the effects of removal of the thyroid

strange im 22 i didnt know i had thyroid problems never had any of the signs till i went to the dr. 2mths ago. turns out i had 2 nodules one large one on the right and a smaller one on the left, i eventually had a total removal about 4 days ago and now i feel great! yeah there is pain but percocet takes care of it and it really isnt so bad just some pressure and the hot sensation from the tissues coming together, i wish i was able to be more active tho becuz the surg is so recent im not allowed to do much, according to the dr. it looked pretty bad and thought i should be in the hospital for at least a week but i recovered fast appearently, i feel lucky after reading everyone's comments here i dont think i would have gone thru w/ it if id of read them before, im glad i did tho i honestly dont feel bad at all i honestly feel great! no sluggish feeling, no mood swings, the only thing i do get is hot flashes lol! well good luck to whoever has the surg. but in my experience it really isnt that bad.

You should all have a sleep study done. Thyroid removal (and the associated weight gain) will cause sleep apnea, a sleep related breathing disorder. Apnea will fragment your sleep causing the fatigue, depression, body aches, etc. that you are all describing. I am a sleep technician (PSGT) and I see it all the time.

I had a partial thyroid on Dec 18, '09 because of a baseball sized nodule in one side of my neck. Half my thyroid and one parathyroid was removed. My levels were tested 4 months ago and came back "normal". But I was feeling sluggish and mentally "not here". The doc didn't give me anything. I had a fine needle aspiration biopsy of my nodule- came back non-cancerous. My decision to go with surgery was because of the pressure on my windpipe. Now I am post op 3 weeks and feeling more tired than I ever had before. I can't barely make it through the day if I don't get a nap in. I found out from the pathollogy report that I have some inflammatory cells in my thyroid half that was removed. I have requested a copy of the report and have done blood work to see what my levels are now. I talked to my cousin who has Hashimoto's and we have very similar symptoms. I have read that Hashimoto's is heriditary in many cases. She referred me to a good endo doc. She said from talking to her doc, it is important to find a doc that will work with how you feel and your symptoms, not just basing their treatment on your numbers. It makes total sense, I have been sluggish and gained 30 pounds in 4 months and yet I am "normal". I will post later what I have found.

i had a total removal in 2007 nov by mistake and now have to take levothyroxine,calcichew and alficalcidol to keep going.
i am lucky that i still feel able to get on wiyh hings and do a bit of gymtraining which i started 1 year before my op.i feel my strength is down some days and thats what really getsme and also find a lot of black moods visit me more often than usual i just want to feel normal again.

After reading through all of this, I don't know whether to laugh or cry! There are a few people that I wish would have given a little more information so we could have a better picture of their situation. In that spirit, here goes my "tale".

I have been hypothyroid and on meds since I was 16 (I'm 44 now). At that time, I was normal weight, even though I was "soft" but when I turned 19, I started gaining weight. Nothing major at one time, just a slow, steady increase. I think that was more due to emotional reasons than anything. Eventually, I ended up over 200 lbs. and I'm only 5' tall. From that time, I've gone down and up and down and up usually bouncing between 175 and 190. My highest was 220 but when I left a very stressful job and started working for myself and working from home, my weight started to go down, again, nothing major at one time, just a slow, steady decrease. Now I'm down 30 lbs. over the last year and a half. I'll be "stuck" for a couple of weeks and then all of the sudden I'll lose another pound or two so while I still have a long way to go, I'm not terribly concerned as long as the needle keeps moving in the right direction. I've always battled mild bouts of depression. My hair has always been thin, fine, dry and brittle, but has gotten VERY thin over the past 2 years. I used to have a stray whisker pop up here and there, but the facial hair has gotten so bad over the past 2 years that I have to shave daily. During this time, I have been going to the doctor and telling them that I didn't feel right so they'd check my bloodwork and say that my levels were OK, so I should be fine.

I went off of my meds for a short time because of an insurance situation and tried some natural thyroid remedies. I tried Michael's Tyroid Factors and for the first time since I was a teenager, I felt WONDERFUL. I was in a great mood. My appetite was in check (sometimes when my mood goes south, I just obsess over food and can eat until I'm sick). I had energy. It was a marvel. But after being on them for about a month and a half, I had a rash appear. It was there, but really just a nuisance so I kept taking them. After three months on them, the rash turned into full blown hives and I had to go off of them. I have tried taking them off and on, but every time the hives would come back.

