Hello to my support group :) It's day 2 since I had the total thyroidectomy. I had my surgery at 7:30 am, EST yesterday... and woke up in recovery around noon. The surgery took a little longer than anticipated. Turned out that my thyroid was very inflamed and larger than the surgeon originally thought. The nodule on my left lobe was about the size of a half dollar coin. Before I went into surgery, she spoke to me and said she would remove the left lobe and possibly leave the right lobe unless it didn't look normal. Once she opened me up, she realized the severity and removed the entire thyroid. She said it was quite a difficult surgery but a successful one as she was able to save all 4 parathyroids. So, far my calcium is looking good and my parathyroids are appearing to still function and may not go into shock. YAY! I was started on synthroid 50 mcg this morning to keep me from going further hypo since I was hypo going into surgery. She will increase my dose next week when I see her for my follow up on Tuesday. Overall, I am very happy and satisfied. I feel a sense of relief knowing that my thyroid is now gone and I won't have to worry about a thyroid storm again. The incision is quite small, she said she only cut 2 cm and she had to cut higher than she normally would since my thyroid was higher than normal in its location . I'm okay with a scar and she seemed more concerned than I was about getting a scar so she said she did her best with the incision so that i won't leave a very noticeable scar . Last night, my surgeon came in to visit me and had me lay flat on my back to prove that the sensation I have felt for the last year is now gone... nothing pushing on my trachea, no lump... it's a wonderful feeling . I was put on Calcitrol and Celebrex for the first 24 hours and 1 Tums, Ultra, Extra strength twice daily. I was sent home with just the Synthroid and orders to continue Tums (one twice a day). I'm a little tired but that may be from not resting so great in the hospital. Before I went under, the anesthiologist put my iPod on and I was drifted to a spa :) I put relaxation/healing spa music on my iPod and with the leg massagers that you have to wear so you don't clots, it felt like being a spa and getting a leg massage. I have some brusing around the incision which was due to the difficulty of trying to get my thyroid out. I woke up not being able to speak AT ALL but within an hour, a small rasp would come out with a whisper, then it turned into a hoarse, rapsy word or two then a sentence, and by 6 hours later, my voice had returned at about 90 percent. :) No damage to the nerves! Woo Hoo! She did say she had a nerve monitor on me and it showed no damage. Whew! She definitely knows what she is doin. Oh, another thing, she said most, almost all, patients wake up with a crick in their neck and pain due to the how the neck is held back so long during surgery. I had no muscle pain. I think that was due to getting two massages over the week before and the last massage, the therapist concentrated on my neck and shoulders. My advice so far to whoever opts for a Thyroidectomy is to get pampered the week before, do anything that you know will keep you relaxed such as reading a book, going for a walk, etc. Eat a light dinner the night before and drink lots and lots of water the day before surgery (to ensure hydration). Upon waking up, try to use your voice as soon as you can... it may not be there but keep trying ever few minutes. My surgeon kept saying I needed to talk as much as possible to excercise those nerves. Humming is good also . Oh, and be sure to cough when you wake up... I had horrible chest pain when I woke up which put in a little bit of panic. I sat up and knew I had this need to cough but ignored it out of fear . When I finally did cough, I felt SO much better... and followed by a big burp... relieved the pressure in my chest. Eat ice chips at first until you can hold down water. Once you are able to drink and eat, keep your drink iced and as cold as possible . Sip a little every hour around the clock at first... By doing that, I was able to keep the swelling down so far in my neck along with an ice pack on it. Keep the ice pack cold and on the incision for the first 24 hours, continuosly. My surgeon most patients will remove the ice pack and not sleep with on or keep it on and they end with more swelling. She expected for me to have horrible swelling since it was such a difficult procedure getting the thyroid to come out. Also, try turning your neck from side to side immediately. It will help to keep your neck from getting so stiff . Oh, one more thing... IF your surgeon allows it, ask them to put that nausea patch on behind your ear before surgery. My surgeon does this with all her surgeries to minimize the nausea from the anesthia. I was very nauseous but never threw up (Thank goodness). I was also given anti nausea medicine on top of that. It really turned out to be not as scary as I thought it would. I believe my choice to have the thyroidectomy was the right choice for me. My surgeon agreed after seeing the shape my thyroid was in. i will post pictures on my blog later this week. Let me know if you have any questions.

Oh, and one more thing.... THANK YOU to everyone on here for supporting me, thinking about me, and helping me along the way to get to where I am.

~Hugs to my support group family.