Questions on upcoming thyroid surgery

[Guest guest]

Hi, after almost a year of putting off the inevitable, I scheduled surgery to remove the right side of my thyroid. My last ultrasound showed that the goiter has increased even though I am taking levothyroxine, and that it's not going to shrink or go away! So, instead of waiting any longer, my surgery will be on March 6th.

I have some questions that I hope you can answer; I love to get info from those who have been there before and can relate to what I'm going through!

How long is the recovery to when I'll feel like myself again? Will my throat hurt like a sore throat? Will it be hard to move my head/neck? When will I be able to talk?

I do work part time, and my surgery will be on a tuesday; when can I expect to go back to work?

Also, my doctor said that if they don't need to remove the entire thyroid, I won't have to be on any medication? Is that right? I was under the impression that meds would be needed to help the left side?

Ok, enough questions for now! If there's anything else you can think of, I'd love to hear it and if I have any more questions, I'll ask some more.

Thanks so much,

Jill in NJ

[Guest guest]

Hi Jill. I have no experience with this, but I to wish you good luck, a safe surgery and a speedy recovery... Judy

Hi, after almost a year of putting off the inevitable, I scheduled surgery to remove the right side of my thyroid. My last ultrasound showed that the goiter has increased even though I am taking levothyroxine, and that it's not going to shrink or go away! So, instead of waiting any longer, my surgery will be on March 6th.

Never miss an email again!Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. Check it out.

[Guest guest]

Hi Jill,

I have a question for you...

Has your doc ever ordered Free T3/Free T4 levels for you??? You should really find out if they haven't, you may just need to switch dosages or brands of medication.

My gland became huge on synthroid, but on Armour it's holding its own and doesn't need to come out. Which is something my docs suggested this past year, until I started taking allergy meds... that made my gland shrink some.

I don't know if that will help... hope so though .

Questions on upcoming thyroid surgery

Hi, after almost a year of putting off the inevitable, I scheduled surgery to remove the right side of my thyroid. My last ultrasound showed that the goiter has increased even though I am taking levothyroxine, and that it's not going to shrink or go away! So, instead of waiting any longer, my surgery will be on March 6th.

I have some questions that I hope you can answer; I love to get info from those who have been there before and can relate to what I'm going through!

How long is the recovery to when I'll feel like myself again? Will my throat hurt like a sore throat? Will it be hard to move my head/neck? When will I be able to talk?

I do work part time, and my surgery will be on a tuesday; when can I expect to go back to work?

Also, my doctor said that if they don't need to remove the entire thyroid, I won't have to be on any medication? Is that right? I was under the impression that meds would be needed to help the left side?

Ok, enough questions for now! If there's anything else you can think of, I'd love to hear it and if I have any more questions, I'll ask some more.

Thanks so much,

Jill in NJ

[Guest guest]

Hi Jill, I had surgery Dec 19th. I had my whole thyroid removed. I will give you my experience, as you know, everybody's experience is different.

>> Hi, after almost a year of putting off the inevitable, I scheduled surgery to remove the right side of my thyroid. My last ultrasound showed that the goiter has increased even though I am taking levothyroxine, and that it's not going to shrink or go away! So, instead of waiting any longer, my surgery will be on March 6th.> > I have some questions that I hope you can answer; I love to get info from those who have been there before and can relate to what I'm going through!> > How long is the recovery to when I'll feel like myself again? Will my throat hurt like a sore throat? Will it be hard to move my head/neck? When will I be able to talk?

My throat wasn't sore like a sore throat. I was eating solid food the next morning in the hospital. I was surprised. The outside of my throat and chest was sore like bruised feeling. I did take Toradol for pain for a couple of weeks. I couldn't wear shirts that the collar would touch my neck. I wore open shirts. I didn't get on the computer for awhile as holding my neck in that position was really not comfortable. I used a couple of pillow at night to keep my in an upright position. It was a long time before I could sleep on my stomach. Also if I stretched my neck up to look at something, I would feel like something was snapping.... wierd. My husband thought maybe it was my stitches breaking up. I had the kind that dissolved.

