Yesterday I had
I had a total Thyroidectomy yesterday afternoon to remove a 5.4cm benign mass that was on my left Thyroid. I did not want to do this, but I felt like I had no choice due to the fact that the mass was so large and I was at an increased risk of developing Thyroid cancer due to heavy doses of radiation I received in the neck and abdomen to treat Hodgekin's disease (cancer) which I had when I was younger.
After waking up from the surgery and one day later my voice is completely ruined. I can't speak above a whisper, I can't clear my throat, when I try to drink water, some of it leaks down the wrong tube on the left side of my throat it's like the left side of my throat is paralyzed or something. I also keep getting an uncomfortable feeling of a reoccurring air bubble that gets trapped in the middle of my chest (that's the only way I can think to describe it), it kind of comes out of nowhere causes discomfort for a second and then releases. Also, I've always had problems needing to clear my throat and now after the surgery, I can't clear my throat at all. I try to do it and nothing happens, it just sounds like I'm growling and my throat is irritated further. I have difficulty swallowing and if I try to talk more than a few sentences at a time, I run out of breath and have to pause to take a breath before continuing.
My doctor was very vague with me, saying that it "should" improve within a few days, with some people taking a few weeks or even months. But the amount of issues I am having is overwhelming, I didn't expect anything of this magnitude postopeartively.
I'm completely miserable and disheartened, i can't even drink a glass of water without feeling the water go down the wrong pipe, which then gives me the sensation to clear my throat which I can't do, it's like a vicious cycle. My job requires that I speak, I don't know what to do now as I can only whisper, I can't talk to my kids. I feel devastated.
The research that I have done on the Internet so far about this only returns negative results indicating that I have laryngeal nerve damage and the doctor told me that he had to stretch the nerve to remove the mass because it was so large.
Does anyone have any suggestions on where I should go from here, I am extremely concerned.
I had a total Thyroidectomy yesterday afternoon to remove a 5.4cm benign mass that was on my left Thyroid. I did not want to do this, but I felt like I had no choice due to the fact that the mass was so large and I was at an increased risk of developing Thyroid cancer due to heavy doses of radiation I received in the neck and abdomen to treat Hodgekin's disease (cancer) which I had when I was younger.
After waking up from the surgery and one day later my voice is completely ruined. I can't speak above a whisper, I can't clear my throat, when I try to drink water, some of it leaks down the wrong tube on the left side of my throat it's like the left side of my throat is paralyzed or something. I also keep getting an uncomfortable feeling of a reoccurring air bubble that gets trapped in the middle of my chest (that's the only way I can think to describe it), it kind of comes out of nowhere causes discomfort for a second and then releases. Also, I've always had problems needing to clear my throat and now after the surgery, I can't clear my throat at all. I try to do it and nothing happens, it just sounds like I'm growling and my throat is irritated further. I have difficulty swallowing and if I try to talk more than a few sentences at a time, I run out of breath and have to pause to take a breath before continuing.
My doctor was very vague with me, saying that it "should" improve within a few days, with some people taking a few weeks or even months. But the amount of issues I am having is overwhelming, I didn't expect anything of this magnitude postopeartively.
I'm completely miserable and disheartened, i can't even drink a glass of water without feeling the water go down the wrong pipe, which then gives me the sensation to clear my throat which I can't do, it's like a vicious cycle. My job requires that I speak, I don't know what to do now as I can only whisper, I can't talk to my kids. I feel devastated.
The research that I have done on the Internet so far about this only returns negative results indicating that I have laryngeal nerve damage and the doctor told me that he had to stretch the nerve to remove the mass because it was so large.
Does anyone have any suggestions on where I should go from here, I am extremely concerned.
Loading...
Hey! My (total) thyroidectomy was a year ago (today). And, I had problems with my voice, too. Talking on the phone was awful because most people just couldn't hear me (above or past the squeak.)
It has been a year, though, and my voice is almost back to normal. Sometimes, when one has a pretty large nodule (i know I did, as I couldn't swallow with it in there), the vocal cords will suffer some damage. Mine did. It sounds like yours did, too. But, don't worry about it too much.., as the swelling goes down, it will probably get better.
I still do not have posession of my, "upper range", and cannot sing like I used to (but I was never going to go pro, anyway..) People can understand what I'm saying, today. My only real, "problem", after thyroidectomy, regarding my voice, is this: if I get angry and try to yell, that upper range just doesn't kick in. I mean, nothing comes out. What may be a problem, for me, seems to not be a problem for anyone else.
Give it a few months. It really should get better.
Loading...