Is There Any Relation Between Enlarged Goiter And Pale Yellow Tone In Face?

Posted on Sat, 1 Feb 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 1 Feb 2014 Answered on

Fri, 21 Feb 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My mother has a severely enlarged goiter. This has been the case for the past 5 years. She has lost an excessive amount of weight to the point she looks anorexic. I have noticed over the last few days her face has changed to a very pale yellow tone. Could this be related ??

Answered by Dr. Shehzad Topiwala (11 hours later)

Brief Answer: Requires thorough work up Detailed Answer: When significant unintentional weight loss occurs in any individual, especially smokers , it is absolutely important to rule out worrisome causes. This entails a comprehensive evaluation in terms of a complete physical examination and tests (blood, X ray etc). Regarding the goiter there are couple things that may connect the symptoms you are reporting : 1 If the goiter is producing excessive thyroid hormone = hyperthyroidism, as evidenced from blood tests called TSH and free T4, then that can cause weight loss as one of the manifestations 2 If there is a cancer in the thyroid, then a consequence of that is potential weight loss. An ultrasound is a good start and based upon findings such as the presence of nodules in the thyroid, may necessitate a biopsy of the suspicious ones with a fine needle aspiration technique

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