medical update

I went to meet my new doctor regarding my thyroid yesterday, an appointment I probably mentioned earlier this month but put out of my head and heart, thinking-wise, until yesterday morning.

Bottom line: He thinks I have Hashimoto's Disease. At the very least, I will be on medication for the rest of my life to control it. Apparently, and in light of all the recent illnesses I have experienced as of late, my thyroid is being attacked by my immune system, which makes sense. He is concerned about the size of my nodule and in addition to the Thyroid Scan, has ordered an "ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration" which means biopsy. After all the test results come in, I will have my second appointment and he will discuss with me the results of the test. He also indicated it is likely that I will need surgery to have it removed - while he is not considered to be "aggressive" with this, he is not passive and does not wish to sit on the sidelines for six months to potentially watch this thing grow because even if it is not cancer now, it could always develop into same.

I, for one, am not desirous of having that happen either.

There were bright sides to this visit: He made me feel completely at ease, discussed everything thoroughly with me and gave me lots of information to bring home and read, answered all my questions, and to top it all off, looked like a Pakistani version of Gabriel Byrne. All in all, this is not a bad person to have to see every 4-6 months for the balance of my existence :)

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