I have to have thyroid surgery

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m having Thyroid surgey in 12 days. I’m kind of scared.

The doctor tells me it won’t be THAT painful (how the hell does he know? I may have the smallest pain threshold known to humanity) and that I shouldn’t worry. This all started when I went to the doctor for another problem and they noticed my thyroid was enlarged.

I have to have the left part of my thyroid removed because there are nodules on it. They can’t tell if its cancer or not from the biopsy. My sister died of ovarian cancer so I’m concerned. Has anyone else here had this surgey? I’m worried that they may have to remove the right side (if they find cancer) and what side-effects that will have. (especially since I’m military…I am worried that I might not be able to function for awhile.)

Hell, I’m just scared. I’ve NEVER had surgery. I have never been in the hospital since I was 6 with pnuemonia.

2

I am sorry to hear your news.

I’ve been through many in the last 5 years, some harder than others.

None of mine had to do with the thyroid, but I believe your surgeon when he says it won’t be too bad. It will likely be minimally invasive.

Sending supporting thoughts your way.

3

I had my whole thyroid removed in June. Your thyroid is supposed to be a quarter-sized disc on either side of your throat. Mine was huge. It impeded my swallowing, so I choked often, and when I’d lie on my back to sleep it felt like a cat was sitting on my neck. (Okay, so sometimes there was a cat on my neck, but still…) Everything was fine, I didn’t even take any pain meds (not even advil) after the surgery. I could’ve used them, a bit, but I couldn’t swallow and the doc wouldn’t order anything via IV, even though I had one in. But still, there wasn’t much pain. My voice was damaged for a few weeks, but that came back fine. My surgeon said my throat looked like someone had opened it up and poured cement in it. It was totally calcified and adhered to my vocal cords. In the end she had to chip it away using the scapel like a chisel. Best to get it attended to before yours reaches that stage.

Two of my sisters and my nephew and my aunt have also had them removed. One sister and the nephew and aunt had cancer (the sister had finished breast cancer treatment two weeks before), but if you’re going to have cancer, this is the kind to have.

At any rate, the surgery was far easier than then laproscopic gall bladder removal I had in April. Good luck! Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions you’d like to keep off the board.

StG

4

I think I had the exact same operation you’re going to have. My doctor felt my enlarged thyroid, and I had half of it out. This was about 14 years ago. They had to biopsy it also - there was a small chance it was a cancer that would be very bad, but very small. I’m still here. :slight_smile:

I went into the hospital in the morning, had the operation, recovered from the anesthesia the whole day, and was released the next day at noon. It is still the only night I’ve spent in the hospital since I was born, not counting nights I spent with other people.

There was absolutely no pain. I got cool metal Frankenstein stitches that got taken out after a week. Then I had to stay home for a week, and work half time for the week after that. By that point I felt great and it was pure vacation.

I’m taking synthroid now, but didn’t for over ten years after the operation.

My ideal illness is something where I don’t feel bad but have to stay home and read - and this was darn close to ideal. No restrictions, no side effects. I bet it’s even better now with another decade of advancements.

I’m sorry that something went wrong, but if something did, you picked a good one.

Good luck, and enjoy your rest.

5

My sister just had radioactive iodine treatment for thyroid cancer the other week, and she is doing great. She had her thyroid removed in the middle of July, and her recovery was very quick. Her voice was a little horse for a week or two, but other than that, she’s perfectly fine. The pain was minor and was over pretty quickly, and she was able to return to her normal activity level fairly quickly. As a matter of fact, we were just joking that she has the perfect scar now to play the Bride of Frankenstein this Halloween, but I’m sure it will have faded enough that she won’t be able to do it next time.

As a matter of fact, the only tough bit has been trying to get her on the right amount of synthroid.

6

Voyager did you get clips? I had those and they were the most goshawful looking things, (kind of scared my kids) but now I have an almost unnoticeable scar. I’ve had doctors tell me I must have had a great surgeon.
Anyway, Jolly Roger, I had the right half of my thyroid removed 6 or 7 years ago now. It had a good sized nodule in it. The biopsy didn’t really show anything, so I didn’t know going in if they were going to take half or all of it. I had the surgery early in the morning, spent the day dropping off to sleep, with a couple of administrations of pain medicine, and went home the next day. I filled the vicodin prescription, just in case, but never used it. I wasn’t working at the time, but by the next week I was pretty much back to my regular routine, with just a little extra rest. I take generic synthroid, to keep the other half of the thyroid suppressed.

