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Mucus and pain in throat, discomfort in left arm, puffy chin, pain in left side

Hi everyone.

I'm a 37yr old male and I've been having some troublesome symptoms since about July 2020 for which initially i put them down to hayfever season but now early March and they just seem to get worse rather than better.

It started as what seemed like mucus build up and the need to keep clearing my throat.

I then developed a nagging pain that was coming from my throat.

Its been more prominent and there doesn't seem to be any answers.

The symptoms I'm getting are:

Pain from jugular notch area from throat
Feeling of band around my neck like a tight scarf, wearing a t-shirt at times is annoying
Stiff neck and sensation of wanting to itch my neck at times
Discomfort under my left arm and sometimes across my collar bone
Feeling of fullness under my chin, puffy like glands are swelling and burning sensation at times
Sore throat and tired feeling in throat
Occasional stich pain in left side

I've had bloods done (not T4) and came back fine, had 2 ENT cameras and all were fine. Been taking omeprazole 20mg twice daily and Gaviscon after meals for about 2 months but these symptoms have not improved.

The pain deep in my throat coming from jugular notch area is quite bad and taking co-codimal helps a little but still the pain persists. At times when i breath in it feels like I'm breathing through the throat pain if that makes senses.

I'm really at a loss here as to what this could be and its really worrying. I just need answers as i cant keep taking these pills as they make me so groggy and they aren't resolving the problem.

Thanks everyone.
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Swollen thyroid (goiter) could cause many of your symptoms.  As the others have said - an ultrasound will determine whether you have a goiter, nodules or other thyroid issue.  

TSH is an indicator of thyroid issues, at best, so simply having a TSH test won't diagnose a thyroid condition since there are conditions for which low TSH is "normal".  You should ask for thyroid antibodies to determine if you have Hashimoto's or Graves Disease.
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6 Comments
Hi, and thanks for your comment. My ultrasound is on Wednesday next week so hopefully that will shed some light on the issues, since then i have had full thyroid bloods done, about 6/7 tests and all came back normal so that's something i guess, just playing the waiting game now.
So i had my ultrasound the other day and had a call from the Dr's today. They want to have a telephone appointment with me on Tuesday, all they could tell me on the phone was the dr had written "thyroid nodule", i guess that answers some of my questions re: symptoms, just wish they could have left it until next week rather than making me sweat over the weekend.
Thyroid nodules are very common and are, typically, nothing to worry about.  I've got several of them on my thyroid that have been there for years.  Just last year, my ultrasound showed one of them "moderately suspicious" and even at that, the recommendation is monitor with an ultrasound on an annual basis.   I'll have another ultrasound in September.

Of course, what they do depends on the size of the nodule and characteristics of your thyroid.  

Very few nodules turn out to be cancer and if they are, it's removed by removing the thyroid.  Thyroid removal does leave one permanently on thyroid hormones but those of us whose thyroid has been destroyed by Hashimoto's are also left on thyroid hormones for life.

I wouldn't let it ruin my weekend.
Thanks for you reply. I had a telephone consult with the dr today who said it was graded as a U2 but was about 17mm therefore she has put me forward to have a FNA.

She said it was on the bottom of my left lobe tucked away and thats probably causing some of my symptoms.

I read about an ablation that could be done to make the nodule smaller instead of thyroid removal?

Also i wanted to ask about a symptom?  I get this weird tingling sensation at the base of my neck at the front, at times it can be quite bothersome to the point where wearing a shirt of tight-ish t=shirt round the neck its uncomfortable, is this thyroid nodule related? I have a recurrent dry mouth & sore throat too.

Its all quite worrying especially when the dr doesnt really tell me much, having to go for another blood test tomorrow for TSH but she said that was all i needed even though i asked about the antibody tests etc.

Thanks.
A U2 nodule is benign and usually doesn't require FNA unless there's a big risk of cancer.   The size of the nodule is probably the reason your doctor is referring you for FNA.

Yes, the nodule can cause a lot of the symptoms you're having.  Typically, thyroid replacement hormones can help shrink nodules.  

Ablation shrinks nodules, but also destroys the thyroid along with the nodule.  

