Advice needed if possible please!! I had a partial thyroidectomy just over three weeks ago to remove a nodule which thankfully turned out to be benign. I was going great guns with recovery and my scar is already looking amazing! However over the last few days I have been totally and completely wiped out. Just exhausted. I’m working from home this week and can barely manage a couple of hours without having to stop and nap! I feel marginally better for a couple of hours then go downhill again. Ridiculous! My consultant has sent me for blood tests (TSH, T3,T4) but says she expects them to come back as normal (should be back by the end of this week). Not sure what is going on but I’ve gone from being an energetic, full-time working, single mum who never stops to someone who feels like a little old lady!!! I’m also really emotional and have developed really achey feet and ankles - any relevance. I’m due back into the office next week which is an hour’s drive each way. Feel like I’m a different person!! Help!!!!!!
Thanks in advance. Xxx
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I'd say that anaesthesia "can" have a medium term effect on some patients but definitely not on everyone. I had three surgeries in 24 months for instance, with no post-op effect in either case. A friend who had a partial thyroidectomy was back to street running in 5 days. My point being, that everyone is individual in how they'll react to, and recover from, surgery/anaesthesia, and it's no good judging how you are at 3 weeks post-op against someone else at the same stage. There may be all manner of variables between you. So you can only eat well, sleep well, pace yourself to what your pace is right now, and let recovery happen in "your" time.
I was off for 4 weeks for both partial thyroidectomies. First time I expected to get better and better but didn't. Remember crying at nurse's appointment and saying GP said I should be back to normal in 2 weeks. Nurse said, 'What do doctors know?' and took bloods to check iron. It was rock bottom. Felt a lot better once that was sorted out. Second time (crying during another hospital appointment for something else a few weeks before 2nd op - tests for thyroid cancer had come back inconclusive) that doctor prescribed ferritin and told me to start taking it immediately and continue after op. Felt much better then.
I'd advise you to get iron, Vit B12 and Vit D tested.
Thank you for this. I will definitely get some more tests done. I am soooo emotional and cry at the slightest thing at the moment which is highly embarrassing - haha!!! I do hope you are feeling ok now and have been able to put it behind you!!! X
I’m now 4 weeks post hemi-thyroidectomy and just starting to feel ok again,
I’m still off work as my job involves long journeys driving and although my wound is healing very nicely it was still feeling tight and swollen when turning my head, so I didn’t feel ready to drive safely after just a couple of weeks, I’m due to go back to work next week.
I’m starting to sleep better this last few nights, I had been waking every couple of hours with hot flashes, but they seem to be settling now.
Strangely I am also having discomfort in my feet and ankles, I wonder if there is a link !!
I’m still waiting for my pathology results so it’s still a worrying time for me.
I hope you start to feel better soon but listen to what your body is telling you, it usually knows what it wants
Wow! This is so me!! Even down to the night sweats. Also having palpitations when I wake up (which is every couple of hours). Feel like I’m falling apart. Lucky to be able to work from home a bit but really worried about driving and working in the office next week. Work is so full on that once you’re back people assume you’re ok and it’s hard to say no!!! The feet thing is very odd too!! When do you get your results?? It is such a worrying time. Keeping everything crossed for you!! Sounds like you’ve really been through it. Hope you’re feeling a little brighter though. X
After reading your post and having similar problems with discomfort in feet I was intrigued, so I have just done a “Feet Thyroid” search on this forum, you’ll find lots of interesting info on the matter !
Oooo I will. How interesting. I will do that. Thank you. X
You did not mention any meds at all. I had been on levothyroxine from before I had a hemithyroidextomy at 43, all the way through having the other half removed at age 75 when my dose was increased from 88 mcg 6 days a week and 132 once a week to 100 mcg daily post the completion surgery.
I feel fine.
Some have said a remaining half will adjust by itself. My second half was in poor condition visually apart form 2 micro Papillary cancer spots of .6 cm. each and a benign nodule.
My surgeon said she prescribed the initial dose based on weight. A blood test a few weeks later confirmed that 100mcg was the right dose.
Hi there. Thanks for this! It’s realky interesting. I’m not on any meds and early bloods have come back ok on the thyroid. They are thinking the remaining half will take up the slack. Just feel dreadful. Have been working from home this week but being hunched over a laptop isn’t helping! Going to go to the go tomorrow and ask advice. Maybe trying to force a recovery isn’t a good idea!! Xx
On the subject of thyroid conditions, things have been quite different in the US compared to the UK, but your government just published new guidance on the use of T3 which is now much closer to what happens here.
Not that I know a great many thyroid patients in the US, but I never heard of anyone taking T3.
If you are ever interested in seeing another perspective, look up the American Thyroid Association.
I've just come across your post and had a thought about B12 deficiency. Were you given nitrous oxide, aka 'gas and air' at any point during your pre-op investigations, or before the op itself? NO2 inactivates cobalamin in the body, and high dose supplements are required afterwards - or injections, if you have pre-existing PA, autoimmune gastritis, a history of gastric or colon surgery, etc.
I've just found some info in the latest blog on the B12D group's website that suggests general anaesthetic might do the same thing to cobalamin stores as NO2. That might also explain the odd feelings in the extremities, as well as the fatigue.
I have pernicious anaemia, and have had permanent damage to my nervous system as a consequence of long term untreated B12 deficiency, but other conditions can also lead to chronic shortage.
I did have gas and air before they put me out as my heart was going crazy so they must have given it to me to calm me down!! I’ll have a look. My feet (especially the right one) is still so so painful and I’m getting weird nerve twitches in my legs and hand now. All very odd. I asked the gp about possible deficiencies but she said it was unlikely. Had my thyroid bloods back and all is normal apparently. Thank you so so much for this!!! That is dreadful that you’ve got some permanent damage. Poor you! I didn’t realise it was so crucial. Is it just something I should ask the gp about? They seem unwilling to test me for anything!! Probably think I’m over-reacting.
In the circumstances, I would ask the GP initially for B12 and folate tests, but unless you're right at the bottom of the ridiculously wide lab reference ranges used in the UK, he or she is unlikely to view a low result as a problem. As with thyroid function, a result anywhere in range is deemed fine and dandy. In reality, it's a good idea to get your B12 as high as possible (it's not toxic, whatever your doc might claim) to avoid the insidious problems caused by levels which are not optimal for you, the individual.
The problem with the standard tests is that all circulating cobalamins are assessed, from which it is difficult to gauge the level of the one that counts. There is something called the 'active B12' test, but it's not available everywhere, though you can get it done privately. If you opt to go private, I strongly recommend that you test homocysteine and methyl malonic acid at the same time, as these are markers of how well B12 cell metabolism is functioning. That's a rather basic explanation, but there will be time later to go into more detail.
Try Blue Horizon or Medichecks for the private tests, then you can post the results on the forum for advice and suggestions. If you'd rather work with a private doctor, have a look for a 'functional medicine' practitioner.
Hi, just read your post and the comments. I realise it was a while ago, but was really interested in how long it took you to recover and feel good again., and what level of TSH did your half thyroid end up settling on.
I had the same op, half thyroid with nodule removed in 10th July and I'm still feeling pants, hoping to see some light at the end of the tunnel . Thanks
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