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I am two months post RAI and I have noticed when I get stressed I have pain/pressure where my thyroid is. And it is difficult to swallow. Is this normal? Does this mean my thyroid is dying? My first labs early Jan 2012 showed I was still hyper/no change. Any comments would be helpful. Thank you, Leah
And I also feel like it is slightly enlarged. It is tender when I touch it. Leah
Hello – Hopefully, you will hear from others here who have had RAI, but I would recommend speaking to your doctor about the swallowing issue, just so he/she can rule out any other possible causes.
As you are waiting to start replacement hormone, it’s a good idea to get hard copies of your labs and to make sure that your doctor is looking at Free T4 and T3, and *not* just TSH. The latest guidance on post-RAI treatment from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American Thyroid Association notes that “Since TSH levels may remain suppressed for a month or longer after hyperthyroidism resolves, the levels should be interpreted cautiously and only in concert with free T4 and T3 estimates.“
Take care!
Hi Leah,
I was admitted to the hospital exactly two months after my RAI with the same symptoms. It turned out that I had a very small cyst on my thyroid, but the radiologist and endocrinologist assured me that since it was so small, it couldn’t be the cause of my swallowing problems.
I underwent a barium swallow test, an endoscopy and a gastric emptying studying. I passed the swallow test but the endoscopy revealed esophageal stricture (narrowing of the esophagus), GERD (severe reflux) and a duodenal ulcer, and the gastric emptying study revealed gastroparesis.
The stricture and GERD were caused the choking sensation. I was literally regurgitating food as I ate. The tenderness was caused by the acid burning my esophagus.
If you get a thyroid ultrasound and the results are normal, I would make an appointment with a gastroenterologist. Several people I have met with Graves have all kinds of GI issues after RAI or surgery.
Good luck!
Kelly
Gatorgirl….did you feel more hyper because of the cyst? And when did you become hypo? Did they remove the cyst? -Leah
I did not feel any more or less hyper, and I obviously couldn’t attribute the hyper I was still experiencing (as my thyroid took its sweet time to die) to the cyst. They did not remove it. Six months later, it was completely gone on its own.
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