So tell me about Thyroid surgery? update # 61

[akcire]

OP--Here is my story. Never had thyroid issues. Found a big lump on the left side--had an ultrasound. Endocrinologist said I could have a biopsy or get the 1/2 taken out. Due to the size everyone wanted the 1/2 out.

In October I had surgery at the University of Chicago and had 1/2 of thyroid removed. Surgery went well, and I left a couple hours later (wear a baseball hat a couple days after surgery to "lift" your head). I went in for my follow up appointment and the frozen section in the OR was wrong. It was cancer.

So on December 17th I had the second half removed, same surgeon. This time I had to spend the night--to make sure the parathyroids were ok and my calcium was not all screwed up.

A couple weeks after surgery I had irritated iodine, puked for a week, got better, got H1N1, puked for another week, and then I was fine.

Everyone is different, but I didn't find the surgery to be bad. This was my first surgery. The worst thing I did was read people's accounts on the internet. Some of the thyroid forums are full of people who scared me half to death. I am not saying it has been all roses (see the weeks of vomit) but I can sure think of worse things.

So keep your chin up. I am sure all will go well, and let me know if you have any questions or want my MD's name. Since most people don't have thyroid surgery twice and less than two months apart I can honestly say I would use my surgeon again (but if I need a third thyroid surgery--he's got lots of explaining to do )

**Re the scar: PP is correct Mederma is awesome for most people. I quickly found out I was allergic to it--who knows I am strange?! Even without the Mederma the scar is not that big a deal.

As for sunblock, yes, high SPF. I went to FL in between my surgeries and made certain to have a very high SPF to prevent darkening. Additionally, sun burn on a new scar sounds painful.

 

[Christine]

**Re the scar: PP is correct Mederma is awesome for most people. I quickly found out I was allergic to it--who knows I am strange?! Even without the Mederma the scar is not that big a deal.

I also had the two thyroid surgeries and they were about 3 weeks apart.

Also, I am allergic to Mederma. I was using it on a scar on my hand and I got really irritated from it. Won't ever try that again!

 

[akcire]

I also had the two thyroid surgeries and they were about 3 weeks apart.

Also, I am allergic to Mederma. I was using it on a scar on my hand and I got really irritated from it. Won't ever try that again!

That's pretty crazy. I wonder what other similarities we have...

Thyroid cancer--check
Allergy to Mederma--check
Disney Mania--check

 

[LuvOrlando]

Thank you guys. It is so calming to hear from other people about their experiences. Funny, whether they are good or bad I find stories comforting. The good give me hope & the not so great give me something to prepare for, does that make sense? For me the enemy is the unknown... I just don't do well with a vast blank void in front of me.

You're all great

 

[KAMLEM]

A couple of people have mentioned to me how hard it is to go from lying down to a n upright position. Thanks for the tip on using my hands as a brace, one of my DF's who had it done simply suggested sleeping in a recliner which doesn't sound too comfy at all. I don't think I could sleep that way.

You can also take a towel and roll it the long way. Then put it behind your neck and pull on both ends at the same time. Someone had mentioned that to me but I didn't need it, I didn't have any trouble getting up.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I like the towel idea, it seems more stable than just my hands. I could even ask my kids to help me with the towel. Thank you for that.

I didn't hear about the baseball cap. My friend did tell me she was doing something wrong with her neck that made it worse so maybe leaning forward was the problem. I have long thick heavy hair, do you think the fact it pulls back would be a help or a problem. If pulling back is a good thing then a pony tail would probably do good job weighting my head.

Thanks for all the comments and tips. Even if I don't mention each one individually they all are very much appreciated.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I went to Sloan on Friday. The appointment went well but Dr. is no longer convinced it isn't cancer. As he said, when I was first there I was 32 and the lump was 1.2cm and now I'm 40 and the lump is 3.8, big difference. At least 1/2 & isthmus needs to come out, maybe even the whole thing if he doesn't like the way things look to him on the table and I'm ok with that. I can't put it off too much longer but I should be fine waiting until the kids go back to school in late August.

Now I have a few months to prepare. Tell me are there any products out I should get? Are clothes with snaps easier? Certain kinds of pillows. Help.

