I have had a portion of the base of my tongue as well as my left tonsil surgicaly removed (10/8/02),folowed by 6 1/2 weeks of radiation. Last week I took a pet scan which showed no cancer in the area. However, it did show an inflamed thyroid. I will be taking a blood test this week and possibly some follow up testing to determine eaxctly what is wrong and how it can be treated. Since radiation I have had problems swallowing and some problems speaking. Has anybody any experience or knowledge of how or if an inflamed thyroid ccan impact my condition. thanks

I was told radiation to the neck increases one's chances of a thyriod disorder, causing weight gain if not treated. However, this is easily corrected by medicine. Being a finance girl, not a medical one, I'm not sure if that's the same/different than an inflamed thyroid. Hopefully someone can correct me if I'm way off base.

Sabrina

Being another finance person, I know radiation can cause thryoid issues but I don't know if that would show up on a PET scan. I have had problems swallowing and my voice gets wraspy often but I just figure it'll be like this from time to time. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Ed

Sabrina & Ed,
Thanks for the shout. I am a finance person also and know little about the thyroid. I expect to learn quite a bit over the next few weeks.

Arnie

Hi Arnie, I didn't reply to your post becaus I was not familiar with the specific question about an "inflamed" thyroid. Yes radiation can commonly cause thyroid problems, but I have not heard of Inflammation (of course that dosn't mean you should be concerned just because I havn't heard) I do however have radiation induced hypothyroidism which I have become somewhat knowledgeable. If you have questions about that or what the symptoms are etc. let me know.

Hi Mark,
Thanls for the post. If you would fill me in about hypothyroidism it would be quite usefull.

Thanks

Hi Mark - I, too, am interested to learn more about hypothyroidism - what are the symptoms?, what are the medications, if any? Since completing 37 rad treatments on november 6, 2003 I sometimes can't tell if I have new symptoms to something other than the after effects of radiation. Any light you can shed would be most helpful. Thanks - Nancy

Ok guys, bear with me.

I've become a "self-taught thyroid expert wanna-be" in the past few weeks. (This in NO WAY is a means of self-diagnosis.........only MY interpretation of my doctor's comments and research that I've conducted on my own) This is a test....Only a test, of your local.....LOL....

I put off a physical for several months, because of what Dennis was going through, only giving in to the pressure once the symptoms became too tough to ignore. I'm 36, but the worst one was waking up every night drenched in sweat from the chest up. "Could this be menopause?" Everyone told me I was crazy!

I had absolutely no energy and wanted to sleep "forever". I was constantly feeling "unconnected"..... It was almost impossible to function normally.

I wrote it off as stress,or maybe depression. (Even though I'm on an antidepressant). I finally realized that Dennis was improving somewhat.............I wasn't.

Off to the doc. She did 14 different blood tests (only cost $850.00!!!!) and I came up with unusually high thyroid levels. Next came the ultrasound which said I had a couple measurable nodules on one side, a couple on the other, along with uncountable tiny ones. I thought I would faint! Yes, cancer was the first thing I thought of.

Apparently though, multiple nodules on the thyroid are a good indicator that it's not malignant. If there is only one nodule, it is highly more suspicious.


ANYWHO; to get back to my original thought: There are several causes for "thyroiditis". I suggest questioning your doctor to see which he has diagnosed. I'm only referring to my understanding of the latest edition of the Merck Manual. I find it a wealth of information, and can be purchased at any chain drugstore that I know of. I would be happy to talk to you privately, but there is so much information here that it would make for a muuuuch toooo long post.

As far as hypothyroidism, the book describes these symptoms:

Slow pulse
Hoarse voice
Slowed speech
Puffy face
Loss of eyebrows
Drooping eyelids
Intolerance to cold
Constipation
Weight gain
Sparse, coarse, dry hair
Dry, scaly, thick, coarse skin:raised, thickened skin over shins
Carpel tunnel syndrome
Confusion
Depression
Dementia

I have to add that these symptoms are much different to hyp"E"rthyroidism. If I'm not mistaken, Dennis' doctors told us that both conditions are possible following radiation.

If anyone is interested, I would be happy to also list those symptoms from the Merck Manual.

Love,
Mandi

Just a caveat: The Merck manual, which is an excellent reference book, is designed as a "Cliffs Notes

On a more basic note. We were taught in anatomy and physiology that the thyroid is a master regulator gland and impacts all of the other glands in the body (like the adrenal cortex, etc.).

Also, many of the symptoms of thyroid problems can be caused by antidepressent drugs (or SSRI's)so a TSH test should be performed to verify proper thyroid function and rule that out. A baseline TSH test should be performed prior to Tx.

Most radiation induced thyroid damage doesn't show up right away. Sometimes taking as long as 18 months, so the NCCN practice guidelines recommend testing every 6 months.

Thyroid function can deteriorate with age also so you may end up on Synthroid eventually anyway.

I can't help you with the "inflamed" part. You will need to bounce that one off of your doctor.