I was able to talk right away. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Course none of it was as bad as I thought it would be. Even the scar isn't too bad. My dr didn't cover it, just stitches and 3 butterfly things over that. When I looked in the mirror I was shocked. I didn't know there would be so much of my insides showing. My dr said it was a little rough. Too my red stuff for me to look at. But it scabbed and finally fell off. > > I do work part time, and my surgery will be on a tuesday; when can I expect to go back to work?

I don't know the answer to that, I stay at home. But I was up and cooking and doing some of my housework 3 days after surgery. I had thought I could milk it more, but I didn't. LOLAlso, my doctor said that if they don't need to remove the entire thyroid, I won't have to be on any medication? Is that right? I was under the impression that meds would be needed to help the left side?

Hmmm. I guess I would go by how I felt and lab work. Don't really know the answer here either.

On no! I erased the rest of your e-mail so don't know if there were any more questions. Make sure you take a shirt that you can wear home, an open neck one. Don't stress about the surgery, really it isn't as bad as what you can imagine.

Good luck and keep up posted.

Oh, are you having the surgery because of an enlarged goiter only? Do you have hashimoto's?

Cindy

much,> Jill in NJ>

[Guest guest]

Hi jill, I had my surgery Dec 27. I also had my entire thyroid gland removed,. Don't worry everything will be OK after one week. first two days are kinda hard, but it will be over before u feel it. The worst part to me was the pain and discomfort in my neck. I had bread the third day, and talked right after the surgery( too bad for my husband). good luckmrstezee wrote: Hi Jill, I had surgery Dec 19th. I had my whole thyroid

removed. I will give you my experience, as you know, everybody's experience is different. >> Hi, after almost a year of putting off the inevitable, I scheduled surgery to remove the right side of my thyroid. My last ultrasound showed that the goiter has increased even though I am taking levothyroxine, and that it's not going to shrink or go away! So, instead of waiting any longer, my surgery will be on March 6th.> > I have some questions that I hope you can answer; I love to get info from those who have been there before and can relate to what I'm going through!> > How long is the recovery to when I'll feel like myself again? Will my throat hurt like a sore throat? Will it be hard to move my head/neck? When will I be able to talk? My throat wasn't sore like a sore

throat. I was eating solid food the next morning in the hospital. I was surprised. The outside of my throat and chest was sore like bruised feeling. I did take Toradol for pain for a couple of weeks. I couldn't wear shirts that the collar would touch my neck. I wore open shirts. I didn't get on the computer for awhile as holding my neck in that position was really not comfortable. I used a couple of pillow at night to keep my in an upright position. It was a long time before I could sleep on my stomach. Also if I stretched my neck up to look at something, I would feel like something was snapping.... wierd. My husband thought maybe it was my stitches breaking up. I had the kind that dissolved. I was able to talk right away. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Course none of it was as bad as I thought it would be. Even the

scar isn't too bad. My dr didn't cover it, just stitches and 3 butterfly things over that. When I looked in the mirror I was shocked. I didn't know there would be so much of my insides showing. My dr said it was a little rough. Too my red stuff for me to look at. But it scabbed and finally fell off. > > I do work part time, and my surgery will be on a tuesday; when can I expect to go back to work? I don't know the answer to that, I stay at home. But I was up and cooking and doing some of my housework 3 days after surgery. I had thought I could milk it more, but I didn't. LOLAlso, my doctor said that if they don't need to remove the entire thyroid, I won't have to be on any medication? Is that right? I was under the impression that meds would be needed to help the left side? Hmmm. I guess I would go by how

I felt and lab work. Don't really know the answer here either. On no! I erased the rest of your e-mail so don't know if there were any more questions. Make sure you take a shirt that you can wear home, an open neck one. Don't stress about the surgery, really it isn't as bad as what you can imagine. Good luck and keep up posted. Oh, are you having the surgery because of an enlarged goiter only? Do you have hashimoto's? Cindy much,> Jill in NJ>

Bored stiff? Loosen up...Download and play hundreds of games for free on Yahoo! Games.

