[LifenTheFastLane]

In March I caught a bad cold and felt horrible, well seeing as I didn't have insurance I went to a urgent care clinic and just paid cash. Since I had a horrible sore throat the doctor examined my neck and throat.
As she was feeling my neck she asked if I had any thyroid problems, I said no, why? She told me my thyroid was a bit swollen and I had a couple of nodules as well. I asked about a TSH test to check my thyroid levels and she said she didnt want to suggest it because knowing I didnt have insurance it was a bit expensive..well regardless of cost I told her I wanted it.
Results were my TSH were 1.2

So my question is, is 1.2 normal?
Is the Thyroid swelling and nodules normal? Should I really make a appointment with a regular doctor?

Not sure what do to, or if I even should worry at all.

[daisyduck]

Hi! I have not heard of a doctor being able to actually feel nodules on the thyroid - I have had to have an ultrasound to determine if I had nodules. I had a nodule that was around 9mm. My doctor suspected I could have nodules, but couldn't confirm until that ultrasound. Maybe someone else here can chime in on nodules, since I don't know too much about that. In my experience, a TSH of 2.1 definitely could give you symptoms, since a lot of people do better with a TSH of less than 1. I know I still have symptoms around 2. It seems a little strange to me that the thyroid would be swollen at only a 2, since that is not super high, but I honestly don't know for sure. BTW, how do you feel? Are you familiar with thyroid symptoms, and if so, do you feel like you are experiencing any of those symptoms? If it were me, and I was having any of those symptoms, I would definitely go to an endocrinologist or thyroid specialist, just to get checked out. I don't think you should worry, but I tend to be rather overly cautious when it comes to thyroid problems, because I ignored my symptoms for almost a year, and by then my condition was so bad, it took a long time to get under control. So, I always like to suggest getting checked out if someone even thinks they might have a thyroid problem. That way, since your TSH is only at a 2, it shouldn't take too long to bring down if necessary. I hope this helps a little, and I wanted to say I hope you can get to the bottom of this and feel better!

[LifenTheFastLane]

Thanks, after reading what I posted yesterday I realized I put 2.1 and it is actually 1.2. So that seems fairly normal to me. I was just a bit worried since she said I had nodules if they needed to be looked at.

[daisyduck]

Oh, ok, yeah, I think 1.2 would be pretty good numbers. I have heard that nodules over 10 mm need to be checked, but I can't say I know for sure. When I was first diagnosed, it was by my then-primary care doctor. She and her nurse told me several KEY pieces of MIS-information, and really freaked me out. When I found out the truth, I couldn't believe that a full-fledged doctor could be so wrong on information like this. That is why I would really question a doctor at a walk-in clinic. I would go for another opinion, since a doctor at a walk-in clinic is probably not going to an expert in thyroid conditions. (No offense to doctors at walk-in clinics - they are wonderful! - just I would see a specialist.) All this is only my opinion of course, and you have to do what you think is best for you. Again, I hope you can get the situation all figured out and most importantly, be able to get some peace of mind.

[MeganMomof5]

I'm not good at numbers (I usually don't even ask what mine are)...I do know that when I had thyroid cancer my doctor could feel the lump on the outside and could tell it had grown in the 4 years since he had last felt it...It's hard since you don't have surgery...I let mine go for a long time before I found out I had cancer thinking I was too young and it probably was nothing.

[4 Butterflies]

1.2 is perfectly normal. Is it still swollen after the cold is gone?

[LifenTheFastLane]

Yes it's still swollen, not visually but by feel it is.

Megan how old were you when you found out? I'm 26, you can't see the thyroid swelling or the nodules but you can feel it.