I will add myself to this question, last week my neuro suggested I get a thymectomy.

Joe

Within 2 weeks I started to have 2 or 3 hour periods where I felt "normal". Within 5 or 6 weeks it increased to 7 or 8 hours. It took 9 weeks before I could sleep on my side, and that was my barometer that made me feel that I was back to normal.

Everyone's different with different pain tolerance levels.

My only MG symptom was ptosis and it went away about 10 days - 2 weeks after surgery.

*My surgery was trans sternal - the other methods would have a much quicker recovery I would assume.

Did you have a thyoma?

Joe

How old are you WB?

I was recommended for thymectomy, but researching I read it wasn't recommended for those over 60. My thymus was normal and I'm 71 so I declined.

l had my thymectomy 14 years ago at the age of 35 6 weeks after official diagnosis,l had spent just a few days at home from then until my procedure was done.l was not very well when l had it done ,but my neuro and surgeon plowed ahead with it as l was not going to get any better than what l was in the near future.

l had trans sternal surgery,my thymus was slightly enlarged and my thoracic surgeon went by the get every thing we can method,than is all surrounding tissue that was of no use went as well(the belief being that just one missed cell could thwart the whole procedure).

l was home within two days more because the hospital did not have good aftercare.Due to very high doses of prednisone l did not knit together to well and twice l re cracked my sternum...which hurt like...a lot.... both times the pain making me pass out.

It took a year for me to be able to lay down to sleep (the movement of trying to lie was how l cracked my sternum the first time,the second getting out of the car the wrong way).

It was a good year before l felt like l was capable of doing anything(regardless of the healing issues).3 before l felt more normal and 5/6 before l was well .
Your level of illness ,drugs and aftercare all play apart in how well you recover. Despite a long and painful recovery l have had a terrific outcome so l'm not complaining.

Joe - No thymoma, and Ferd - I was 50 at the time of surgery (I'm now 52).
My CT scan showed thymic hyperplasia (enlarged), surgery showed my thymus was 9 cm by 11cm. After hearing surgery stories from others in my local support group, it seems that CT scans are not always accurate. One man's surgery showed his thymus to by 11cm by 27cm!

I wanted recovery so fast.
They said 6 weeks and 6 weeks it was.
It was about a year before I felt real benefits from Thymectomy.
Just as they predicted.

A year and a half ago, I had sternotomy to remove my tumor. The surgeon told me to expect a window of 6-8 weeks before I could return to work or lift anything heavy, so I took it pretty easy in that time. I did have pain for a few weeks, and couldn't sleep on my side or move around or lift my arms very well. Then, I had 6 weeks of radiation, during which my MG symptoms greatly increased. I was really weak for about the six months after my surgery, and then with a shitload of Imuran, Prednisone, and IVIG (plus loss of muscle tone from not being able to exercise) I probably felt improved over my pre-surgery self probably six of seven months after the surgery. I think my first neuro was undertreating me, though, so this might have taken me longer than if I had had adequate treatment from the beginning. Now that a year and a half have passed, I feel great, pretty consistent every day, and can work and run errands and sometimes run! But it's impossible to tell if what helped me was the drugs, the IVIG, the surgery, or all three.

It seems to me that, if you don't have a tumor, having it done laparoscopically will help your recovery time will be shorter.

My thymectomy was done June of last year. I didn't have a Thomas so they did the surgery using the devinchy robot. Using the robot they went through my ribs on my left side. I had three days of IVIG before surgery. Surgery was done on Thursday and I went home on Monday. I did spend two days in ICU but that was just to monitor my breathing. I was pretty sore for about two weeks but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
As far as results I had about three weeks right after surgery where my MG symptoms were much better. I then went back to my usual symptoms. I am told it could take up to a year to see true results so I have a few more months before my year is up. I hope that helps. Michele