I think you mean the thymus, not the thyroid. Many MG patients have a tumor on the thymus that needs to be remediated, and some opt for a complete thymectomy, or removal of thymus, even with no tumor present.

I had mine all removed and very happy I did. They said I would feel better in about a year...and I did.
I was in and out of hospital in 3 days.
Ann

I understand the confusion, but I do mean the thyroid. I've read that many MG patients also have thyroid issues. My nodule is on the thyroid.

I may opt to have the thymus removed later, but my question is about experience of anyone on the MG list with thyroid surgery.

(If anyone thinks it is confusing that I have the same avatar as Seattle Writer, please speak up and I'll find a new one.)

I had multiple nodules and a huge goiter. I had a complete thyroidectomy in '08. I feel much better, but only after getting on Armour thyroid. Synthetics do nothing for me. If my thyroid levels get out of whack I have more Myasthenic symptoms.

Like Limpnoodle, I had a huge nodule on my thyroid and I had a left hemithyroidectomy. When they first found my nodule it was the size of a dime. By the time they removed it, it was the size of a tennis ball. So I had it removed along with the left half of my thyroid in 2002. I did feel somewhat better after the surgery but not for long. At the time I was really active and jogging 7 days per week but at the end of the following year my running stopped for good. I just couldn't continue to push myself. I kept getting weaker and weaker and I felt like if I continued I'd end up collapsing somewhere an I'd never be found.

I also had no success with synthetic thyroid medications so I was also put on armour thyroid which is when things really started to turn around for me. Now I take both armour thyroid an synthroid to manage my thyroid disease. I have Hoshimoto's Thryoiditis which is also an autoimmune disease. Now I find it really difficult to tell the difference between thyroid and MG issues because many of them are the same... weakness, fatigue, brain fog, etc.

I hope that you have a happy new year too. Keep us posted on your situation. If you want to send me a message with more specific questions, please feel free to do so.

Aloha,
Angie

ah, sorry. I was thinking you might have had trouble finding what you were looking for if you were perhaps typing in different search terms than what you were after (I know I'm frequently confusing words lately in MG-related haziness). Sorry about that!

Angie, that's why it took me so long to get to a neurologist and get diagnosed. I had been dealing with the hypothyroid symptoms for a couple of years and it is hard to tell the difference. The only notable thing that I can tell is when I am hypo, my ankles hurt really bad.

I'm interested in this topic as well. I have a sizeable thyroid nodule and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and MG at basically the same time. I've been afraid of the MG complications to pursue thyroid surgery, which at this time is not truly necessary. I've also been wondering if my thyroid numbers are out of whack--I've been more fatigued and have been having more problems with my hands and feet being really cold and hard to warm up.

Thank you all. Curiously, the MG specialist I saw (I was recently diagnosed with MG and the thyroid nodule was discovered at the same time) did not think that my primary symptoms of lightheadedness and fatigue are related to MG. He did not think that medication for MG would help me, but that I might feel better following thyroid surgery. The neurologist who diagnosed me recommends a long term course of immunosuppresants, but the specialist who treats MG almost exclusively did not. Having been on steroids twice before for unrelated conditions, I do not relish feeling angry and gaining weight. I desperately want to feel better, but am uncertain how to proceed. I realize that none of us feels exactly the same.

Hope

I have a stable and benign thyroid nodule. It's sizeable, but I leave it alone since it's not anything serious. The endo. dr. monitors it every 6 months, and it's not changed so far. I want to avoid any kind of surgery b/c of the MG. My thyroid numbers are at the low end of normal and I don't take anything for it.

Michelle32

Had half thyroid removed due to it being so enlarged that it was pressing on windpipe. At the same time I also had my thymus removed. Seven days in hospital total with three of those being in ICU. MG way worse after surgery. I did not notice any improvement in MG for well over a year. Thyroid has been great ever since. Take Thyroxine and get levels tested every fourish months and levels haven't changed in three years. I would not know that I have a thyroid condition except for one tablet daily. No side effects that most people get.