I found a PT job that gave me the most wonderful health insurance so I went back to the doctor. My thyroid felt enlarged (which I knew it was and had been battling hoarseness for a year) so she sent me for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed a nodule, so I was sent for a biopsy. The biopsy was negative for cancer (whew!) but showed Hurthle Cells which are aggressivly fast growing and can turn cancerous so I was sent to an endocrinologist. She did some further blood work and actually diagnosed me with Hashimoto's. Which I had been wondering about for the past 2 years because of all the symptoms I have that other docs just ignored.

The Endo recommended surgery so I met with an ENT surgeon. He talked to the Endo and they decided that it would be best to remove the whole gland. My surgery is scheduled a month from today.

Even after reading all of these posts, I'm still hopeful that things will turn out well. It is my prayer that once the gland is removed and my body isn't battling itself (Hasi's and Graves is more than just hypo or hyper thyroid, it's where your immune system is actually attacking your thyroid gland) that I will finally be able to find some balance. I have a client whose wife's story is similar to mine but she had Grave's disease and they killed her thyroid with radiation. It has taken her a year, but she feels better than she has felt in a very, very long time. She had the same Endo as me and this Endo specializes in thyroid and metabolic issues. If you are anywhere near the OKC Metro and are having thyroid issues, Dr. Diane Kennedy is the woman to see.

I'm sorry this is so long, but I wanted to paint a better picture other than just saying I feel like c**p. I registered and will come back after the surgery and update everyone on how it's going.

OK- back again to follow up with my labs and what I have felt. I was at a .983 when I started this journey 5 months ago. I had surgery on Dec 18th to remove half my thyroid as stated above. My levels are now at 3.2 and my doc has put me on Levothyroxine (generic form of Synthroid). I wanted to try Armour but there is a shortage right now and it is rumored it may not come back. I opted for something that will be around. I have been taking it for three days and the only thing so far I have noticed is: It is not as hard to get up in the morning anymore...I actually don't hit the snooze button more than once! and I have periods of hot flashes- I seem to sweat a lot more lately, especially at night when I have to adjust the covers several times. The doc says I shouldn't notice anything until 2-4 weeks from now, but I seem to already notice some little things. I am on 25 mcg to start out. They will check my levels in 6-8 weeks and adjust me accordingly. I am going through my regular DO right now. If she doesn't eventually get me where I feel I need to be based on my symptoms, I will travel to the recommended Enterologist. I will update in another month.

If you want to ask questions please feel free to reply to these posts and I will answer any I can. I am here on this forum to find help as well as give my story so that maybe it will help someone out there that doesn't know what to do.

Keri

After my thyroid was removed they put me on Synthroid and it was awful. I had hypo and hyper symptoms. I was not able to tolerate straight T4 like I was told I should. Natural thyroid hormone worked the best for me (it has T1,T2, T3 and T4) and iron supplements have made a big difference. Now that it is hard to get natural hormone, I am on a combo of T3/T4. (1/5 ratio)

T3 and natural hormone have gotten a bad rap for some reason and most Docs are taught to go synthetic T4 all the way. I insisted and my endo came around and now promotes the use of T3. There is lots of information out there. Be your own advocate. Read everything. Keep pushing until you feel better.

Update. I had my surgery on Friday as scheduled and it is now Sunday. My surgeon had led me to believe that unless something extraordinary happened, I should go home the same day. However, with having to monitor calcium levels (they drew blood 3 times through the night and early morning) and the drainage tube that was in place I don't see how I could have gone home the same day. I came home yesterday (Saturday) afternoon and really took it easy. I slept from about 8 PM to 7 in the morning and woke up feeling good.

Anyhoo, the surgery went well, I have an incision that looks to be about 3" long and my calcium levels are great. I haven't had any pain really other than a sore throat from the breathing tube, which they told me to expect because for this surgery they use a really large one because for some reason it helps them monitor all the nerves and such better. I have also had a mild headache. Otherwise the main source of pain has been from the drainage tube when it pulls and stings. I've managed the headache with Advil and the sore throat is progressively getting better. So I refused the Percoset prescription I was offered because I really don't have need of it.

I drove into town (by myself) today to get the drainage tube removed and am so happy to have it out!

