Tips For Thyroid Surgery, Please.

I will be having a Total Thyroidectomy in one month for a suspicious nodule. I would appreciate any helpful hints for getting through this surgery and the recovery. Thanks!

 

On 4/6/2008 Girlcat36 wrote:

I will be having a Total Thyroidectomy in one month for a suspicious nodule. I would appreciate any helpful hints for getting through this surgery and the recovery. Thanks!

I had a Total Thyroidectomy January 29, 2008.  The surgery itself was not as bad as I thought it would be.  I spent one night in the hospital.  Surgery itself was about 2 hours, a little longer than anticipated due to the tumor being so large.  I had orginally been diagnosed Nov. 06 with two benign nodules on the left side, went on PTU to make surgery a safe level for me as my T3, T4 and all that were extremely high.  My step dad had open heart surgery dec. 06, so I put surgery off, my daughter was to be married june 07, so i put surgery off again til after the wedding.  Nov. 07 I was not feeling well, went to the dr. my blood pressure was EXTREMEMLY high, 236/183, and well, needless to say, it was time to have the thyroid removed.  Once again taking high doses of PTU to get my levels at a safe level.  I also have Mutiple Scerlosis, so this was of concern on what meds, and radiation treatment I could or could not take.  1-29-08 I had my surgery, and un beknownst to us, there were two more nodules on the left side that had developed, so a total of 4 nodules, 3 benign, one cancer.  So waiting to have the surgery was not a good choice on my part. 

As I said, recovery/surgery was not so bad, I was back to work full time in about 3 weeks, I actually went back to work I think it was 9 days after surgery, a few hours a day. I run a school cafeteria, so I do have a physical job.  The most pain I had was across the back of my head, and when I asked the nurse about it in the hospital, she said that because they had a tough time because of the size, they had my head pretty stretched back to get to it all.  My incision looks great, I had a wonderful surgeon who did a great job.  Healing very nicely.

The worst part is now.  I am so fatigued, muscle pain , have no desire to do anything that is not necessary.   I am seeing a new endo dr. at the end of this month as I don't think the 1st one is listening to me.  I am on Levoxyl 50mg 2x a day, I also take my blood presure meds, etc., etc., have blood work, but the dr. was not listening to what I was saying, and got very distracted very easily. 

Good Luck with your surgery, it will be fine.  I was terrified about surgery. I hadn't had a major surgery like this in 34 years.  I am 50 years old now. 

This site gave me great comfort 2 years ago when my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and thru everything she went thru. That's why I'm back on it, for myself.  Little did I know two years ago I would be talking about myself and cancer.

Good luck & let us know how you are doing.

 Input on what other folks have gone thru after surgery would be greatly appreciated.  Things you have had to endure, like myself, muscle pain, weight gain in the last 8 weeks, extreme fatigue, coldness {like ice water running under the skin} is the only way I can describe my coldness.

Lynne

 

On 4/6/2008 Mamaj wrote:

 

On 4/6/2008 Girlcat36 wrote:

I will be having a Total Thyroidectomy in one month for a suspicious nodule. I would appreciate any helpful hints for getting through this surgery and the recovery. Thanks!

I had a Total Thyroidectomy January 29, 2008.  The surgery itself was not as bad as I thought it would be.  I spent one night in the hospital.  Surgery itself was about 2 hours, a little longer than anticipated due to the tumor being so large.  I had orginally been diagnosed Nov. 06 with two benign nodules on the left side, went on PTU to make surgery a safe level for me as my T3, T4 and all that were extremely high.  My step dad had open heart surgery dec. 06, so I put surgery off, my daughter was to be married june 07, so i put surgery off again til after the wedding.  Nov. 07 I was not feeling well, went to the dr. my blood pressure was EXTREMEMLY high, 236/183, and well, needless to say, it was time to have the thyroid removed.  Once again taking high doses of PTU to get my levels at a safe level.  I also have Mutiple Scerlosis, so this was of concern on what meds, and radiation treatment I could or could not take.  1-29-08 I had my surgery, and un beknownst to us, there were two more nodules on the left side that had developed, so a total of 4 nodules, 3 benign, one cancer.  So waiting to have the surgery was not a good choice on my part. 

