Update about surgery

[cloudwalker]

Hi everyone i had my appointment with the ent doctor yesterday after being referred back by the nuclear team for surgery

Both departments agree my whole thyroid needs to be removed and the wait for surgery is about 8 weeks or sooner if there is a cancellation

The doctor was really nice she explained the op and went through the risks some i already knew but i didnt know about the rare need for a tracteotomy if i couldnt breathe after she said that i felt overwhelmed and a bit upset but she said they would know pretty quick after the op if there was a problem

I am quite nervous about it all but if anyone has been through it i would really appreciate any experiences you may have had

Thanks for reading this x

[Clutter]

Cloudwalker, I had hemilobectomy, and 3 months later completion thyroidectomy. I was able to eat and drink without discomfort after each op and copious pain relief was available in hospital and to take home, but I didn't need much. A drain is inserted to reduce swelling. Looks unpleasant but isn't uncomfortable and will normally be removed before discharge. Wound needs to be kept dry for a few days and I had a long running stitch which was removed 7-10 days later. Wounds healed well and I have a small white line of a scar in the hollow of my throat. I had temporary low calcium which self resolved in a week. There was no damage to vocal chords or weakness of voice after. All in all, I felt remarkably well after each op, although I felt very tired once I was home.

I hope all goes well.

[cloudwalker in reply to Clutter]

Thank you for your reply Clutter i am so pleased both your ops went so well i hope mine does too it's just the doctor made it seem so bad i know it's their job to tell you worst case scenario but it was quite over whelming up to 6 weeks to recover from the op and up to 3 months to get the levels right not to mention the risks, i suppose the other thing that worries me apart from the op itself is what life is like afterwards, my thyroid has to come out because they are worried about the nodules but it is working my mum has been diagnosed with an under active thyroid for a year and a half and she has bad times with it, recently she didn't have the energy to get out of bed

But i actually feel a bit better about the op from your reply and i really appreciate it x

[Clutter in reply to cloudwalker]

Cloudwalker, my recover from surgery was good but getting meds right took almost two years. I had ThyCa so I had to stop meds a couple of times for RAI which meant I became very hypo for 4/5 weeks each time. I didn't tolerate Levothyroxine when I was switched from T3. It took almost 2 years for me to find the right meds and dose, a combination of T4+T3, and I was very ill during that time.

It doesn't mean you'll have the same problems. I was talking to someone who had a thyroidectomy 4 weeks ago. The first couple of weeks he felt unwell but once the Levothyroxine kicked in during the 3rd week he said he felt very well, better than he'd felt in years.

[faith63]

with hashimotos, thyroids look odd and improve with proper treatment.

[cloudwalker in reply to faith63]

I haven't been diagnosed with that condition

[faith63 in reply to cloudwalker]

have you been tested for antibodies? its really important to know this!

[cloudwalker]

I had a thyroid function test with antibodies at my appointment with the nuclear team