Thyroid Cancer Support Group

I know every one is different but I didn't have too much trouble when I had my thyroid removed. I had two surgeries two months apart and didn't experience hardly any pain with either. My biggest complaint was tired and sweating like I was having hot flashes. All I can say is thank God it was winter time. I'd step outside to cool off. The surgery was relatively easy, it only required me to say one night then they let me go home.

The Doctor at Johns Hopkins are impressed with the work the surgeon did. He was able to remove all bad tissue and I didn't require Radiation. Johns Hopkins says that rare. But I still get monitored the same as everyone else.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. It was pretty easy for me. But like I said everyone is different.

Lisa's correct....the surgery is a snap as far as pain goes, unlike abdominal surgery, for example.

When you go fully hypo, you may experience muscle cramps and spasms (I did, about 100 a night that really disrupted my sleep) and you may notice "brain fog" where you are in slow motion compared to normal. Depression is another common side effect, but it's not too severe.

Ask your doctor if you should be driving, some are allowed to, some aren't. I think doctors look at our normal functioning levels or reaction times, and see if we've slowed down too much to be safe. I was allowed to drive, and am grateful.

The nice thing is, this is a temporary condition. While you won't feel your "old" self for quite awhile (it takes awhile to adjust your dosage of Synthroid) you will leave the brain fog, etc. behind pretty soon after starting the Synthroid. Some doctors give a temporary prescription of T3 to make the transition go faster. Otherwise, you have to wait for your body to change the T4 in Synthroid to T3, which takes awhile.

I also got a bit forgetful when hypo. I was really glad that I didn't have any "stories" going on in my life, so while I might be repeating myself, I wasn't tripping up on previous tellings! *smile*

One of the ways I combatted the symptoms was to read humorous things, and only watch light or humorous stuff on tv. I re-read the "All Things Great and Small" series that I had enjoyed 20 years ago, so I didn't have to totally follow the plot to follow the plot, if that makes sense. I watched movies that made me laugh. And most of all, I thanked God that I was alive and diagnosed in time to get my life back.

You have a very curable type of thyroid cancer. I wish you the best. Welcome to the Cancer Club....we're warriors here.

Thank you both so much for your replies, they really help.
Cheri

Hi, I was diagnosed this year in february, rushed into a TT in march even though I only wanted a partial thyroidectomy I caved because nobody would support me (mostly out of ignorance).
Take things very slow and make your treatment decisions and stand by them. Thyroid cancer is very slow growing and you can wait a long time to do anything. Also there is no reason to go hypo after surgery. If your cancer has spread beyond your thyroid and you decide to do RAI you can use thyrogen shots instead of going hypo.

About the surgery, I spent one night in the hospital but had to be readmitted a few days later because of calcium loss.
You can't talk for a few days after surgery. If you have a good experienced surgeon your voice returns in 3-4 days (there is a risk of permanent vocal paralysis).
The calcium loss is because of shock to parathyroids which stop functioning after surgery, that is usually temporary too but you feel like you are having a stroke when it hits.
I did not do RAI as it seemed it would do more harm than good.

I was in the hospital for one overnight.
The first surgery (half thyroid removal) I took only 1 day off after coming home for a total of 3 days off. Second surgery (other half removed 3 weeks later)I took 2 days off after coming home for a total of 4 days off. Needed that extra day, probably because the 2 surgeries were so close together. I had no calcium problems post surgery what-so-ever. Voice horseness lasted about 3 weeks and it was just returning to normal when I had the 2nd surgery. Then after the second one, it was less time before I sounded "normal" again.
Hypo period was hard on me and my TSH went up to 114 but I worked through it. I was very physically exhausted. Luckily I only work 6 hours a day.
At 4 weeks post RAI, my TSH went down to 5.4 but Dr. is waiting what will be another 4 weeks and a retest before deciding to increase my Synthroid doseage. Good luck with your surgery!

I had my TT on 9/29/09. Surgery was at 3:30pm. I was out of the hospital the next day at 1:00pm. I had NO voice, only a whisper when I left the hospital. Each day, a small change came to my voice but not fast enough for me. By days 6,7,8 after the surgery, I was getting depressed that my voice was not getting better. By day 10, I had some volume, not much tone. I was off of work for 2 weeks, then worked from home part time for a week (since I couldn't be heard well).

I had very little pain. I stayed current on my Vicodin to stay ahead of the pain.

I just had RAI treatment today. I did not go hypo before it. I kept taking Synthroid from the day after surgery until today (and beyond of course). Monday, I had my first Thyrogen shot to stimulate my hormones. Tuesday I had the 2nd shot. That was it. No need to go hypo. This drug has been around for a while now. Ask your doctor about it.

I have felt well since day 12 after the surgery. Just a little bit tired some days.

Well I had a TT on 10-28-09 and only spend 1 night in the hospital. My calcium never dropped in the hospital but I believe it did yesterday (Saturday) as I was very crampy, and numbness in fingers. Except for the first 2-3 hrs after surgery my voice has been fine. My problem is my scar is very swollen and painful when holding my neck straight up and down. I am keeping ice on it and stretching slightly but I intend to call the surgeon tomorrow. I also am going to call the endo tomorrow and ask about the thyrogen shots. My path report came back as 1-.5cm nodule with papillary cancer on the right side, and 1-1cm nodule with papillary cancer on the left side, both nodules were completely encapsulated and all edges of the thyroid clean. I asked the surgeon if I still had to do RAI and she said yes as it is standard protocol., which has made me decide to ask about the shots. I am just hoping the swelling goes down soon as it is very bothersome. Thanks for all the things to think about and question.
Cheri

RAI would not be protocol anymore for your cancer at least not here.
It used to be if you had a nodule larger than 1cm it was automatic but now it is more that there has to be evidence it has spread beyond the thyroid.

austinmama wrote:

"I just had RAI treatment today. I did not go hypo before it. I kept taking Synthroid from the day after surgery until today (and beyond of course). Monday, I had my first Thyrogen shot to stimulate my hormones. Tuesday I had the 2nd shot. That was it. No need to go hypo. This drug has been around for a while now. Ask your doctor about it."

That's odd. Per doctors orders, I've gone completely off my levothyroxine 2 weeks before RAI (11/12) and low iodine diet before scans. I thought the idea was go hypo before RAI to maximize absorption to any remaining thyroid tissue after TT. Can someone educate me? I'm having difficulty dealing with the tiredness and looking for something to help while waiting for RAI.