What Causes A Lump In The Throat Of A Hashimoto's Thyroid Disease Patient?

Posted on Thu, 13 Oct 2016

Question: Hello, I am XXXX and I'm a massage therapist. I have Hashimoto's thyroid disease, asthma, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and celiac's disease (yay, hormone imbalance is fun). Over the past 2 weeks, I have a lump in my throat (located just above the manubrium and continuing up my left side of the throat medial to the sternocleidomastoid but lateral to the trachea) and it's become uncomfortable to swallow. I consistently feel like I have a pill stuck in my throat after drinking water and ingesting other things. Historically, fall is my worst asthma season and I have been wheezy. I have been taking my inhaler (Symbicort and ProAir) and my levothyroxine (125 mcg). I have some hunches as to what could be causing this, but I have this growing feeling that something is wrong. I am unfortunately uninsured and fall into the income bracket where getting insurance means having to choose between insurance that has a very high deductible that I probably won't be able to meet and feeding me and my son, so I wanted to try this first before seeking out a doctor in person. Thank you for your help.

Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Please give additional information and post clear photographs.

Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Thanks for your query and an elucidate history.
Nice to know that you have medical background as you are a massage therapist.
Read your history carefully and understood your concerns about the lump in neck located just above manubrium and continuing up on left side medial the SCM and lateral to trachea; became uncomfortable to swallow. Pill-stuck-in throat sensation - 2 weeks - Also noted about asthma, Hashimoto's, PCOS nad Celiac's - uninsured - C2 problem and left rotator cuff injury.

Please give additional information for me to assist you further:
Is there a diffuse swelling or a well-defined one?
Size? Is it visible swelling or just palpable?
Any pain or tenderness?
Is it XXXXXXX or fixed?
Can sternocleidomastoid (SCM) be palpated separately than the lump?
Any history of flu like symptoms, fever, chills?
What is the upper limit of swelling - is it along the whole length of SCM or halfway?

Awaiting you feedback so that we can discussed further.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar