My appointment was at 1 this afternoon...I will give a quick run through in regards to what they do...I am sure some of you are curious as to how they biopsy a thyroid nodule.
I entered a room that was dimly lit with these really beautiful sconces...I felt very relaxed at this point and even watched some television in the room...I am so thankful for this because it kept my mind off of what was to come. Scott was in the room with me until the actual procedure started...the ultrasound tech came in and did an u/s to make sure I was the correct patient and all that. I had to change into a gown and was able to keep my pants and shoes on...15 minutes later, the doctor came into the room...he did another u/s and marked the area he was going to enter at with marker then they moved my bed around to the get the best position for the doctor. They layed me flat with a pillow underneath my shoulders so that my head would tilt all the way back. Then the doctor sterilized my entire neck and proceeded to lay sterilized material all the way around the nodule area...I ended up having to have my nose covered which was not what I wanted...I could not breathe that well and felt really claustrophobic...the doctor then proceeded to numb the area twice...which to my surprise did no hurt one bit...I was told that he would need to make 4 passes first and give those to the pathologist waiting outside of the room...the pathologist would then make sure that he had a good sample of cells and that most likely those 4 passes would not be enough and the doctor would have to go back and do 4 more...anyways, the doctor started with his first pass...he stuck a very very very fine needle into the nodule...I did not feel pain...per say...but definitely felt VERY uncomfortable...I could feel the pressure of the needle and it felt like I was being choked...the first pass lasted a couple minutes...which surprised me...I was shocked that it took that long just to do this one pass, so I started to freak out at this point (remember, I was told I would probably need 8 passes because 4 never really does the trick)...the doctor then did 4 more passes with each one getting more and more uncomfortable. After his final pass...he gave the samples to the pathologist...at this point I LITERALLY crossed my fingers and said a little prayer hoping he got a good sample with those 5 passes...I DID NOT want to have an go through that again...after quite some time, I finally heard the pathologist say that he was good...I was so incredibly relieved...the doctor that did the biopsy told me how lucky I was and that usually never happens...anyways, all and all, the whole process took an hour and a half...like I mentioned before...the area is pretty painful and very swollen...I will hear back within three days! I am still pretty confident it is benign, but you never know...and I hope I never have to do that again!
Sorry to hear that you were in pain. Praying for good results.
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