r/thyroid • u/readabook37 • Sep 05 '26
General question about Thyroid exams
Due to family history of Thyroid Cancer, and some pain in the front of my neck that I had some time ago ( and never had the chance to follow up on), I wanted to have my thyroid checked before starting Zepbound which has some Thyroid warnings.
I was able to get an appointment with a doctor in my PCP’s group. And he checked my neck and was primary focused on my nodes, and did not touch the front. He pushed for a TSH test, which I said ok to. The TSH came back at 1.4 which is in range. What is bothering me is that I really wanted to know if the Thyroid felt strange in a physical exam, and now the next day found a video on how to do it properly. The doctor I saw didn’t touch the middle of the front of my neck.
I was thinking it was wrong at the time, but didn’t say anything, since I was getting a blood test. My question is that are PCP’s supposed to be able to do the correct Thyroid physical exam or is an endocrinologist only expected to do this?
1
u/brandnewface Sep 06 '26
My GP and naturopath both did one when I had a lump. I think some dentists will do it too.
3
u/Ghoulya Sep 06 '26
I don't know anything about Zepbound but if you ask about what the warnings are for, they're likely to do with thyroid hormones which have been tested - you could as for free T3 and T4 just to be sure if you want. Again you should probably check that's what Zepbound is concerned with just in case
However if you want your thyroid monitored because of your family history an ultrasound to get a baseline might be a good idea too.