the effects of removal of the thyroid

I am an 80 y.o. male . I had my thyroid removed recently because I had papillary cancer. Fortunately, it 's not considered invasive and all is well. I take thyroid medication daily. Occasionally am very tired so I go to bed.
I was a competitive runner and weight lifter prior to the operation. IT'S CHALLENGING BUT i'M WORKING MY WAY BACK TO WHERE i WAS.hANG IN THERE. lOOK AT THE HALF FOULL GLASS NOT THE HALF EMPTY GLASS. :D :D :D Quote:

I have read this entire thread, and I have to hope that everyone is feeling better.

My ENT discovered my nodules (4.7cm and 2cm) a year ago. My hormone level tests came back "normal", but I still have all of the symptoms of being hypo. I've gained 35lbs in 1 yr, I'm always tired, my skin is dry, my eyebrows have thinned, and I have zero energy. This is very abnormal for me, I used to go to the gym 4 times a week, but I don't have the energy anymore. My biopsy came back inconclusive, and I'm terrified it could be cancer. The ENT wanted to remove the entire gland because of the size of the nodules, but told me it wasn't necessary, and did not put me on any medication.

Recently, the nodules are making swallowing and breathing difficult. I found a specialist who I met with last week, and I'm waiting for the results of the new hormone level blood tests. My new Dr. also recommends the total removal of the thyroid, so that if it is cancerous another surgery won't need to be performed.

I just turned 44 and I am scheduled to have a TT in June 2011.

I had a total thyroidectomy after I suffered from overactive thyroid post partum with my first child. I have since had more children without much issue. I am very weary of looking after myself and though I do often get tired I manage (this may be due to low iron levels and just having kids). Apart from the initial discomfort after surgery (also had damage which affected my calcium levels - My hands got numb which is the first sign) all has been well. I believe Thyroxine is sugar tablets (placebo) so I stopped taking them and haven't had issue in years. I feel much better than I did pre surgery. My husband also had a thyroidectomy, about two years before I did.

Thank you so much for this post! I am 19 , and found out about two weeks ago that I have thyroid cancer. I have to have it removed on the 6th of June and I am really just stressing about the after effects? I am a dancer and being tired and gaining weight is just not an option for me. I feel much better after reading your post. All the other people seem to be complaining a lot and that worried me. Hope all is still going so well! 

Quote: It is really worrying to see so many people with these symtoms but the drs say that the hormone levels are fine. I have just been through this process (TT operation Dec 2010) and am still recovering. I had several large nodules around my neck that were making it extremely hard to breathe, which is really quite damaging to your body, your sanity and coping skills. I had all the same symtoms as everyone else but my test results were normal (ie. blood, ultrasound, fine needle aspiration, MRI, etc) When all else failed I begged by dr to let me have a CT, which showed the compression on my trachea. It was more than 50% compressed. This is the only test that will show up the compression. The dr then realised that I wasn't crazy and gave me an urgent referral to the public hospital system and I had my operation with 3 weeks. I urge everyone who is suffering these symtoms to persist with your drs, especially when you are finding it hard to breathe. Even though it is soo common, it is sooo dangerous. Apparently it can take several years to feel better after the surgery.

Ok what if you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism since 2008, have hig calcium levels, and have Sjogren's Syndrome with CNS involvement?  Anybody have any advice.

I JUST HAD MY THYROID REMOVED 4 DAYS AGO AND ALREADY I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER, BEFORE MY SURGERY I ALMOST COULDN'T TALK AS THE NODULES WERE 2 BIG...I AM STILL A LITTLE DIZZY BUT VERY PLEASE WITH THE RESULTS, MY DOCTOR WAS AWESOME! DOCTOR STHEPEN SELZER FROM GREENWICH - CT.  I AM NOW ON A 100 MG SYNTROID TABLETS AND GOING TO CHECK MY LEVELS ON TUESDAY BUT SO FAR I FEEL SO RELIEF:)

HI EVERYONE,I HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH THYROID CANCER ON JUNE23,2011.I CAN HONESTLY SAY I"M SCARED TO DEATH,I"M SCHEDULED FOR SURGERY JULY28.2011.I WANT TO ASK HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER SURGERY?HOW LONG ARE YOU IN THE HOSPITAL.WHEN DO YOU FEEL BETTER?DO YOU HAVE TO DO CHEMO? IM A DIABETIC, DEPRESSED ETC. AND IM 52, AND SCARED TO DEATH..THANKS FOR ANY HELP !!

Hi i had my thyroid removed in oct. since then i have depression, muscle pain is very bad and weekness, i also have a lot of problems with my body temperature, i can be sitting not doing anything and my hair will be wet from sweat, it's miserable, i also feel so very tired, does anyone out there have these symptoms? please respond if you do.

Hi, I was diagnosed with follicular thyroid cancer in September 2010,,I was scared to death ..CANCER is not a nice word, I had full thyroid removal, my calcium nodules have also been damage so now I have to take calcium tablets along with my levothyroxine tablets for the rest of my life…the op it self’s wasn’t to bad recover took a couple of wks,as it was a bit sore to move my neck, I had iodine obliteration about 6 wks after that was fine just had to take a capsule and stay in a lead line room for a wk watching TV and drinking loads of water ..10 months on …I am now on 250 levothyroxine ,,,my blood levels are still not low enough ..my legs and hips ache like hell, I still get tired easily, my bowels are sluggish and I have gained 3 stone in weight , which is really depressing and getting me down ..any suggestions ??

