The first thing to do is to get your thyroid function checked by a physician who knows the proper tests to use. There are other disorders that can produce the signs and symptoms you mention, and you don't want to medicate with anything until you know what the problem is. I would steer clear of animal thyroid for two reasons - variability of dose due to not having standardized preparations, and also risk of infection. Some companies sell bovine thyroid from god knows where (domestic sources? India? China?), and I'd be queasy about mad cow disease and other potential problems.

After finding nodules on my thyroid during the ultrasound, my doc's nurse told me the blood thyroid results were in & normal. But my GYN said the TSH was borderline at .37. I don't know what all was tested, but I don't think it was a complete panel. Yet my doc's nurse said I needed to schedule a follow up with my doc to discuss the also normal radioactive scan & uptake results. They NEVER discuss normal results in person, just over the phone & that is that. So I went in & was told the results showed the nodules are cold. Now my doc's worried it's cancer but hubby thinks it's just hypothyroidism. But I need a biopsy. My doc may have me get an MRI or CT scan to check the parathyroid too. I had serum calcium & am awaiting those results. Perhaps all the stuff I've been complaining about over the years is due to hypothyroidism? I have so many of the symptoms that anyone can find on the internet. Every provider has only checked T3 & T4, & said they were normal, & treated me for different things. So they've only been looking at pieces of the puzzle versus putting them together for the big picture. GRRR Maybe now I need to start looking into hypothyroid medications for the best one(s) & not take what they give me just because it's cheap or readily available. Case in point, they want me to see an ENT versus an endocrinologist for the biopsy! I'm so sick & tired of military medicine!

Try not to stress about it too much. I've had two thryroid needle biopsies and one thyroid ultrasound because I have thyroid nodules. They just like to check every two years or so to make sure the nodules aren't turning cancerous. I didn't find the biopsies painful because the needle was quite thin, and so far my nodules are remaining benign and causing no thyroid symptoms.

Caroline, of course we can be "sisters". I had a successful kidney transplant in January 2012. But I kept having these several-times- a- day "hot flashes", worse than anything I had with menopause seven years ago. My urologist felt my throat and said he felt a one-centimeter nodule. I had no pain or other problems. I then went to a specialist, an endocrinologist. She also felt a nodule and sent me for a sonogram of my neck. It showed seven nodules, five big and two small, the small ones under 2 centimeters. A few days later (last Tuesday) she did the biopsy. I was quite fearful, took a Zanax before, which relaxed me. The assistant had me lie back in a chair and tipped me back, like at the dentist. She cleaned my neck. Then the doctor came in with her needle and a jar for the tissue samples. She nick-named the nodules "The Twins" and "The Triplets" as there were three on the left side and two on the right. The thyroid is in the center front of your neck, just below your adam's apple. She had the assistant spray my neck with something to numb the skin, but I felt every jab. She would stick the needle in , then stir it around and push deeper to get enough tissue. I stopped counting at ten jabs. They told me not to talk or swallow when the needle was in. That was hard.It hurt a lot and I felt a tear roll out of one eye. Finally it was over. She put a couple bandaids on my neck and I was allowed to go home. I took Aleve tablets and kept a bag of frozen peas on my neck for most of Tuesday evening. The next morning I had no pain whatsoever. The tissue samples were sent to a lab that does extensive testing, including Genetic and "Genomic" testing, whatever that is. But the downside is it takes two and a half weeks for the results, so I'm still worrying and waiting. Best case scenario, everything will be benign. Worst case, I will have to have my thyroid removed, but at least I'll be under anesthesia for that. I've been assured one can live a long life without a thyroid, and thyroid cancer is the most curable kind to get. So it could be worse... Good luck, Caroline. Let us know when you get the results. I'll be posting when I know more. This post was edited by jannie on Mon, Sep 2, 13 at 17:38