Hello all - had my Hemi Thyroidectomy a week today. It’s not been too bad, was in pain obviously and sore throat - however my voice hasn’t returned and I sound like the grufferlo!!!
How long does the voice take to recover - the surgeon said he tested my vocal cords after the operation and they were working - I have been coughing , chocking and had nasal regurgitation - bloody horrible! I also had a slight wound infection so now been on Clarithomycin 500mg for three days out of a 7 day course and it’s much better and also I’m taking 125mmg Levothyroxine (Mercury ) NOT TOGETHER hours apart!
Anyway last night I had awful restless legs what this from I wonder Asbury I didn’t have it prior to surgery!!
All a bit of a nightmare so any help with my questions would be appreciated
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Headandneck72
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Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after any anaesthetic
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking
Essential to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least annually
Do you always get same brand of levothyroxine
Which brand
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
Since low iron/ferritin is extremely common in people who have thyroid disease, and you've just had surgery where some blood loss is inevitable it wouldn't surprise me if your iron /ferritin were low.
If you want to ask your GP for an iron panel then do so. But if he refuses to test anything expect ferritin then you could do an iron test privately using a finger-prick test, no doctor required.
If you get some iron test results from either your GP or Medichecks then post them on the forum in a new post and ask for feedback.
Another issue for people post surgery is that, depending on the anaesthetic gases used, you may be low in vitamin B12 as well so it would be worth testing this.
It is a good idea to get folate tested too. The body needs folate in order to be able to make use of vitamin B12.
Another nutrient that is almost always low in people with thyroid disease is vitamin D. Having good levels of vitamin D helps to reduce muscle pain.
All the above can be tested along with thyroid function and antibodies in private testing. For more info see these links - although note that the iron deficiency test is a separate test to the thyroid function tests mentioned :
Hello. Hope you feel better soon. I had a hemithyroidectomy 16 days ago. I could speak after op but my voice with certain pitch is affected. Sorry to hear you are having issues. Some people do have voice loss apparently and it can improve after a few months.
I know I’ve struggled for a week to talk but today because I’m making a conscious effort not to speak I just tired it when reading your message and it sounds like there is an improvement. It’s a week today I was discharged so it’s still really early days I know - scar is ok but it’s not straight at all it’s jagged- how is your scarring
I've watched videos on YouTube about recovery and some people explained they had no voice for a month or so and voice came back eventually. I think if voice stays the same after 6 months it's considered permanent damage so its quite a while of waiting to see what heals and repairs. A week isn't very long but it must be quite upsetting. My scar is ok and quite straight. I'm going to use vitamin E oil on it once the scabs have all gone. I was v careful to not get it wet for first 2 weeks. There's a picture of my scar on one of my posts. Hope your voice improves soon xx
Hi thanks for reply - I’m day nine and voice the same, it’s terrible I’m struggling to communicate. Scar has heeled much better since antibiotics. Have my follow up appointment Thursday so maybe they’ll have some advice regarding voice or lack of it
Unfortunately my results were cancer everyone was a bit shocked including the surgeon he was sure it was benign. But another operation is on the cards and if needed the radioactive pill. I guess there isn't much that can be done but get on with it. It's not a terminal one and I am thankful for that tbh.
Sorry to hear that - I know how that shock diagnoses feels like! But thyroid cancer is very treatable and less aggressive than other head and neck cancers hope that’s somewhat reassuring for you - what’s next for you?
I do feel glad I have the treatable version. I hope it will make me appreciate life more after this experience because it's been scary but hopefully not long until I've been treated and just check ups. Another op to take rest of thyroid out. Maybe the radiation pill but only if its too hard to take out all the lobe I think xx
Oh dear - I hate moaning about the hospitals etc but I went for an appointment today at ENT which I assumed was thyroid surgery follow up app, results from scope and nodule..but when I got there it was an appointment for scope for the tonsil cancer.....I said to them this should of been done on the 26th March when the hemithyroid op was done as this is what was agreed!
So I have had no results today (and it two weeks post surgery) and I’ve not got a follow up appointment scheduled for thyroid, so I’m a little confused as to what’s going on and no one seems to know at the hospital other than my nodule had some calcification so it’s gone to another expert to be tested.
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