The worst of it, for me, was that I never really realized how much I used the muscles of my neck. And they were pretty sore for a few days. I slept the first two nights on the recliner instead of in the waterbed, because getting in and out of the bed caused pain. And after the incision healed, every so often I would get a short stabbing pain in my neck, like a needle poking me. I think it was a nerve reacting or something like that. But it wasn’t really a big deal, just short and sharp, and by six months after, that was all gone, too.

I hope things go well for you, and we’ll be thinking about you. You have my prayers if you want them.

7

A couple of months ago, my wife had her entire thyroid out. It was a really scary time, but in the end it was nothing to be scared about. She has to take a pill for the rest of her life, but that is it, no side effects, no problems. Thyroid surgery is one of those things that is less scary the more you know about it.

8

I will say that one sister who had hers out has had major vocal issues. It’s now been 6 months and she still sounds like Minnie Mouse. They said to come back in three more months if she still can’t talk and they may have to do vocal chord surgery. But she’s lost her job because of the voice thing (telephone C/S) so she has no insurance. But hers was massive, like mine (My nodules were over 2.5 inches on one side, over an inch on the other) . But it’s a possibility that all surgeons mention, that your voice can be temporarily or permanantly damaged.

StG

9

Jolly Roger, I don’t have any anecdotes to share or any information for you, I just wanted to say you’ll be in my thoughts.

10

[QUOTE=thirdwarning]
Voyager did you get clips? I had those and they were the most goshawful looking things, (kind of scared my kids) but now I have an almost unnoticeable scar. I’ve had doctors tell me I must have had a great surgeon.

[/QUOTE]

I think they were clips - they were indeed metal, and I think some would find them scary. I have no scar at all. When I was talking to my surgeon before the operation, it came up that I worked for Bell Labs. It seems he played tennis with Charlie Brown, the former CEO of AT&T, and the CEO of Johnson and Johnson. So, I don’t know if my surgeon was great, but I’m pretty sure he was rich.

11

Well, my surgeon is an army captain, so he’s definitely not rich. But I’d rather have a skilled surgeon than a rich one. Not like I play golf or anything…:slight_smile:

12

I had half my thyroid taken out a few years ago because of a nodule. Turned out to be non-cancerous, though my surgeon did say that even if I did have to have cancer, it’s the one to get because treatment is a cinch since they can pinpoint the affected area via the use of iodine.

Anywho, the surgery was a breeze. I didn’t need any pain medication except regular Tylenol. Actually the only 2 complaints I had were: a) soreness on my uvula (aka hanger down doodie at the back of your throat) from the breathing tube; and 2) waiting for the paperwork to get signed once I was released.

I would also advise you to ask the surgeon to save half your thyroid if he’s able. Some just yank the whole thing out even though it may not be necessary. Since there’s a lot of redundancy in the thyroid, you may not ever need to take synthroid if you still have half left.

13

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I’m leaving tomorrow in the AM. Surgery is on the 23rd. I’m feeling a bit nervous, but tomorrow is when I’ll probably start freaking out. I told my wife to be patient. She knows me, so she knows that having all day to sweat it tomorrow I’ll be bouncing off of the walls. The idea of being out cold and getting cut on is horrifying to me. I know i’m making too big a deal out of it, I’ve just never had surgery before.

Smoke me a kipper…I’ll be back for breakfast.

14

[QUOTE=PunditLisa]
I had half my thyroid taken out a few years ago because of a nodule. Turned out to be non-cancerous, though my surgeon did say that even if I did have to have cancer, it’s the one to get because treatment is a cinch since they can pinpoint the affected area via the use of iodine.

Anywho, the surgery was a breeze. I didn’t need any pain medication except regular Tylenol. Actually the only 2 complaints I had were: a) soreness on my uvula (aka hanger down doodie at the back of your throat) from the breathing tube; and 2) waiting for the paperwork to get signed once I was released.

I would also advise you to ask the surgeon to save half your thyroid if he’s able. Some just yank the whole thing out even though it may not be necessary. Since there’s a lot of redundancy in the thyroid, you may not ever need to take synthroid if you still have half left.
[/QUOTE]

But that is a section of the body that regenerates and if there is a problem with one half the same problem or nastier can happen to the remaining half 15-20 yrs later-- comment based on observation during my experience working with a thyroidologist for 16yrs—or not. I, myself, would opt to have a total thyroidectomy and take a small pill every day and have yearly ultrasound and lab work and rest easy at night.

