I've had 1/2 of my thyroid removed 2 weeks ago due to pap. Cancer.. with no replacement therapy yet till 6 weeks .My blood work is t4 13 and t3 3.4 Thyroid 2.89. But my biggest concern is swelling ..I just had 50 pcs of ceroma fluid drained from my surg. Site..
Does any one else have this problem
I am very sorry you've had the trauma of having half your thyroid gland removed due to cancer.
I am hypothyroid but those who've had the same diagnosis as you will respond when they read your post.
It is a worry when things you don't expect after an op happens and you want some answers of course.
When you post your results, always put the ranges after the results as labs differ in ranges and it makes it easier to respond.
When you are due blood tests for your thyroid hormones, always make the very earliest appointment, fasting and if you are taking thyroid hormone replacement (levothyroxine for instance) you'd allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose and test and take afterwards.
Ask GP to test B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate when you have your next blood test.
Hi Margar, I'm sorry to hear about your surgery. I had similar surgery. I think it's unusual to experience swelling two weeks after. Some people have swelling immediately after surgery. Have they told you what's causing it? How are you feeling?
Tired and anxious.
Sorry for you. You will need a lot of rest over the coming months. Your body is going through a huge adjustment. When is your next blood test? Anxiety sometimes occurs as a result of thyroid adjustment and imbalance. It can occur with both under and over active thyroid. Things you would normally sail through become challenging so cut yourself some slack. Explain to yourself, your family/friends that you can't just bounce back to normal self and this is to be expected for thyroid conditions. It's a long slow process back to health.
You'll get there eventually.
My next blood work is end of Sept. I'll see my endo in oct..its very slow process and they swear by the tsh..I wish I could just pay for it all myself..then I might have more say and peace of mind.
You probably can't hurry the process even if you pay for it but it's frustrating feeling you don't have control of what's happening. Try to get copies of all your treatment because you'll feel a bit more in control then. Keep a record of all your blood tests. If by September your TSH is higher than 2.0 I would ask to be prescribed Levothyroxine, at least that's what I would do. Doctors have no idea how being hypothyroid makes you feel terribly unwell and sometimes leave people to suffer unnecessarily so you might have to be a bit outspoken about what you want. I presume you're not scheduled for radioactive iodine?
If you take levothyroxine there is nothing to stop you coming off it in future if your thyroid takes over but there's no point in suffering and feeling ill. It's helpful to keep a record of symptoms as it's useful to remember the effects of being hypothyroid. If you do take levothyroxine, you need to be able to recognise the symptoms of being undermedicated and go for a blood test to check it out.
If you feel ill before you're due to see the Endo, go to your GP and get them to do a blood test. They can always ring the Endo for advice but if your TSH goes high you can't wait around feeling ill until it suits the Endo to see you.
Levothyroxine is not the perfect fix but it will help you along if your thyroid is underfunctioning. It took me about a year to start feeling well even though I was immediately put on levothyroxine after thyroidectomy or at least within a couple of weeks. I've had lots of setbacks since then. I'm still learning.
Butterfly Thyroid Cancer have good information on their website about thyroid cancer. There are a couple of good conference videos to view.
Seromas are fluid that go to fill the vacuum left by surgery. It is not uncommon for them to appear weeks or even months after surgery although it is more common to happen sooner rather than later.
When was your blood work done? It looks like you are hypothyroid, although you may find it hard to get sufficient replacement hormone until your results are significantly worse. Do lots of research!
TY and this site is very supportive at least I feel like Im not going crazy. Reaserch..Im only starting to get it! Diet is huge and I'm starting to document it.
I have some natural T3 25 from Spain and baby dose T4 half strength on the sly.
Still feel anxiety morning and supper time. And sore liwer back!
Hi
A little off path with your post, but I had surgery 12 weeks ago on my knee and I still have some fluid there. Ive been massaging towards my heart to try and help disperse it. I read that people with thyroid issues have a harder time trying to get rid of fluid after surgery. This was on google so could be completely wrong of course. And it's my knee not my neck so again it could be completely different.
