Hi guys! This is Leigh77 posting as a guest. I replied already a few posts up. It was so long ago that I don't have my login info anymore but if you scroll up you can see my response. Anyway, just in case you can't see it, the surgery is not bad at all...I gained maybe 3 pounds but i ended up being put on a slightly higher dose and immediately dropped those 3 pounds. I know for most 3 pounds is nothing so really what I'm trying to say is that weight gain was not really an issue!
The surgery itself is surprisingly easy to recover from. I was off pain pills the next day and back to working (from home) after a few days. The worst part for me was the sore throat from the breathing tube but it just feels like a sore throat from a cold... No big deal! It is still surgery so I'm not trying to marginalize it, but for me at least it was no worse than getting my wisdom teeth removed.
I recommend getting some awesome looking scarves to cover up the incision for a little while while it heals, and rub Palmers scar serum (comes in a little clear glass jar, it's a gel not a lotion) and mederma on it. For me within a year I had to point out the scar to people because it is so faint you can't really see it at all. So even cosmetically the surgery isn't so bad!
And for those non pill takers... synthroid is a teeny tiny little pill so super easy to take and easy on the stomach.
Hope that helps you all a bit! Really this surgery is so easy in the grand scheme of things and will be a distant memory soon enough! Good luck and will be praying for you!
I had a total thyroidectomy and 2 parathyroid glands removed as they found stage 2 papillary cancer. I am much older (55). And wonder if anyone has consullted with nutritionists? I am already oversight and had no idea I could gain more. Just had my first meeting with an endocrinologist and there was no mention of weight. Next appt is in 2 months. This is all so new and still quite a somber adjustment. Any helpful advice You can share?
Your comment will help me sleep better tonight; first steps of diagnosis tomorrow .. Megathanks
Hello Leigh. Thank you so much for your post. I am 1 week post thyroidectomy due to 3 large goitres pushing against other pipes. I have suffered dizziness and neck strain but that seems to be easing. Like you, my fear is putting on all the weight I have read about from what seems like every other person in the world who has head to have the surgery. I know levels are different for everyone but wondered if you could tell me what dose of thyroxine you have and what weight you maintain so I can use that as an idea as I am not overweight right now and never intend to be if I can help it.
Thank you thank you thank you....I am 2 days post op and sore and worried and every symptom I'm wondering is it a side effect...I really needed to read this now..thanks
I just had my thyroid removed yesterday. My blood levels were normal. Just a large mass. My ENT surgeon is doing a biopsy after removal because either way my thyroid was coming out.
I did. I had a retrosternal growth of a multinodal goiter, causing swallowing issues, chronic cough and breathing difficulties. A chest x ray showed significant deviation of my trachea. It needed to come out regardless, no point in biopsy. It was benign , by the way
I am one week post thyroidectomy, and I didn't have either a biopsy or fine needle aspiration. Of course, they sent my thyroid to the pathology lab.
Would like to have an update
Hello, Thank God They removed my thyroid. My blood work was normal but all of sudden I became diabetic on 5 injections a day, then high blood pressure, then chronic Constipation, Then When my family Dr. examined me He said he felt something on right side of my neck sent me For Ultra Sound Then Is When I could get someone to listen. Two large nodules and goiter found, in two weeks, I began having a constant cough, choking when eating, difficulty swallowing when laying down, a week later byopseys taken 11 total at one time to check if was cancer, came back benign. From time the ultra sound to byopeys done it all doubled in size.. I had a total removal of the thyroid, goiter and nodules. Only one night in hospital, little sore throat, took tylonol, light duty no lifting for two weeks, scar gel on incision, looks great just 5 weeks later, energy was low for about 4 weeks, started on synthroid day after surgery. I have no more constipation, no more high blood pressure, down to only one diabetic injection, day of surgery weight 171 now 157 in 5 weeks, no more choking, Coughing,no difficulty swallowing. My thyroid was killing me and had rapped around my esophagus, wind pipe and voice box. I am 54 and I feel better than I did in my late twenties. I will take a pill rest of my life so what, I was on more because what my thyroid was doing to me. GOOD LUCK, and hope your out come is as great as mine.
Thank you so much for this post. It has made me feel so much better. I am due to have my second half removed in a few days due to papillary carcinoma, and also am very concerned about weight gain and feeling tired. Feeling tired isn't an option as I have a 7 week old baby and a 3 year old.
Really would be great to read more positive stories! Most are just depressing and terrifying.
Really would be great to read more positive stories! Most are just depressing and terrifying.
I had a total thyroidectomy without biopsy, but that's because I had previously (three years prior) had fine needle aspiration that was benign. I had a nodule blow up into a huge mass and I was having trouble swallowing. There's a history of thyroid cancer in my family so we opted to take the whole thyroid out and after it was sent to the lab, they found small carcinomas on each lobe.
The year after my thyroidectomy, I completed a 300 mile bike tour (five days long) with 400 other people, and I was never an athlete or super active before my cancer. I was in great physical condition but still had bouts of fatigue. A year after that, I have gained quite a bit of weight and am exhausted all the time. I think so much of it has to do with how careful I had been with eating and getting enough sleep, and this year I was more lax with it, as I used to be before the thyroidectomy. As with many things, it's a matter of effort (to some degree - everyone's different). It's a new normal and you have to just be so much more diligent in caring for yourself, which can be a rude shock.
I am about to start the process to have the surgery for a full removal done and have ONLY been able to find such negative weight stories online, I am freaking out. THANK YOU so much for your post and comments. I am pretty healthy, never had weight issues and I was hypo most of my life (only have had graves for 4 years now) and weight was not an issue for either hypo/hyper time periods. I am really nervous still that I am going to gain a lot of weight after. I do work out now and maintain a good healthy diet (mostly).
Thank you again!
Thank you again!
Hi! How was your surgery? I'm also due next month for total thyroidectomy.Same as you I regularly work out and have maintained healthy weight. Just wondering your post surgery experience. Thank you!