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Diagnosing a Goiter

Physical Exam

During a physical exam, the doctor will feel your thyroid gland and look for the presence of nodules and check what areas are tender.

Blood Test

The doctor can test the levels of hormones in your blood by conducting blood tests. An underactive thyroid will have a low level of thyroid hormone and a high level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

An overactive thyroid will have a high level of thyroid hormone and a low level of TSH. The blood test can also check for the production of irregular antibodies in your blood that can be caused by a goiter.

Ultrasound

An ultrasound uses sound wave to detect the presence of nodules that cannot be felt through physical examination.

Thyroid Scan

Another method for diagnosing a goiter is by a thyroid scan. A thyroid scan involves injecting radioactive isotope into your elbow vein. The isotope will travel to your thyroid and illuminate it for further examination.

You will lie down on a table and tilt your head backward for the isotope to reach your thyroid gland. A camera will then take a picture of your thyroid gland.

Treatment During Pregnancy

The treatment for goiter depends on the specific nature of the goiter. If the goiter is small and not causing you much difficulty, your doctor may just wait to see what happens.

However, if the goiter is increasing in size and you find it quite painful, your doctor has a variety of options to treat you.

Goiter due to Graves' Disease

If you are pregnant, your doctor will take this into consideration before beginning on a course of treatment. If the goiter is caused by Graves' Disease, you may be considered as a candidate for treatment with anti-thyroid medication, particularly propylthiouracil (PTU).

Your doctor will want to keep your T3 and T4 levels in the normal range with a low dose of this medication. This drug is also administered to prevent your baby from developing hypothyroidism or a goiter.

Aspirin or corticosteroid medication may be prescribed to treat goiter inflammation, but these have been noted to impair fetal growth in the long-term. You will not be recommended for surgery, as this is a danger to you and your baby at this time.

Goiter Caused by Hashimoto's Disease

If you are diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease, your doctor may prescribe levothyroxine to you. Levothyroxine is a medication used to treat hypothyroidism and will reduce the size of your goiter.

Your dosage of this medication may have to be doubled during pregnancy. Doctors will check your thyroid hormone function every six to eight weeks during pregnancy to ensure that everything is functioning normally.

Other Treatment Options

Surgery

If you are not pregnant, you may have surgery to remove your goiter. A thyroidectomy is surgery on the thyroid gland. Your doctor may opt for surgery if you have a large, uncomfortable goiter that interferes with your breathing and swallowing or if you have thyroid cancer.

Radioactive Iodine Treatment

If you have an overactive thyroid gland, your doctor may decide to treat your goiter with radioactive iodine. Radioactive iodine, taken orally, will travel through your bloodstream, eliminating thyroid cells.

The treatment will reduce the size of the goiter but may result in an underactive thyroid gland and lifelong dependence on hormone replacement therapy. However, this treatment is not recommended during pregnancy.