 

[Notatourist]

First off, you are not going to want to talk. Two nerves run along the neck that are for speaking and if your doctor doesn't mention that, I would be concerned. It took me a few days to get my voice back but, it's a different octave...just a little lower than I once knew. Remember that everyone is different, this is just rule of thumb.

Clothes-Jeans fit just fine.

Take the pain meds. Sleep. Remember your throat has been cut, you'll look like you survived some sort of war, but you'll be okay. Try soft foods, yogurt, etc.

I used Vitamin E, Straight from walgreens and it works! You can't tell I had surgery.

Now, on a completely different side note, they are finding some links tween Thyroid cancer and other cancers, primarily uterine. PLEASE get your self checked out. It's a caution. Don't panic.

And good luck, you'll feel better after it is all done.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Did you dr. do another biopsy?

I agree with the soft foods and hard candy to suck on

Did the surgeon mention if he takes out your whole thyroid if you would have the JP drains? If you do have the drains, its much easier to have a shirt with a front pocket to put them in or else you could pin them on the shirt. I dont know how long they stay in normally if you get them. I had so many complications mine stayed in for weeks.

Wishing you all the best

 

[crz4mm2]

I had 1/2 and the isthmus removed 6 years ago.
I had no pain really. Just discomfort and not much of that. Didn't even fill the pain RX I was given.
Could not raise my head without using my hand underneath.
I had a drain, but it was removed the am after surgery.
I had to spend the night in the hospital, but not in ICU.
I had not problems talking afterward. There are nerves on both sides of the thyroid that if severed, will cause you to not be able to speak (or be very hoarse).
I used mederma on my scar afterward. It is very light.

I was EXHAUSTED after. I was shocked that I could not finish the first day back at work (had surgery on wed and went back to work on monday).
By Wed, I was much better and was able to complete a day at work just fine.
Good luck. You will be fine.

 

[JessicaR]

I had a total thyroidectomy. Button down shirts till the drain is removed. I had a drain for one week. Right in the middle of my scar and the rest was glued shut. After the drain was removed i had one or two stitches tied off. The surgeon attatched the suture during surgery so it was easy. I did the same, pinned it to the shirt. Sore tight throat for a bit. I ate LOTS of lifesavers. Sitting in a chair is how I was most comfortable. Didn't like laying flat for about a week after. My voice was weak and gradually returned. I couldn't project (my husband liked that part)
Overall experience and recovery was easier than anticipated.
My husband called me a pez dispenser. My scar is now barely noticeable. I used Mederma.

Oh and I just remembered. I had a very long tight compress wrapped around my throat for one or two days after. I hated that!

 

[LuvOrlando]

The Dr said they use the sort of stitches that dissolve themselves. I already heard about the drain and think it's going to be gross beyond words. Is it big, is it clear, YUCK... sheesh I am going to be so bad at this. I have issues with stitches, well anything open really and never even looked at my own stitches after the kids were born This is up high on my neck, no way I am going to be able to avoid looking. Good thing my MIL is an RN because she's going to be the only person looking under the bandages

The advice you are all giving me is so valuable. I live 1 1/2 hours away from the surgeon so if I run into something weird I'm not going to be able to just get in to see him easily.

Does everyone get a tight compress? No-one has mentioned that before, I can't stand stuff on my throat, turtle necks & scarves give me the willies. Uggh, I think I'd need sedatives to tolerate that.

Can you tell I'm getting anxious?

 

[mrsklamc]

I had no tight compress, and the very small amount of stuff in the drain looked like strawberry jelly (pinkish, not all red and gross.) . I had a radical neck dissection, which means all my thyroid and an incision all the way up the left side of my neck. It really wasn't that bad, although I was extremely stressed out about it.

 

[KAMLEM]

The Dr said they use the sort of stitches that dissolve themselves. I already heard about the drain and think it's going to be gross beyond words. Is it big, is it clear, YUCK... sheesh I am going to be so bad at this.