I really hope you feel better soon and are on the path to getting well.... big hugs xx
No I didn't have your problem but had my thyroid removed for the same reason.
Here in France they always take away the whole thyroid in one go.
It's different in the UK. Did you have an experienced thyroid surgeon?
Anyway I am sure that it is just a matter of time before you regain your health.
Good Luck
Thank you and he's been a thyroid surgeon for 9 years..also a hearing aid implant specialist.
Their hope is it will work harder for hormones and 15% need replacement hormone therapy..we'll see.I feel like a guinnypig.
Well it'll be good if you don't need hormone replacement therapy as it's not the same as your own thyroid which adjusts to your needs, so here's hoping once the swelling's gone your thyroid will kick in. At least it sounds like you'll only need replacement and no RAI or suppressive therapy so that's a good thing too. Hoping it goes well in the next few weeks.
It is normal practice to have drains in your neck following surgery and only for these to be removed after no more liquids are sucked out. Perhaps the drains were taken out too early. I doubt there is anything to worry about unless the same situation reoccurs.
In my case I was given no medication at all following my partial thyroidectomy, but it took the remaining tissues 3-4 months to start working again. I then was able to enjoy a further 14 years or more of normal life before being struck down with a multinodular goitre. If that had been a total thyroidectomy I would have been forced, on levo alone, to have retired on permanent ill health and would have lost a great deal of money, perhaps even my house.
If your entire thyroid gland is removed, advice is to get some NDT and take it straight away, do not even attempt to take levo and see how it goes as you will very likely regret it.
Thanks Panda great advice..if the 3 will listen to me..surgeon. GP and Endo.they all just pass me around!
I have proof that my GP, endo, a thyroid surgeon and local CCG are in collusion together to fob me off as they realise I know more about my own thyroid problem than they do. They have offered me NDT (on a private prescription) which their own rules prohibit them from doing, they have offered me a combined T3/T4 treatment in the same proportions as in Armour, which they claim is harmful as the T3 would be excessive, they delay and delay and don't give me proper answers to any questions I ask.
They all know that I am right to expect NDT on NHS prescription, but they are not prepared to admit it.
The answer for all of us who have the misfortune of receiving the deplorable treatment that fails to accept that the "one solution for everybody" levothyroxine is total make-believe is to become familiar with every aspect of your own specific problem and what treatment you should really be receiving and keep hammering the facts into their thick skulls. It is essential to never lose your temper openly and start swearing or, worst of all, throwing punches, and then there is nothing they can do to you such as chucking you off the patient list.
I console myself with the fact that I am causing them a great deal of trouble and probably expense. I will be having a big party if I ever get my NDT on NHS prescription....................IF I live that long!!!!!!
All the best to you and I sincerely hope you will get the most appropriate treatment to make you as well as is possible.
Once again Panda, I think your awesome. I live this site for support and expertise. What Country are you from?
In UK, Lancashire. As you can tell, I'm rather unhappy about the treatment I get from the NHS, except from the surgeons who are absolutely fantastic. The Director of my department at work said of me that I did not tolerate fools, which is quite true.
Next week it will be a year since I sent my complaint to the Area Prescribing Committee. I have yet to receive a written reply, which, when I finally get it, I will take to my MP in the hope he can put a question to the Prime Minister in Prime Minister's Question Time. The previous MP did ask a question of the Department of Health but the answer was complete nonsense. From that I would dearly love for there to be a public enquiry regarding thyroid treatment on the NHS.
I emailed the head of the APC a week ago and have yet to get a response as to why there is such a delay in answering. In my previous employment as a Chartered Accountant, I was obliged to answer all queries within a month!
Im in Canada and its royal run around. Thanx again and keep up the good work..a year..you should have c.c'd.. your mp
waiting for surgery 
Recovery from thyroid surgery.
Thyroid surgery
hypo after RAI
Refused surgery due to Surpressed TSH 