Today I feel really well. Just a little weak is all and I think that's just because of the trip into town (65 mile round trip). I have my post op with the surgeon the first week of March and with my endocrinologist that will be March 25th to check my hormone levels. She had upped me quite a bit before the surgery so wants to let it sit there a bit to see how I do at that level post surgery.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

UPDATE- Partial thyroidectomy to remove goiter Dec 18, 2009-on Synthroid 25 mg. diagnosed Hashimotos Thyroiditis

I am now feeling aches and pains all through my body. I have muscle cramps and my fingers keep stiffining up on me during the night. I wake up miserable. I had pain in my thumb, went to doc, she says it is De Quervains Tenosynovitis- a nerve inflammation. I researched it and it is related to hypothyroid. I think I might want to up my antidepressant... I have been feeling a lot more depressed lately. I asked my doc if we could check my T4 levels and she said give it another two weeks and we will check. I will update more then.

Keri

I just had the left side of my thryoid removed and the ismuth (sp?) on 2/16/10. Went to my follow up on 2/24/10 and everything looks fine. My pathology report came back positive for cancer. So in 6 weeks I go in to have the rest of my thryoid removed. I really didn't have any pain associated with the incision. My pain was from the breathing tube and headache. After I got my sore throat spray and liquid hydrocode I was feeling good. I stayed overnight in the hospital with drainage tube. I was eating normally and walking around. Dr. removed drainage tube following morning after surgery. No pain there just a little pinch. My surgeon is suppose to make an appointment with an oncologist following surgery. I know I have small nodules on my remaining side, I was told by the woman performing ultrasound before surgery. Really unsure what my future holds. I hate the thougt of being on meds for the rest of my life. Hopefully the cancer was contained just in left side.

I had the left half of my thyroid removed one week ago due to a large benign nodule. The right half is okay so it was left alone. I felt good the day after surgery. The only pain was from the breathing tube, which lasted a couple of days. I was in excellent shape before surgery (I'm a runner) so that may have helped. Though I haven't started running again, I've been on an elliptical trainer and feel strong. The surgeon put me on a low dosage of generic synthroid but that may be adjusted by the endo when I meet with him later this month. Lots of horror stories on the internet about this surgery but I tend to believe for every bad experience, there are many more positive ones like mine. Keep a positive attitude, eat/live healthy, and pray.

Hi I am a 38 year old female with Thyroid Cancer. I just had my Thyroid completely removed along with 21 lymphnodes. I am now feeling very depressed. When I went to see my surgeon today for my follow up visit he told me that he never has anyone complain about depression after their surgery. He recommended that I visit my regular physician regarding the depression. You can imagine how frustrating that was to hear from your Dr. He did order a blood test and is working on setting up an appt with an Endocrinologist for me as soon as possible.
I am on a low dosage of generic synthroid and think this might be the cause of the depression. It was nice to see that others had depression & other side effects that I am having and would like to hear more about solutions.

just had my total thyroid removed on 3/1, so its only been about 2 weeks. Had no real complications during the surgery, and i was discharged after 23 hrs. (insurance i'm guessing). My surgeon didn't even come to my room to tell me how things went, he called my husband on a waiting room phone.
not very personal care, in my opinion. anyway, went home with vicodan, 25mcg of synthroid and calcium 4xday x 500mg.
My only complaints were a sore throat that lasted about 2 days, and a headache that lasted 2 days as well. Other than that, the incision looks ok..about 4 inches long,(steri strips came off at 7 days in the shower). The scar is not pretty, i'll admit, and the stitches inside feel lumpy and rigid. I'm hoping it gets better with time.
So, i'm going merrily along thinking i have no real complaints and then whamo on the 13th day post op, i get this incredible back ache, like out of the blue, which makes it difficult to walk, sit or even concentrate. It didnt go away after stretching, taking it easy, laying down, sitting, etc.
I researched several sites and lo and behold discover one of the markers for calcium deficiency is a sore back muscle... So today i am making sure to take the supplements every 6 hours and will see if it goes away.
btw.the reason for the total removal is:for the last 6 years according to all docs, my thyroid functioned ok, (levels ok), but however, i had developed 3 nodules, which had been biopsied over past 3 years,each time with good results. Finally in december biopsy came back "suspicious" cells in one and decision was made to take the whole thing out. I'm waiting for path report, should hear tomorrow.
my questions to this group..i'm wondering if within only 2 weeks post removal, should i be gaining weight daily? i am eating like there is no tomorrow, all the bad things too. lots of carbs. help..