15

Good luck, Jolly Roger. I’ll look forward to reading your post after the surgery, when you tell us “It was a piece of cake. I don’t why I was so worried.”

16

[QUOTE=Tapiotar]
Good luck, Jolly Roger. I’ll look forward to reading your post after the surgery, when you tell us “It was a piece of cake. I don’t why I was so worried.”
[/QUOTE]

I look forward to writing that post!

17

Keep a cool head.
You’ll be fine.

Bring good, or even better, trashy, books to the hospital with you.

18

[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor]
Keep a cool head.
You’ll be fine.

Bring good, or even better, trashy, books to the hospital with you.
[/QUOTE]

I was too doped up to read while in the hospital after the surgery. But tuesday night after most of the drugs had worn off, my wife had gone back to the hotel and I was alone in the room I read a few comic books I brought with me. At least until the pain returned and the nurse gave me more happy time drugs. Then I slept. I was in and out of it all day until this morning. I’m back home. Thanks for the well wishes, guys. It was less painful and stressful than I had imagined. But then I usually think of the worst.

But it was a bit scary when I didn’t know what to expect. Tuesday morning I reported in for the surgery. Which I have little memory of. I’m on a gurney being wheeled into the OR and the doctor is asking me these questions while the other guy is injecting some sleepy time juice in my IV. The doc tells me “Ok, you’re going to feel a slight tingle in your head, and then you’ll be asleep in about 30 seconds. Tell me, when is your birthday?”. I’m like “Thats easy…I don’t feel anything…are you sure this is working…my birthday is mar…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (hours later)…ZZZZzzzz…ch 19th, 19…HEY! What the hell happened to my NECK?”.

Seriously, it was like a time skip. One second I was talking, the next I woke up in recovery. Yes, it hurt like the dickens, but the nice nice drugs they gave me kept me loopy and feeling high. According to my wife I was singing or trying to for a few minutes. Whew.

One of vocal chords was smooshed by my oversized thyroid so my voice is hoarse and its not easy for me to speak loudly right now. They tell me it should heal up in a month or so. They gave me 2 weeks convalescence leave, so I guess I’ll be chilling for awhile. I have to go back next week for a follow up, though. If the left side was cancerous they’ll schedule ASAP surgery for the right side. At least I got a “tough guy” scar out of it.

The worst part was my throat hurt like it was sandpapered because of the breathing tube. But right now, the pain is minimal. (Percocet). I feel a bit nauseous from it, but otherwise I think I’m okay. I’m grateful to the hospital staff though. They took really good care of me for the last 2 days, though I’m glad to be home. The thing that hurt the most is when they removed the drainage tube from my neck. Wow, did that hurt. Only for a few seconds, but i yelped like a puppy, I’ll admit. All of you guys that told me it would be ok, thanks a lot. I appreciate it, since that helped me stay calm before the drugs. I’m not supposed to drive for a week or so because I can’t totally or even comfortably turn my head, but the swelling is going down.

The doctor says theres something like a 30% chance that the nodules were cancer. So if that is the case I guess i’ll be going through it again. As scary as that may seem, I’m just glad its something that is relatively easy to fix. My sister died from ovarian cancer so I’m not crazy about the idea of cancer at all. But at least now I know what to expect from the surgery. It is a wierd sensation though, to have it done though. It literally felt like I blinked and it was over. If not for the discomfort and scar I’d think nothing happened in that time period at all. Considering how close to normal I feel now though, I have a new empathy for anyone having any other kind of more serious surgery done. It wasn’t fun, but at least it wasn’t a nightmare.

Again, thanks for the advice and well wishes guys. The sad part now is I can’t drink the beer in the fridge while I’m on percocet. :frowning:

19

I’m glad it went so well. Good luck on the biopsy. You’re luck - I wasn’t able to swallow any pain meds.

StG

20

A Certain Someone got the radiation version of thyroid treatment last week. Much less of a deal. ACS just had a sore neck for a day from leaning back during the scan. Nothing more.

OTOH, the info provided is scary. Wash sheets etc. everday. No bed sharing for 22 days. No one closer than 2 meters for significant periods of time etc. Makes it seem like ACS is a human Chernobyl.

But they repeatedly assure ACS that the radiation is harmless to the patient (outside of the thryroid of course). What The Friggin’ Heynow? ACS is always less than 2 meters from ACS!