[Guest guest]

Cindy,

Thanks for all the info! I know, I keep hearing that it's not too bad, but of course I always fear the worst. I'll have no problem with the open neck shirt for afterwards; I hate having things around my neck like shirts with collars, oh and especially turtlenecks, yuck!!! Practically all my shirts are v-necks or scoop necks, lol. I did just get a beautiful necklace for Christmas from my dh, and I assume I won't be wearing it much after the surgery :-(

I'm having the surgery because of an enlarged goiter that keeps growing. All of my lab work has been fine so far; I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will stay that way! Actually, I just saw my regular doctor yesterday and he said that after the surgery, they do bloodwork to check the levels again to see if there's any change; then they'll know about any meds then.

Thanks so much~ your recap of your experience really helped.

~Jill

Re: Questions on upcoming thyroid surgery

Hi Jill, I had surgery Dec 19th. I had my whole thyroid removed. I will give you my experience, as you know, everybody's experience is different.

>> Hi, after almost a year of putting off the inevitable, I scheduled surgery to remove the right side of my thyroid. My last ultrasound showed that the goiter has increased even though I am taking levothyroxine, and that it's not going to shrink or go away! So, instead of waiting any longer, my surgery will be on March 6th.> > I have some questions that I hope you can answer; I love to get info from those who have been there before and can relate to what I'm going through!> > How long is the recovery to when I'll feel like myself again? Will my throat hurt like a sore throat? Will it be hard to move my head/neck? When will I be able to talk?

My throat wasn't sore like a sore throat. I was eating solid food the next morning in the hospital. I was surprised. The outside of my throat and chest was sore like bruised feeling. I did take Toradol for pain for a couple of weeks. I couldn't wear shirts that the collar would touch my neck. I wore open shirts. I didn't get on the computer for awhile as holding my neck in that position was really not comfortable. I used a couple of pillow at night to keep my in an upright position. It was a long time before I could sleep on my stomach. Also if I stretched my neck up to look at something, I would feel like something was snapping.... wierd. My husband thought maybe it was my stitches breaking up. I had the kind that dissolved.

I was able to talk right away. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Course none of it was as bad as I thought it would be. Even the scar isn't too bad. My dr didn't cover it, just stitches and 3 butterfly things over that. When I looked in the mirror I was shocked. I didn't know there would be so much of my insides showing. My dr said it was a little rough. Too my red stuff for me to look at. But it scabbed and finally fell off. > > I do work part time, and my surgery will be on a tuesday; when can I expect to go back to work?

I don't know the answer to that, I stay at home. But I was up and cooking and doing some of my housework 3 days after surgery. I had thought I could milk it more, but I didn't. LOLAlso, my doctor said that if they don't need to remove the entire thyroid, I won't have to be on any medication? Is that right? I was under the impression that meds would be needed to help the left side?

Hmmm. I guess I would go by how I felt and lab work. Don't really know the answer here either.

On no! I erased the rest of your e-mail so don't know if there were any more questions. Make sure you take a shirt that you can wear home, an open neck one. Don't stress about the surgery, really it isn't as bad as what you can imagine.

Good luck and keep up posted.

Oh, are you having the surgery because of an enlarged goiter only? Do you have hashimoto's?

Cindy

much,> Jill in NJ>

[Guest guest]

Judy,

Thank you for your kind words! I will let everyone know how it goes :-)

Jill

Re: Questions on upcoming thyroid surgery

Hi Jill. I have no experience with this, but I to wish you good luck, a safe surgery and a speedy recovery... Judy

Hi, after almost a year of putting off the inevitable, I scheduled surgery to remove the right side of my thyroid. My last ultrasound showed that the goiter has increased even though I am taking levothyroxine, and that it's not going to shrink or go away! So, instead of waiting any longer, my surgery will be on March 6th.