Did the dr. say that you will definitely have a drain? I didn't have one. I just had a small incision that looked more like a cat scratch, it wasn't bad at all. The people at the hospital said that my surgeon was the best around when it came to the incisions because they were so small and they hardly leave a scar.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I had my surgery by Dr. Shaha at Memorial Sloan Kettering Tuesday 8/31 and am now recovering slowly a home. The surgical staff at this facility are unparalleled in skill and support, in fact all the staff are pretty impressively warm. Sort of reminds me of the old school Disney "Cast Member' mentality where they are all very mindful of the uplifting mood they are trying to set forth. Not quite jolly but hopeful and encouraging, it's very comforting. The hospital has a wonderful support staff, I requested it ahead of time so I was visited by members of my Faith 4 times for prayer which was a huge help. They also have a wonderful make-over program called LOOK GOOD FEEL BETTER. ORG for helping people deal with scars (my issue) or wigs (other people in the group) and I was sent home with a very nice goodie bag of donated cosmetics and advice.

Overall I think Sloan made a miserable experience about as good as it could possibly be so I'm grateful I had my surgery done there. They called in to report to my waiting husband very frequently during the procedure and during post surgery which was very helpful to my family. During my stay I was encouraged to ask for help getting up and around and pain was taken very seriously, which is pretty important at these kinds of facilities.

The worst pat of the whole thing was my reaction to the anesthesia which left me with a horrible migraine, dizzy and desperately nauseous for about 24 hours. I spent the night but was released the next day. I guess each procedure is different because i don't remember feeling this way when i had my hernia done 7 years ago. Then again, maybe it was more migraine and less medicine.... no way to tell but ewww, i was a mess. Don't get me wrong, they didn't deny me medicine for my migraine but i felt so absolutely miserably nauseous i didn't want to accept another thing into my body so I let the migraine just run it's course. Not good but it seemed to be either suffer lucidly or be knocked out, I chose to be aware.

I don't have a drain and the incision looks very dainty but there is a great deal of swelling, almost no bruising but it looks like a portion of a keilbasi where the scar is sitting. I thought I'd be further along than I am by now (pain free ect.) but I suppose the neck is a weak body part that doesn't easily recover. My incision itself is doing ok but the muscles all around my neck are a bit of a mess, probably because of my weird movements trying to compensate for swelling. It's very hard to get comfortable and once the muscles tire & stress they are difficult to relax. Sunday I tried to skip the pain medicine because the pain isn't too bad, but the muscle aches and discomfort used me to hunch over so i started to look like a comma which can't be good so back on the 1/2 dose lowest dose Vicoprofen so i can straighten my neck up. I'm not sure how long this will continue but hope it won't be too long. I can also feel the tightness inside my neck which fells like a strain on my windpipe but that sensation is also diminished by the Vicoprofen so thank goodness for that.

I wanted to pop in to thank everyone who offered advice and what to expect, your posts have been really helpful because some surprises aren't so hot, so now I'm posting my own experience so far. I still have to wait to get my final biopsy results and figure out the whole hormone level issue but so far so good. It wasn't/isn't a picnic but at least it's out of my body so Amen for that small Grace.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Glad to hear you made it through the surgery. Sorry about the anesthesia reaction. Its good you dont have to worry about a drain.

I wold keep taking the pain meds. I found out that sitting upright in the recliner helped my neck alot and when I slept I used about 3 pillows.

I guess it will take a while for the swelling to go down. I had the drain in for weeks, so it was taking the swelling down for me etc.

Take it easy and hoping your biopsy report is good. Sending you good thoughts and prayers.

 

[SLM]

Glad the surgery is behind you-I had my thyroid removed two weeks ago and felt discomfort for a short period of time. The worst was nausea from the painkillers, but I felt much better after getting them out of my system. I think taking them on an empty stomach makes you nauseous and after a couple days would only take them in the evening when I felt a little sore. They helped for sleeping through the night. I had a huge nodule on the left side of thyroid and two fairly large ones on the right. My tests for cancer came back negative and I hope you have the same good news. Take care of yourself these next few days-it IS major surgery-you might feel more tired these next few days and thats normal. Best wishes to you and your family (and your DH sounds like a real sweetheart!).

 

[SLM]

Previous posters, when did you start using vitamin e or the lotions? My incision is still raised and a little sore to the touch. I am going to call the Dr. about some insurance info tomorrow and ask, but you all have been in my place...

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Did not know about your surgery, but glad it is over, you are healing slowly, and prayers sent your way!

 

[Snoozan]

I had my thyroid out over 11 years ago due to thyroid cancer. I remember starting rubbing the vitamin E on my scar as soon as the "scab" came off-probably within a few days of surgery, if I remember. My scar is not even noticable today and I have an extremely skinny neck.