As I said, recovery/surgery was not so bad, I was back to work full time in about 3 weeks, I actually went back to work I think it was 9 days after surgery, a few hours a day. I run a school cafeteria, so I do have a physical job.  The most pain I had was across the back of my head, and when I asked the nurse about it in the hospital, she said that because they had a tough time because of the size, they had my head pretty stretched back to get to it all.  My incision looks great, I had a wonderful surgeon who did a great job.  Healing very nicely.

The worst part is now.  I am so fatigued, muscle pain , have no desire to do anything that is not necessary.   I am seeing a new endo dr. at the end of this month as I don't think the 1st one is listening to me.  I am on Levoxyl 50mg 2x a day, I also take my blood presure meds, etc., etc., have blood work, but the dr. was not listening to what I was saying, and got very distracted very easily. 

Good Luck with your surgery, it will be fine.  I was terrified about surgery. I hadn't had a major surgery like this in 34 years.  I am 50 years old now. 

This site gave me great comfort 2 years ago when my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and thru everything she went thru. That's why I'm back on it, for myself.  Little did I know two years ago I would be talking about myself and cancer.

Good luck & let us know how you are doing.

 Input on what other folks have gone thru after surgery would be greatly appreciated.  Things you have had to endure, like myself, muscle pain, weight gain in the last 8 weeks, extreme fatigue, coldness {like ice water running under the skin} is the only way I can describe my coldness.

Lynne

I had my thyroid out on 3/5/08 (one month ago).  I too had put my surgery off for family reasons and now regret that decision as they found it had just started to spread and found it in two nodules.  The surgery wasn't too bad.  I did have some complications; my throat became swollen on the inside and had to go on steroids to reduce the complications.  I was in the hospital for 4 days.  But the surgery didn't hurt at all.  I didn't even accept pain meds.

What they don't tell you is don't expect to eat for a few days and then it will most likely be liquids and/or soft foods; pudding, apple sauce, soup etc.  I was eating normally within two weeks.  The worst part of the whole thing is losing your voice.  After a month, I still sound like I have the worst cold possible.  At times, my voice just goes.  It seems to be getting better every day, but I learned I have to be patient.  I've spoken to others who had this surgery, and the loss of voice is very common and it can takes months before it's back to normal.  Singing and screaming may never be the same in most cases.

I was back to work within 2 weeks and I really feel fine right now.  I was going to use Thyrogen before my RAI to avoid hypo, but because it had spread, that is no longer an option.  So I am on Cytomel because you can become hypo alot faster than with Synthroid; verified with three doctors.  They expect me to be hypo only 1 week; 2 at the most.  I will begin all of this on 4/21.  I'm looking forward to that part being over. 

My scar is already great.  My surgeon promised to put it in the crease and he hit it head on!!  It is already hardly visible.  Don't worry about the surgery.  It really wasn't bad at all and with patience the rest isn't that hard either.  You'll be fine.

Good luck to you, Donna

 

I had my thyroid out on 3/5/08 (one month ago).  I too had put my surgery off for family reasons and now regret that decision as they found it had just started to spread and found it in two nodules.  The surgery wasn't too bad.  I did have some complications; my throat became swollen on the inside and had to go on steroids to reduce the complications.  I was in the hospital for 4 days.  But the surgery didn't hurt at all.  I didn't even accept pain meds.

What they don't tell you is don't expect to eat for a few days and then it will most likely be liquids and/or soft foods; pudding, apple sauce, soup etc.  I was eating normally within two weeks.  The worst part of the whole thing is losing your voice.  After a month, I still sound like I have the worst cold possible.  At times, my voice just goes.  It seems to be getting better every day, but I learned I have to be patient.  I've spoken to others who had this surgery, and the loss of voice is very common and it can takes months before it's back to normal.  Singing and screaming may never be the same in most cases.

I was back to work within 2 weeks and I really feel fine right now.  I was going to use Thyrogen before my RAI to avoid hypo, but because it had spread, that is no longer an option.  So I am on Cytomel because you can become hypo alot faster than with Synthroid; verified with three doctors.  They expect me to be hypo only 1 week; 2 at the most.  I will begin all of this on 4/21.  I'm looking forward to that part being over. 

My scar is already great.  My surgeon promised to put it in the crease and he hit it head on!!  It is already hardly visible.  Don't worry about the surgery.  It really wasn't bad at all and with patience the rest isn't that hard either.  You'll be fine.

