Problems swallowing after thyroidectomy.

Hi. I have the same problem. I had a complete Thyroidectomy nearly 3 years ago (2 days before you to be exact!). My doctor told me after the surgery that I have a "hole" in my throat now and to give it a good year before it completely heals. Now I find it really hard to swallow food, sometimes even trying to drink is not that easy either! Food seems to go so far down my throat and then get 'stuck''. I've been to my local GP who has sent me for tests after tests as she really couldn't work out what the problem was. I even went to a second doctor who put me through more tests as she was baffled too. Eventually, they thought that after my operation, they may have done something to the muscles in my throat which has weakened them and making it harder for me to swallow food. (My thyroid was one of the largest one's that the surgeon had ever seen). I find though that if I do some stretching exercises around my throat, it helps a little. It's definitely not convenient - I'm unable to go out to dinner with family and friends as I need to be close to the bathroom when I eat - my husbands wonderful and knows what I'm going through, so helps me to keep things "discreet"if we have to go to these family functions. On the upside .... I've lost over 20kgs and kept it off! But I'd still love a perfect steak meal right now!

Hey - i realise this question was asked about a year ago, but...well, at least the first respondent's answer suggests to me that there's an issue w/ salivation, leading to a dry mouth and throat. This can certainly make eating (and drinking) a lot harder because there is physically lower levels of lubricating saliva present in both the mouth and oesophagus. As far as my understanding goes, this is due to the lowered levels of thyroxine, resulting in a lowered basal metabolic rate and therefore lowered response to stimuli; it also results in the skin being dry and, if thyroxine levels are excessively low, mental deficits can result. However, you also have to consider the role of the thyroid's calcitonin and the parathyroid's parathormone in calcium ion use as well; calcitonin moves serum calcium into the bones, parathormone moves it out of them. The way this can affect other organ systems is that calcium ions are an integral part of correct muscular contraction and relaxation, which can potentially be an explanation as to why swallowing has become such an issue for you both. i would presume you're both on synthroid or something similar, and perhaps (hopefully) calcitonin therapy. And if the parathyroid glands were removed along w/ the thyroid, that needs to be dealt w/ via therapeutic medication too. i can't necessarily explain the presence of bony outgrowths apart from that there is too much calcitonin and not enough parathormone (? due to medications).

i imagine continuing to seek an explanation from varying specialists is tiring and w/out positive result probably feels worthless at times...but i think it's important to continue to seek the answers. Hopefully you'll find some explanation!

I had my thyroid removed in July 2011. 10 months on I have had swallowing problems to extent that sometimes I choke and vomit.

mostly I believe I need to eat slower because the wind pipe is impaired. I think further surgery will make it worse. I think eat less and slower is part of the solution.I had a scan which revealed no serious problems. I think there is paralysis of the swallowing mechanism. May be designing exercises to reactivate muscles could be the solution.

Hi This might be a bit of a downer on a good day but my storey is less than a good one... I had only half my thyroid removed 9 years ago. Immediately after i woke up from the op it was clear there was something very wrong. I couldn't even swallow my saliva. After 2 days aspirating into my lungs everything i tried to drink i was landed with a feeding tube into my stomach through my nose. I kept this initially for 6 months and after barium swallow after barium swallow i was told my swallow was unsafe for liquids... I was not accepting the news of permanent NG tube or gastrostomy fluids - i was determined to be able to have a drink for my 21st - so i trained myself to swallow again - albeit somewhat dangerous. I began with milkshakes - they had to be freezing cold for me to have full control over my swallow and one mouthful would take 5-7 swallows. When i eventually got to normal fluids i found i could control my swallow with hot drinks. 7 years on I'm mostly tube free but when i get a throat infection i need 24 - 36 hours of NG tube fluids to keep me out of hospital and the same if i get a bug - the vomiting sends my swallowing out of sync. I count my lucky stars i proved the docs wrong but I'm also lucky in that my voice came back strong after a few days and the stiffness didn't get chance to get stiff i believe largely due to all the choking i did the the first few days. I still choke around once a day/every other day and have had 1-2 chest infections a year since my op but its all minor inconvenience to what it could have been. I suppose my message is if your having swallowing trouble post surgery, get yourselves out for a macdonalds milk shake and start there or melt some ice cream if you have some and over the coming days add milk until it gets thinner and thinner until you can drink just ice cold milk - if you haven't yet had your thyroid gland removed and are reading this- don't worry - this doesn't happen to many people but maybe stock up in some ice cream :)