If you've had several rounds of thyroid tests, it would be good if you could post a couple of them (with reference ranges), so we can see what your thyroid might actually be doing.  Just because results are in "normal range" doesn't mean they're normal for you.
Maxmc - Read the most recent thread on "Choking feeling - Tightness in Neck".  She had very similar symptoms to yours and after 13 years an ENT found she had lingual tonsillitis which was putting pressure on her hyoid bone - worth looking into it.  
Avatar universal
If it is your thyroid causing pressure on your neck, they should be able to pick that up on the ultrasound, especially if it is pressing against your carotid artery/jugular.

I had a multinodular goiter, and I could see one of those thyroid nodules that was sticking out to the side (like a finger), it would move up and down when I swallowed.  That nodule was behind my carotid artery.  I didn't have any pain associated with it, but all people are different.  It is possible that it could be a thyroid nodules, there are also some other possibilities.

With swelling/swollen sensation under your chin, under your left arm, and down your left side and under your collar bone, I wouldn't immediately assume it is thyroid related.  It is possible your body is fighting off a sinus infection caused by the allergies (not sure if you've been tested).  Swollen lymph nodes under the chin are commonly caused by cold or flu or other upper respiratory infections.  

Alternatively, it is possible you may have had Covid and are experiencing "long hauler" symptoms.  I'm just a random person on the internet - so I'm not saying in any way that I think you might have had Covid, but I feel like I should at least point this out as a possibility since the locations of many of your symptoms are locations of  lymph nodes: under your armpit, just above your clavicle/collar bone, under your chin, and all throughout your neck.  I had my thyroid removed and my "central compartment" was full of swollen lymph nodes due to Hashimoto's, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my neck when I finally got my thyroid (and a total of 14 lymph nodes out).

Just out of curiosity, are you taking any allergy medication or just acid reflux/heart burn medication?  If it is caused by seasonal allergies I don't know if that would help.  If it is allergies, allergy meds might help.  If it is something else entirely, none of that medication will help.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this.  Those are confusing symptoms to say the least.  I hope you feel better soon.
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1 Comments
Thanks for your comments Sarah, much appreciated.

I'm hoping the ultrasound won't be too long but due to covid non urgent things seem to be delayed so it's just a case of waiting at the moment.

Funny you mention about covid. As part of work i had an antibody test done in July/Aug and that came back positive for antibodies. I don't every recall being symptomatic at all but i am starting to think these are related to "long" covid and the ENT i went to see privately said that could be a possibility but he'd want to rule everything out first.

To be honest i would just like to know what it is, at least that way i can deal with it, more mentally than anything else.

At the moment im only taking the omerprazole and gaviscon but its getting to that time of year where i will be taking my hayfever medication too so i may even start taking that sooner just in case.

Like you say, confusing symptoms and i suspect there maybe a couple of things coexisting.

Thanks for you time.

Avatar universal
It doesn't sound like a thyroid issue.  Have you had a CT scan or MRI?  White blood cell count not elevated?  It sounds like it is structural given the duration.  
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5 Comments
Many thanks for your answer. When i had some bloods done in September when i first saw the Dr the white blood cells were 5.4 10*9/L so within the normal range, as was everything else. The ENT suggested i have an ultrasound done of my neck and i'm still waiting for that to be done.

So even with all these weird neck symptoms you think it points to structural?

Thank you.
When I say structural, you are likely not dealing with an infection, etc.  Your symptoms  are  more physical like tightness, stiffness,  discomfort, persistent pain, etc.  The ultrasound and ct  should detect any abnormal growths,  structural deviations, etc.  With symptoms it is hard to discern which are primary or secondary.  You are going through the process of elimination which can be frustrating but hang in there.  Can you post your thyroid test results and lab ranges?  
Hi Jasper thanks for your comments, i understand the need for process of elimination. My thyroid results that they tested were Serum TSH level
0.99 mu/L  -Result
0.27 - 4.20  - Normal range

Thank you.
The TSH is just the initial indicator...an early warning.  In your case  nothing unusual.   If you want to get a complete picture ask them next time  to test for Free T4 and T3.  I am still thinking that  your thyroid is likely not the issue.  Good luck.
Thanks for your replies, much appreciated, i will indeed get there.
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