It has now been 2 months since my thyroid removal. Still working on getting my levels balanced and have had a roller coaster ride of mood and energy. Some days are good, some not so much.

On the plus side, the scar is healing nicely, the hair on my face is thinning out and the hair on my head is a tiny bit thicker.

My voice is still very raspy and wears out easily. It can be difficult to be understood at times.

First of all, thanks to all for sharing their thyroid experience. I used your thoughts and encouragement to

defeat the disease, I believe. Now, it is my obligation to share my experience so that someone else in the

similar situation can be encouraged. However, I am a foreigner and I may not be able to communicate as clear -so

forgive my English.

I know this is a thyroid thread but I will give a brief overview of how it all started. At the end of December

2009, I went for a yearly health checkup. I also had a lump in my thyroid but it did not bother me at all. I was

sent for a sonogram of my thyroid. I got a call from my nurse about a week later and was told that my fasting

blood sugar reading was 261 and I was also told that I definitely had a mass in my thyroid. Therefore, I was sent

to ENT for fine needle biopsy of my thyroid. After a week another blood sugar test was performed. I was confirmed

a type 2 diabetic. I thought it was the end of the world for me because I love food. I was supposed to get a call

from ENT about the results of the biopsy within a week but I did not get a call. In 2 weeks time, I followed up

with my ENT and he tells me that my mass in thyroid is just a rupture. He did not even bother to tell me what the

result of fine needle biopsy said. So, I asked him to fax me a copy of the results. He suggested that I take out

1/2 of my right thyroid node through surgery and I can wait for it if I want. My fine needle biopsy result was

inconclusive. I was not convinced with my ENT, so I decided to do some research on how the cancerous thyroid mass

would look and feel. I was suspicious so I decided to go for the second opinion. I put on some time to research

to find the best possible ENT in town and set up an appointment with the ENT I found.

After checking my thyroid mass, my new ENT told me that this could be a good candidate for cancer. His advice was

to take out the whole thyroid OR keep monitoring it regularly. I opted with monitoring it, however, I wanted to

do a thorough biopsy immediately again but this time I wanted biopsy to be done by a pathologist himself not the

ENT and my ENT agreed. So, when the sample was taken, both the pathalogist and the person who takes the sample

and checks it under the microsope for the characteristics of the cell were present to make sure they get right

samples. After 2 days of second biopsy, I get a call from my ENT with a horrible news of Pappillary Thyroid

Cancer. I heard what I was scared of but I was mentally prepared to deal with it. Don't get me wrong I was

scared, really scared. But at the same time, I was also aware of excellent prognosis rate of thyroid cancer. So,

I was scheduled for full thyroidectomy within a week of diagnosis for March 10, 2010. I was glad to be in the

best country in the world for the treatment and that was one of the positive I could think to motivate myself.

LESSON LEARNED (PERSONAL OPINION): I WOULD NEVER EVER GO TO A SPECIALIST THAT IS RECOMMENDED BY MY GENERAL

PHYSICIAN. THEY TEND TO RECOMMEND TO SPECIALIST WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATION. I WOULD RATTHER TELL MY GENERAL

PHYSICAN THAT I WILL FIND THE SPECIALIST MYSELF AND WILL ASK YOU TO REFER ME TO THE SPECIALIST THAT I WANT TO

SEE. ALSO IF POSSIBLE GET THE THYROID BIOPSY DONE BY PATHALOGIST NOT ENT. TAKING RIGHT SAMPLES IS IMPORTANT

OTHERWISE IT COULD GO UNDIAGNOSED. SECOND OPINION IS IMPORTANT.

By the way, in less than 3 months time I lost 20 pounds. I came down from 184lbs to 164lbs due to strict diet

guidelines and regular exercise. My diabetes was under control. I did not use any medication. I am 35 years old.

For preparation of surgery, I used this thread plus other web resources to accumulate as much information as I

could. I was not scared of surgery and post surgey experience. I was prepared to deal with whatever came my way.

But I was scared if it did spread to my lymph nodes or distant organs because my thyroid mass was a little bigger

than a size of a golf ball. Surgery went fine as planned. As soon as I became conscious, my first question to my

surgeon was if it has spread to lymph nodes but he did not think so. However, in a week I came to find out that

the sample of 6 lymph nodes from surgery which were taken for test came out positive for cancer - all 6 of them.