I'm so sorry to hear of all the post-op problems everyone has had after their thyroid surgery. I was diagnosed with a large tumor - a follicular neoplasm - on Feb. 19th after a biopsy was done. I had a total thyroidectomy on Feb. 27th, and although the first few days after surgery were a little rough, I have made steady improvement since then. I had my voice intact when I awoke in recovery, because the larynx nerves were stimulated during the procedure, and except for some slight difficulty swallowing ( I am now 5 1/2 weeks post surgery ) I am doing exceptionally well. One tip I can give that seems to help with the swallowing difficulty is to take smaller bites of food, chew well, and if necessary help them down with a few sips of water. It has worked really well for me. My surgeon did tell me that I should be good as new in 6 months, so I am only getting started on my recovery, but if I feel this good now, I can only imagine I'll continue to improve! Good luck to everyone - I hope you find a solution to your problems that makes you feel healthy and well again!

I had the surgery Feb 11. 2014. I now have trouble swallowing, and I grasp for air a lot. laying down flat also is hard for me to breath at times. did not have a voice for 3 months. Going back to see the surgeon next Tuesday. will keep you posted.

best dr to see is an ENT  wishing you well

after my surgery i ended up in ICU.  Could not breath on my own.  an over night stay turned into a 6 day stay

I had half of my thyroid removed almost 9 years ago. When I woke up from surgery I had no moisture in my nose, and very little saliva. It was hard to eat or cough things out. It's been an up and down struggle ever since. Tweaking thyroid medicine seems to have helped the most, but I can't get my saliva production back to what it was pre- op. It's been very hard and sometimes scary when I get choking.

I had half mine removed over a year ago.  I dont have trouble swallowing but its not as natural as it used to be.  I also feel as if something is restricting my breathing a little, I am assuming this is because there is a void were the Thyroid on my right side used to be.  It usually gets worse when I lay down or if I am driving.  I have found over the last 2 months this has improved little by little by doing exercise like pull ups, press ups and tensing my throat to exercise the muscles, in the short term it still feels the same but after a few hours it seems to relax and improve and sometimes I can go a few days with very minimal symptoms.  This might not work for everybody but hope it helps somebody out.

had total thryroid removed Feb 11, 2014 still grasping for air which they call spasms. see the surgeon a lot for this issue. no resolutions yet. please email me  for updates. laying down is also difficult. using inhalers to help my breathing 4 times a day. weight gain of 47 pounds and still gaining. dr keeps changing my meds. hope something good happens soon.

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I had my thyroid removed Sept. 29 , this year. I choke on liquids even my own spit. It's bad enough at times I throw and feel like I'm choking to death before I cough it up. ENTER wants me to have injection in my vocal cord to poof it up to close a place where it's seeping in to the windpipe by pushing it over . Any suggestions. I've been on antibiotics 3 times since surgery can't get over congestion in my lungs. My voice cuts out and most of the time hoarse due to a nerve that snapped into removing the thyroid . Help

I have the same problem,i had tt 2015 and had a RAI treatmrnt after 2 months,those months swallowing is normal,but after a year i had a swollen salivary gland,from then on till now i have a sallowing problem i could not eat steak or any meat,had been to the ENT and they said they cant see any abnormality,i don't know what will be the next test for me,i hope it will back to normal soon ..

have read the commits on here you guys scare me. i just had my thyroid removed and my swallowing is pretty tough to do. i hope it is just a post ops thing and will go away