eerily similar

What I wrote October 14, 2005:
I got the results from the ultrasound today - I have a nodule on my left thyroid lobe. AKA see, I'm not crazy, I'm actually sick.
The nurse said the hospital usually recommends waiting six months and doing another thyroid ultrasound then to see whether it's still there or has grown, but my doctor usually wants to go ahead and do the nuclear scan to get a better picture of where we stand now. I asked whether they can do the nuclear scan if I'm breastfeeding, and they said no. So what they recommend is that I wait to do that until I'm closer to wanting to wean Liza, and in the meantime I should come in again in a month or so and get the blood test done again so they can monitor my hormone levels.

I found that e-mail to Jason a couple months ago as I was searching my archives for something completely unrelated.

I had completely forgotten about this whole thing, about the freaky easy post-partum weight loss (breastfeeding helps, but it doesn't explain losing 30 pounds while sucking down Sonic milkshakes every day) and the hair loss, the blood tests and the ultrasound and the freaking out because they sort of wanted me to stop breastfeeding Liza so I could have the nuclear scan (which would have made me and my breastmilk radioactive for several days, and I wouldn't have been able to go near her - or probably be in the same house as her - for that time). And the possibility that I'd have to nuke my thyroid and take synthetic thyroid hormones for the rest of my life. Realistically, I knew it wasn't the end of the world - some of my friends have had the same thing, and they're doing fine, feeling much healthier than they ever did when their thyroids were actually "working," but it still freaked me out.

I remember now that my follow-up bloodwork showed my TSH levels were back in the range considered normal, and I never went back for the second ultrasound to see if the nodule got any larger. Completely forgot to, what with the depression and the moving and all that.

Then I found the e-mail, and I happened to be going to the doctor soon to get my prescriptions refilled anyway, so I brought up with him the fact that I might have some sort of hideous thyroid malady that's been festering for the past three years. Well, actually I said, um, do I need to get the ultrasound still if the symptoms are gone? Because my days of losing weight while drinking milkshakes are sadly past.

Last week I finally got around to having the test run - yay, I love the feel of lubricating gel on my throat - and I wasn't thrilled when I asked the technician, "So, I don't have any aliens living in there or anything, right?" and she said, "Your doctor will have the results in a few days," without even cracking a smile.

What I found out October 15, 2008:
I got the results from the ultrasound today - I have nodules on my left thyroid lobe. Since I don't have the actual results from 2005, they want me to wait a few months and get the test done again to see whether they grow.

Ah, well, at least nobody has mentioned irradiating vital parts of my body (yet).

Oh, and for anyone who's interested in what this is all about, there's tons of info here:
thyroid nodules: http://www.endocrineweb.com/nodule.html