Never miss an email again!Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. Check it out.

[Guest guest]

I say, wear the necklace anyway. Wear it every day! Just because you can. Once the surgery site heals up, who cares if there's a scar? It's part of you, part of who you are. Don't worry about what other people think, and if they ask or you catch them staring, take it as an opportunity to educate them on thyroid awareness, since it's such a misunderstood thing.

www.Lane.com www.IwakuniMCAS.com http://stewartlane.com/gallery/ Be sure to check at the bottom of every set of pictures for more pages in the set.

Re: Questions on upcoming thyroid surgery

Hi Jill, I had surgery Dec 19th. I had my whole thyroid removed. I will give you my experience, as you know, everybody's experience is different.

>> Hi, after almost a year of putting off the inevitable, I scheduled surgery to remove the right side of my thyroid. My last ultrasound showed that the goiter has increased even though I am taking levothyroxine, and that it's not going to shrink or go away! So, instead of waiting any longer, my surgery will be on March 6th.> > I have some questions that I hope you can answer; I love to get info from those who have been there before and can relate to what I'm going through!> > How long is the recovery to when I'll feel like myself again? Will my throat hurt like a sore throat? Will it be hard to move my head/neck? When will I be able to talk?

My throat wasn't sore like a sore throat. I was eating solid food the next morning in the hospital. I was surprised. The outside of my throat and chest was sore like bruised feeling. I did take Toradol for pain for a couple of weeks. I couldn't wear shirts that the collar would touch my neck. I wore open shirts. I didn't get on the computer for awhile as holding my neck in that position was really not comfortable. I used a couple of pillow at night to keep my in an upright position. It was a long time before I could sleep on my stomach. Also if I stretched my neck up to look at something, I would feel like something was snapping.... wierd. My husband thought maybe it was my stitches breaking up. I had the kind that dissolved.

I was able to talk right away. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Course none of it was as bad as I thought it would be. Even the scar isn't too bad. My dr didn't cover it, just stitches and 3 butterfly things over that. When I looked in the mirror I was shocked. I didn't know there would be so much of my insides showing. My dr said it was a little rough. Too my red stuff for me to look at. But it scabbed and finally fell off. > > I do work part time, and my surgery will be on a tuesday; when can I expect to go back to work?

I don't know the answer to that, I stay at home. But I was up and cooking and doing some of my housework 3 days after surgery. I had thought I could milk it more, but I didn't. LOLAlso, my doctor said that if they don't need to remove the entire thyroid, I won't have to be on any medication? Is that right? I was under the impression that meds would be needed to help the left side?

Hmmm. I guess I would go by how I felt and lab work. Don't really know the answer here either.

On no! I erased the rest of your e-mail so don't know if there were any more questions. Make sure you take a shirt that you can wear home, an open neck one. Don't stress about the surgery, really it isn't as bad as what you can imagine.

Good luck and keep up posted.

Oh, are you having the surgery because of an enlarged goiter only? Do you have hashimoto's?

Cindy

much,> Jill in NJ>

[Guest guest]

I agree about the scar thing. Does anyone watch Top Chef? The gal n there has a HUGE scar running down her right arm, and she wears no sleeve tops and short sleeve tops and nobody seems to even notice the scar. I did at first, but then when I saw she was so comfortable with it, it almost disappeared to me. Enjoy!jackieI say, wear the necklace anyway.   Wear it every day!  Just because you can.  Once the surgery site heals up, who cares if there's a scar?  It's part of you, part of who you are.  Don't worry about what other people think, and if they ask or you catch them staring, take it as an opportunity to educate them on thyroid awareness, since it's such a misunderstood thing.      www.Lane.com www.IwakuniMCAS.com http://stewartlane.com/gallery/ Be sure to check at the bottom of every set of pictures for more pages in the set.