Total thyroidectomy

[Goldieowner]

Hi. 2 weeks on from a total thyroidectomy and feeling energised then exhausted, rinse and repeat. I joined to read others experiences at the early stages.

[Hedgeree]

Hi Goldieowner, sorry no one has replied yet; there are other forum members that have had a full thyroidectomy so hopefully someone will reply to your post.

[Goldieowner in reply to Hedgeree]

Thank you.

[Britpol]

Hi ,

You may be too active during the periods when you feel energetic and exhaust yourself. Stay steady in your daily activities ; your body had a shock and needs time to reach balance. You may try splitting the dose of your medication . Remember to take it 1 h before food and 3 h after food, away from calcium and magnesium rich supplements . You are on a journey into recovery and may need to experiment with doses, brands of medication and timing. You may also need to reduce or eliminate gluten . Be patient , it will take months before you can feel normal. Good luck!

[annnsandell]

Be kind to yourself. You need time to recover from the operation properly and time for your body to adjust to prescribed Thyroxine which may well need adjusting over the coming months. I presume you have an upcoming appointment with the sugeon/Endo which will include checking your levels, recovery and biopsies. Good luck with it all, early days.

[Goldieowner in reply to annnsandell]

Thank you. Check ups soon.

[Cavapoochonowner]

Hello there,I had a total thyroidectomy in June 2022 for graves disease.I have fully documented my story from diagnosis up to date,including thyroidectomy. If you wish to read it just click on the picture at the side of my name,and there it is.I do have a couple of other ailments,but you could just skip over those.I am open to answering any questions that you may have.Glad you are feeling great,just don't overdo it in the beginning,listen to your body (of course we are all different).Best wishes to you for continuing good health.

[Goldieowner in reply to Cavapoochonowner]

Thank you

[Panda_26]

I had a nr total thyroidectomy in 2003, it takes time and you may have to experiment with different doses , types etc . In my experience that meant all was ok , and I mean just ok for about 10 years, then I needed to find something to enable me to feel better than I had been.

I added in liothyronine ( T3) and then eventually settling on a combo of NDT and Lio.

It's not a one size fits all though so you'll find your best outcome for you I'm sure.

Take care, good luck. 🥰

[Goldieowner in reply to Panda_26]

Thank you.

[Batty1]

two weeks is pretty fresh and not uncommon to feel ups and downs … when do you have your levels retested?

[Goldieowner in reply to Batty1]

Hi. 2 weeks time. 😁

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Get vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin levels tested now ….if these weren’t tested BEFORE thyroidectomy

On levothyroxine we must have OPTIMAL vitamin levels

Looking at previous post…..you have Hashimoto’s?

If not already on gluten free diet get coeliac blood test done BEFORE trialing gluten free

in France I think there’s only one brand levothyroxine available

[Goldieowner in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi.

I see my endo mid June. Im just on levo 150mg. Just the last swelling in the middle which is quite hard. My voice is quite sketchy still. Yes, I need to balance my days. I had a bit of a crash after a busy day that I thought I could handle.

I hope you're doing well.

[blondpalomino]

Hi Goldieowner, At least you are getting some periods of being energised, which is more than I got! After 2 weeks of having mine removed, I didn't know where I was, total exhaustion, brain fog, couldn't think straight. It took a long time for me to feel anywhere like normal. Are you just on Thyroxine at the moment? You may find you will need to be supplemented with T3 as well which a lot of people with total throidectomy have to take. I didn't feel any where near normal until I was given T3. That was 25 years ago, it wasn't so expensive back then and just took an appointment with the Endo to get it prescribed. Now you will have to fight to get it! Anyway I wish you well and hope you will recover quite quickly.

[Goldieowner in reply to blondpalomino]

Hi.

I see my endo mid June. Just the last swelling in the middle which is quite hard. My voice is quite sketchy still. Yes, I need to balance my days. I had a bit of a crash after a busy day that I thought I could handle.

I hope you're doing well.

[HelenaJ]

Hi, I had a total thyroidectomy and lymph glands removed in March. I had several weeks of going from being practically narcoleptic to feeling full of vim! If I closed my eyes for more than 5 seconds I drifted off, even when doing the dishes. I'm fortunate that my time is all my own now and I can lie in bed whenever and for as long I need to. Now I take it one day at a time.I lost most of my voice but thankfully most has come back. Can even sing a bit!

My shoulder has been a problem, I couldn't brush or wash my hair for weeks. If I do too much it gets achy but it is getting better. Can now lift It higher than before.

It will take time and although it may sometimes not feel like it you are getting better each day.

It's not like being able to predict the progress and symptoms of flu or a bug, this is a unique experience to you/us. As others have said (and I keep saying to myself!) be kind to yourself, this is a journey.

How's the scar?

Are you getting any more treatment? I'm due to go in for Radioactive Iodine soon.

Wish you all the best and remember, there's always great information and support here!

[Goldieowner in reply to HelenaJ]

Hi. Just seen my replies.

My scar has healed well, I just have a bulbous swelling in the middle. I assume that too will go. My voice is sketchy but I hope that will heal.

Thanks. I hope you're doing well.

[Dollydreamer12]

I just had mine last wed 12th June. I just feel weepy n sorry for myself. I hope this passes.

The sore throat is going now but voice is very husky. Stitches out on Fri. I'm on 150mcg levothyroxine.

Hope u r feeling better soon