I went for a thyroid ultrasound this week just to check the status of my thyroid.  I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 4 or 5 years ago.  I find it strange that I don't really remember when but it was such a non-event in a way.  Back then I didn't understand much about hypothyroidism and my doctor was pretty non-chalant about it all.  I remember him telling me my thyroid tests came back and that I needed to take thyroid hormone.  I've learned a lot since then and have come to realize how important it is to treat that beautiful little butterfly shaped gland with plenty of TLC.

I've never had a thyroid ultrasound before and decided it was time to ask for one.  So I spoke with my doctor about it and she agreed I should get it checked out.  I am waiting for the official results but the ultrasound technician said she didn't see any nodules but that she could tell I had hypothyroidism.  I had known that the ultrasound could show things like an enlarged thyroid and nodules or masses, etc. but hadn't realized that hypothyroidism is apparent due to the size and texture of the thyroid which shows up on the ultrasound.  I knew that had to find out more about ultrasound and thyroid:

<em>"Ultrasound is not <strong>generally required for the diagnosis of diffuse thyroid diseases</strong>; however, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is primarily a subclinical disease and <strong>ultrasound can detect this subset of patients before they come to clinical attention</strong>, when typical ultrasound findings are present. In addition, <strong>ultrasound has a role in excluding focal thyroid disease and in assessing the size of the thyroid</strong>."</em>

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<em>"All patients should undergo an evaluation of the cervical lymph nodes as part of a routine thyroid ultrasound. Enlarged but morphologically normalappearing cervical lymph nodes are common in patients with AITD (particularly Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and can even be the first clue of this diagnosis"</em>

<em>Sholosh, B. &amp; Borhani, A., (2011). </em>Thyroid Ultrasound Part 1: Technique and <em id="__mceDel"><em id="__mceDel">Diffuse Disease,  </em></em><em id="__mceDel">Radiologic Clinics of North America, 49, 391–416.</em>