View the Health Heart Book

Free

E-Newsletters

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer
Connect with others who've been there. Share stories. Learn. Join Mayo Clinic's
online community.

Treatments and drugs

By Mayo Clinic staff

Goiter treatment depends on the size of the goiter, your signs and symptoms, and the underlying cause. Your doctor may recommend:

  • Observation. If your goiter is small and doesn't cause problems, and your thyroid is functioning normally, your doctor may suggest a wait-and-see approach.
  • Medications. If you have hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone replacement with levothyroxine (Levothroid, Synthroid) will resolve the symptoms of hypothyroidism as well as slow the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone from your pituitary gland, often decreasing the size of the goiter. For inflammation of your thyroid gland, your doctor may suggest aspirin or a corticosteroid medication to treat the inflammation. For goiters associated with hyperthyroidism, you may need medications to normalize hormone levels.
  • Surgery. Removing all or part of your thyroid gland (total or partial thyroidectomy) is an option if you have a large goiter that is uncomfortable or causes difficulty breathing or swallowing, or in some cases, if you have nodular goiter causing hyperthyroidism. Surgery is also the treatment for thyroid cancer. You may need to take levothyroxine after surgery, depending on the amount of thyroid removed.
  • Radioactive iodine. In some cases, radioactive iodine is used to treat an overactive thyroid gland. The radioactive iodine is taken orally and reaches your thyroid gland through your bloodstream, destroying thyroid cells. The treatment results in diminished size of the goiter, but eventually may also cause an underactive thyroid gland. Hormone replacement with the synthetic thyroid hormone levothyroxine then becomes necessary, usually for life.
Lifestyle and home remedies Tests and diagnosis

  • See Also

    • Hand Scheduled
    Section Focus
  • Thyroidectomy

    • Related Links
    Related Guides
    Children
    Parent
References
  1. Thyroid disorders overview. The Hormone Foundation. http://www.hormone.org/Thyroid/overview.cfm. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
  2. Goiter. American Thyroid Association. http://www.thyroid.org/patients/patient_brochures/goiter.html. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
  3. Ross DS. Clinical manifestations and evaluation of obstructive or substernal goiter. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
  4. Jameson JL, et al. Disorders of the thyroid gland. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies: 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2877579&searchStr=goiter. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
  5. Lal G, et al. Thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal. In: Brunicardi FC, et al. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2010. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=5027231&searchStr=goiter#5027231. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
  6. Simple nontoxic goiter. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec12/ch152/ch152i.html?qt=goiter&alt=sh. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
  7. Iodine deficiency. American Thyroid Association. http://www.thyroid.org/patients/patient_brochures/iodine_deficiency.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
  8. Hyperthyroidism. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec12/ch152/ch152e.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
  9. Approach to the patient with a thyroid nodule. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec12/ch152/ch152b.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
  10. Hypothyroidism. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec12/ch152/ch152f.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
  11. Thyroid diseases. Lab Tests Online. http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/thyroid.html. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
  12. Ross DS. Treatment of obstructive or substernal goiter. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
DS00217 Jan. 8, 2011

© 1998-2012 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Advertisement


Text Size: smaller largerlarger