How can I shrink my thyroid nodules without surgery?
Bulging or uncomfortable thyroid nodules used to require surgery. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an effective alternative – no surgery or hormone therapy required. In the U.S., nearly half the population will develop a thyroid nodule by age 60.
What is the recommended treatment for benign thyroid nodules?
Most patients who appear to have benign nodules require no specific treatment. Some physicians prescribe the hormone levothyroxine with hopes of preventing nodule growth or reducing the size of cold nodules. Radioiodine may be used to treat hot nodules.
What is the role of TSH suppression for benign thyroid nodules?
Although the pathogenesis of thyroid nodules and sporadic nontoxic multinodular goiters is poorly understood, TSH is presumed to be necessary if not sufficient, and therefore, suppression of TSH secretion might be expected to result in a decrease in nodule or goiter size or at least prevent further enlargement.
Should I remove my thyroid if I have nodules?
If a thyroid nodule is causing voice or swallowing problems, your doctor may recommend treating it with surgery to remove all or part of the thyroid gland. If the doctor recommends removal of your thyroid (thyroidectomy), you may not even have to worry about a scar on your neck.
Is there a way to shrink thyroid nodules?
Doctors use radioactive iodine to treat hyperthyroidism. Taken as a capsule or in liquid form, radioactive iodine is absorbed by your thyroid gland. This causes the nodules to shrink and signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism to subside, usually within two to three months.
Can you shrink benign thyroid nodules?
Laser ablation therapy is effective for shrinking benign thyroid nodules but has significant complications. Thyroid nodules are the most common endocrine disorder. Nodules are evaluated for thyroid cancer with a biopsy and those containing cancer or suspicious for cancer are removed by surgery.
How do you prevent thyroid nodules?
Can thyroid nodules be prevented or avoided? Doctors aren’t sure what causes most thyroid nodules, so most likely, you can’t prevent them. But you can make sure you eat enough food that contains iodine (table salt, dairy products, seafood, meat, etc.), which can prevent one cause of thyroid nodules.
What causes thyroid nodules to grow?
The majority of thyroid nodules are caused by an overgrowth of normal thyroid tissue. The cause of this overgrowth is usually unknown, but there is a strong genetic basis. In rare cases, thyroid nodules are associated with: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that leads to hypothyroidism.
Does levothyroxine shrink thyroid nodules?
In a moderately iodine-deficient area, 12 months of treatment with levothyroxine plus iodine significantly reduced thyroid nodule size. However, 26% of the nodules actually increased in size with levothyroxine plus iodine treatment.
Does levothyroxine suppress TSH?
Levothyroxine could suppress TSH in subclinical thyroid disease.
What kind of doctor removes thyroid nodules?
If you require thyroid removal (thyroidectomy), you’ll want a highly qualified surgeon to perform the procedure. Otolaryngologists—or ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors—and general surgeons perform thyroid removal.
Is there thyroid hormone suppressive therapy for benign nodules?
However, suppressive therapy does appear to interfere with goitrogenesis in many patients, and it has been proposed that it could reduce the risk of thyroid oncogenesis, as well. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) does not recommend suppression therapy of benign thyroid nodules in iodine sufficient populations [ 1 ].
When to use suppressive therapy for thyroid cancer?
Suppressive therapy means that the goal is a TSH below the normal range and is used in thyroid cancer patients to prevent growth of any remaining cancer cells and sometimes in patients with thyroid nodules to prevent nodule growth.
Are there thyroid hormone suppressive therapy for euthyroid patients?
The efficacy of thyroid hormone suppressive therapy in euthyroid patients with solitary benign thyroid nodules or sporadic nontoxic multinodular goiters is controversial. Most studies have shown that few thyroid nodules regress in patients taking thyroid hormone.
How is levothyroxine used to treat thyroid nodules?
This involves treating a benign nodule with levothyroxine (Levoxyl, Synthroid, others), a synthetic form of thyroxine that you take in pill form. The idea is that supplying additional thyroid hormone will signal the pituitary to produce less TSH, the hormone that stimulates the growth of thyroid tissue.