Now, I wished it did not spread to my distant organs particularly kidneys and lungs - skeleton and brain exposure

is a possibility but unlikely at this stage. But I could only find that out after the full body scan, which is

performed after about a week of taking RadioActive Iodine Pill. I started feeling slight burns around my kidney

area and in my skeleton area. I was scared what if.... but it was more psychological I believed.

NOTE: I DID NOT HAVE ANY POST SURGERY SIDE EFFECTS. MY VOICE WAS FINE. MY CALCIUM LEVEL WAS NORMAL. MY SURGEON

HAD PUT ME ON CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT 2 DAYS PRIOR TO SURGERY. IMMEDIATELY, AFTER MY SURGERY, I STARTED TAKING

SYNTHROID(generic). I WAS 100% SATISFIED FROM THE SURGEON I CHOSE.

Now my research had to go to a different level. By now I had known all I needed to know about thyroid function

and implications. Now I had to find the best Endocrinologist for RAI and inform my surgeon to refer me to the

Endocrinologist I wanted(I am being incharge of my own treatment) . Then I had to prepare for radioactive

treatment which involved LOW IODINE DIET and NO SYNTHROID.

I met my Endocrinologist on March 31, 2010. He told me that although some of the studies say that pappillary

thyroid cancer is 95% treatable, according to his ecperience he thinks it is 99% treatable, if it is caught

relatively early. I have been remembering 99% treatable statment when I am scared and it calms me down. I can't

tell one with 100% certainity that he/she won't die of traffic accident - I will have to say that I am 99% sure

that one won't die of traffic accident. So, my conclusion is that my chances of dying from pappillary thyroid

cancer is same as dying from traffic accident which is higly unlikely.

I stopped taking Synthroid the same day - March 31, 2010. On April 7 2010, I started low iodine diet. Blood test

on April 14, 2010 showed a thyroid level of 55 (above 35[hypo] required for radioactive treatment). I took

radioactive iodine pill on April 15, 2010. All this was easy for me. Low Iodined Diet could be tough for some

people but for me it was a cake walk despite being diabetic. Because I was mentally prepared for whatever came my

way. The only thing I wanted was NOT to have it spread to my distant organs. If anyone needs any info regarding

low iodine diet, radioactive iodine treatement or anything related to my thyroid experience, please EMAIL me:

I will be more than happy to answer your question. I have done tons of research on all this.

NOTE: I HAD NO POST RAI SIDE EFFECTS EXCECT SOME ACHES AND PAIN HERE AND THERE DUE TO NOT TAKING SYNTHROID. NO WEIGHT GAIN AT ALL.

My full body scan was done on April 22, 2010. On April 27, I started taking synthroid(prescription one from now

on, there is a reason for that) and 14 day dose of LIOTHYRONINE to get me back to normal thyroid levels. I AM

100% SATISFIED WITH THE CHOICE OF MY ENDOCRINOLOGIST. He even gave me his email address if I had any question in

the future. I had to go see my Endocrinologist to go over my scan results - indeed a big scary day for me. My

Endocrinologist entered the room and shaked both of our hands and smiled. I asked if my cancer has spread to any

distant organ. His response was absolutely NOT. This is when I realized how it feels to be relieved from

pressure. I stood up from my chair, raised both my hands and released a long deep breath and said YES. However,

the report said there were very light blemises in the upper chest area but according to my doctor that is nothing

to worry about and he explained me why. Don't get me wrong though even if it is spread to lungs and kidneyes, it

is still treatable. My endocrinologist concluded that my decision to go for a second opinion saved my life.

Now I have to check my thyroid level in 3 months and a possible scan in 6 months to make sure nothing is left.

And may be a periodic monitoring.

It is unbelievable how this experience has changed my life. I enjoy every moment. Small obstacle doesn't bother

me at all. I eat healthy and exercise regularly. It has increased my self confidence. I have become a little

spiritual. I am nicer to people and could relate to people more than any time before. I may still have some

cancer cells in my body particularly in my neck area, but it is being killed as I write and I hope to come out

clean from it. I am a cancer survivor and I prey to God for each and every of your wellbeing. Just think about me

- I have defeated cancer despite being diabetic and I am sure you can too. There is always a light at the end of

the tunnel.

AGAIN PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION - I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE

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EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT THE DISEASE AND THE TREATEMENT OF THYROID CANCER. By the way I live in Overland Park, KS.

God bless you all and God bless America.

RAJ