if it is in late stages. It would probably still benefit you to take it however, because iodine is required for health and most people's intake are below the levels of RDA, which are pretty minimal in my opinion. Idoral is what I take. You can also increase oatmeal, bananas, seafood, and kelp.

I beleive that SOY is a major contributor to thyroid malfunction. Even if you dont drink soy milk, our diets are bombarded with soy in the form of soy lethicin, soy extract, soy protien, soy casienate, hydrolized soy, etc.
Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, ice cream, pizza, the list is lengthy!
Thats why cleaning up the diet of processed foods and going on whole raw foods stops this issue with many people.
Getting a filter on your tap to get rid of chlorine will help- chlorine flushes iodine stores in your body. The other thing to consider is taking Cod liver oil (high form of vit A and D). Kirkland brand is murcury free.

Do you have an iodine deficiency? I am told by my mother (an MD) that that is the primary cause, but that it doesn't necessarily completely go away with iodine supplementation. You could get lucky though. Good luck.