Goiter

Have you noticed a large bump on your neck lately? Is it causing you discomfort and seems to be worsening? You may have a goiter, a type of thyroid disease. Though treatable, not all forms of goiter treatment are suitable during pregnancy.

What is Goiter?
A goiter is an enlargement of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is located in your neck and produces hormones that regulate metabolism in the human body. A goiter can cause difficulty in swallowing and breathing. There are two types of goiter: diffuse and nodular. A diffuse goiter refers to consistent enlargement of the thyroid gland while a nodular goiter is enlargement of the thyroid from one or two nodules. Although rare in the U.S., pregnant women living in iodine-deficient areas of the world are more vulnerable to developing goiters during pregnancy. A baby is dependent on the mother for thyroid hormone for the first 10 to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Signs and Symptoms of Goiter
If you have a goiter, some of the typical goiter symptoms you may notice include:

 

• tightness in the throat
• thyroid gland enlargement
• trouble swallowing
• trouble breathing
• hoarseness

 

Causes of Goiter
The thyroid gland produces a number of hormones that regulate metabolism, body temperature, heart rate and protein production. A goiter may not necessarily affect the levels of hormones or the production of hormones. But if the hormone production is abnormal it could be due to a number of reasons including:

 

A lack of iodine causing the thyroid to enlarge because it cannot produce enough of the hormones thyroxine and T-3 which contain iodine.

Graves� Disease causes the uniform enlargement of the thyroid gland due to over-stimulation.

Hashimoto�s Disease causes the pituitary gland to over-stimulate and enlarge the thyroid.

A multinodular goiter is when nodules grow on both sides of the thyroid gland making the thyroid gland bigger.

Solitary thyroid nodules are single nodules grown anywhere on the thyroid gland.

Thyroid cancer causes an abnormal growth on one side of the thyroid gland.

Pregnancy can cause the thyroid gland to enlarge slightly due to the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

Inflammation causes the enlargement of the thyroid gland and painful swallowing.

 

 

Diagnosing Goiter

Your doctor can use physical examination, blood tests, antibody tests, ultrasound and a thyroid scan to determine what is causing the goiter.