Good luck to you,

Donna

Lynne and Donna--thank you! I just got finished(10 months ago) with surgery, chemo and radiation for tonsil cancer(a surgery that kept getting put off too!). I was told that the thyroidectomy experience will be a walk in the park, compared to what I've already gone through. I have never been hypo(my thyroid works fine!)--so I guess that's not going to be any fun. Did you use anything on the scar to help it to heal, and did you do range of motion exercises?

I agree with everyone else.  The surgery itself is not bad at all.  The worst of my pain was from the breathing tube,  which felt like the worst sore throat ever.  I also felt like my throat was very swollen on the inside, which made it hard to eat solid food for about two weeks.  This was all a breeze compaired to the way I felt while hypo waiting for RAI (if you need it).  Still now 4 months after my surgery I still feel very tired at times and have gained alot of weight.  This is all due to my thyroid levels being low, because it takes a very long time to get those adjusted right. Also, I still have low calcium, so I eat alot of tums and Vit D.  I keep hearing it will get better.....let's hope.  Good luck, you will be fine.

I would love to say the same,  but my experience was not good.  First of all, my advise to all patients is ask for ALL possible problems and talk them out with your surgeon.  When they tell you "it's a minimal risk" don't believe them - risks are there and you need to know what can happen and what will be done if something does happen.  I was more concerned about getting rid of the cancer and not paying attention to business.  I was left with vocal cords paralysis and a trach.  I spent a week in ICU and another week in a room trying to recover more.   I have had numerous problems with the vocal cords and it has caused alot of other issues medically with me..  I know this sounds depressing, but good news is I am happy to be alive and look forward to the next day.

j 

I just kept the scar clean, used sun screen outside (I live in Florida), and didn't wear any jewelry for a month.  I now put Vitamin C serum on the scar every morning.  I swear by Vitamin C serum for skin.  It's very healing.  I won't say that's what is doing it, but it can't hurt.

 I did do range of motion excercises.  My surgeon said some lose range of motion due to  scar tissue forming.  I have fibromyalgia so I'm used to alot of neck exercises anyway.  So once it was comfortable I made sure I kept my neck moving in all directions; left right up and down.  I don't want scar tissue constricting my movement.  Plus it feels pretty good to keep it moving! :)  Just keep as active as you can.  I started walking as soon as I could and got to work within 2 weeks to stay active.  I think it helped my energy level.  I've always been one to push myself and not give into pain and/or illness.  Maybe it helped, I don't know.  But again, I feel absolutely fine. 

One bit of advise, if it is definitely cancer AND it has not spread, use Thyrogen before RAI; not hypo.  After alot of study I found it is widely used by the best and has been found to be quite effective.  You won't get sick before the RAI and I'm told by those who used Thyrogen that it was a piece of cake.  If it has spread, make sure you talk to your Endo about Cytomel instead of Synthroid before your RAI.  It's easier to go hypo and cuts that time in more than half; only 1-2 weeks. 

Good luck,

Donna

I had a TT in April 07 b/c of a bothersome nodule that was just getting bigger. It had been biopsied 5 years before and found to be benign. Thank God I was persisent in having it removed b/c I was getting choked occasionally. The TT revealed Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. Anyway, to answer your question. The biggest advice after surgery that I have is to fold up a towel into 1/4 long ways, put it behind your head and then when you need to lift your head in the bed you can pull the towel instead of using your neck muscles.

Other things to watch! Make sure to ask the Dr. if you should wait on starting Synthroid until pathology comes back. (which is a few days) If you start the synthroid without knowing and then need to go off of it b/c of a bad path. report then it will take 2-3 weeks longer to get your levels to where they need to be for treatment.(about 6 weeks total if taking synthroid)  Also, if the Dr. does start you immediately on thyroid meds. make sure that they don't give you calcium at the same time. It reduces the absorption of the thyroid meds.

Lastly, if you have any any any tingling at all in your hands, feet or face or any chest pains make sure you tell the nurse right away. If not treated it can become very serious very quickly. They will test your ionized calcium and begin you on calcium.

 Don't let all of this scare you it really wasn't so bad! and better than not taking care of it at all and wishing you did!

God Bless,

Kim

Thanks again, excellent information!