I am 45 yrs old I have had 6 children and up until the first op I have always been very active ,thanks Lindsay

I have had my thyroid removed over 10 years ago.  Some of the side effects I have are my temperature and sweating.  No matter the weather outside, I sweat real bad, you would seriously think I jumped in a pool ever 2 mins.  I have gained 35 pounds.  I have severe depression and I get so constipated at times I end up in the emergency rooms. 

Hi,

I read your comments with interest. I too have been battling with an overactive thryoid for some 6 years now. I am trying to get the levels down after the third outbreak. I have just seen a second specialist as I was shocked when the first talked of removal. Until then he had only talked of radioactive iodine treatment.



Tomorrow I see the surgeon for the first time and thought I should check out others' experiences. I'm now not sure what to do now, as having read through the responses, whichever are overwhelmingly negative.



I was wondering how you are and how you are feel having had it removed? I have mood swings, no patience now so dread it getting worse.



I'm also really worried about weight gain. I'm very lucky that I've never had weight issues and not sure how easily I would adapt to grossly fluctuating weight. Basically my doctor has only ever talked of the positive results.



In the hope that you feel ok and that you might take the time to tell your story so that I can decide what best to do.

best wishes

Sally

Hi

Thanks for your posting, it's very similar to my story so if you don't mind me asking, how are you now? Did you go for surgery. I have not wanted to think about the side effects but as I am seeing the surgeon tomorrow and my doctor talked of weight gain for the first time today I decided to take off my blinkers...

Thing is Ive felt so awful during each of my 3 periods of hyperthyroidism that I felt it could only get better...

What are your feelings? I've just been had my dose of 9 Neo-meracazol reduced to 7 today so until my thyroid is stable I will not be accepted for surgery.

I would really appreciate your feedback and thank you in advance for taking the time to get back to me. I like your positive approach and need to try to keep me positive...

cheers

Sally

I was in the same boat, it has been 2 years since my thryroidectomy, followed by RAI 9months later when I finished breastfeeding my new born. I have struggled guilt and loss from not being able to hold my little baby for 70days : ( But I know what everyone goes through, I have crazy mood issues, sometimes depression, Atypical migraines that mimick stroke symptome, numbness in my fingers, dizziness, constant problems with my ears, and sinus problems. My only hope is that there are many others going through this for my support, and I do have an amazing husband who has been my rock. I wish everyone the best of luck and pray you keep sharing your stories!

I'm 21 years old, and I've had a lump on my right-side neck above my collar bone since around February 2010, or at least that was when I noticed it. I found it around the time my wisdom teeth were coming in. Had surgery on the teeth in March 2010, and waited several months and the lump didn't go down. Asked a doctor and he said it could be nearly anything; a swollen lymph node probably, and not to worry about. So I sort of forgot it was there, and then, this past summer, felt it again by chance and decided that after a year and a half, it should be looked at. Went to a general practitioner doctor and was paranoid that I had lymphoma, and he basically made me feel crazy and acted as if it was no big deal at all. So I had an ultrasound done on it (which I've had dozens of times on my heart, because I was born with a poorly-functioning bicuspid valve), and it came back inconclusive. They thought it might have been lymph nodes, but the doctor suggested it could be this rare thing called sarcoid, or even some sort of vascular malformation of my arteries. All I knew at this point was that whatever it was, it was several inches long, and extended from the center of my neck and down to my collar bone. I wasn't convinced. They gave me a CT scan the following week, which also came back inconclusive, and the GP sent it to one of his friends who was a cancer surgeon, and he was clueless too. So, unsure of what to do with me, the GP referred me to a head and neck surgeon, who did a physical exam; asked if I'd had night sweats, weight loss, nausea, etc. (common lymphoma symptoms), none of which I'd experienced. He had seen the ultrasound and said that it looked like a lymph node, and that he wanted to take it out. So I get all prepped for surgery, get it scheduled, go through the whole process, and then the day BEFORE my surgery he calls me and cancels the surgery, and asks me to come in for a needle biopsy that very afternoon instead. Turns out he hadn't gotten to look at the CT scans up until that day, and he spotted a nodule on my thyroid that the radiologist, the GP, and a CANCER DOCTOR completely missed. He suspects it could be thyroid cancer. Go figure, my needle biopsy results come back in the following Monday, and that's precisely what it is. Papillary carcinoma. The lump I've felt on the side of my neck for going on 2 years is actually a thyroid tumor that was growing off of a lymph node. So, basically, the cancer started as a nodule on my thyroid, moved to a subclavical lymph node, and then started another tumor on the side of that. It's sort of like a chain-effect. Anywho, I'm going in for a complete thyroidectomy on the 22nd of December with a head/neck surgeon who specializes in this and plastic surgeries (weird, I know). They're removing the entire thyroid, the lymph nodes surrounding it, and the external tumor. According to the surgeon, papillary carcinoma is a slow-growing cancer and a fairly easy one to treat, but the fact that it moved to a lymph node and then continued to grow thyroid tissue off of that says that it needs to be taken out. I'll have to have radioactive iodine treatment post-surgery to take care of any leftover thyroid/cancer tissue. ANYWAY, five hours of reading later, my question is: how long would you expect me to be in the hospital for, for those of you who've dealt with this already? I have a pre-op consultation/evaluation with the surgeon on December 20th, and go in for surgery on the morning of the 22nd. I'd really hate to be in the hospital on Christmas, so I'm curious about how long I should expect to be in there. I mean, if I have to be, then I do, but I'd like to be able to spend the holiday with my family. I know the surgeon will give me an estimation on the 20th, but I'm trying to plan things out and would like any rough/educated guesses from people who have gone through this. My stepmother had a partial thyroidectomy herself a few years ago (she had a benign tumor growing inside her thyroid) and said her recovery was really low-key and virtually painless compared to other surgeries she's had, but my circumstances are a little bit different.