Vocal cord Paralysis after second thyroid surgery

It does seem to be a common problem and can take a while for some people to regain their voice.  Good to hear that yours was temporary @Leticia.  I was asked while I was in hospital whether I wanted to be referred to the clinic but said no at the time as I was just so pleased to get the operation over and done with, and thought I would wait a while and see if it improved.  I am 6 weeks post op tomorrow.  My follow up appointment is on Thursday so I will see what they suggest then.

How did you go on at your appointment on Tuesday @Rosie_x.  I had my follow up yesterday and learned that the cancer was the cause of my right hand side vocal cord being paralysed prior to my operation, it was wrapped around the vocal cord and when he removed it the thyroid came away with it.  I won't regain use of that side but the left hand side is normal, although weak at present he is referring me to a specialist in around 2 month's time.  Typical that while I was in the appointment my voice improved a bit, it had been really weak all the way (65 miles) to the hospital and was really difficult talking to the taxi driver.  I also had 60 lymph nodes removed and 14 were cancerous, so pleased they are out.  Plus 2 tiny nodules in my lung which are too tiny to do a biopsy or anything, so we are relying on the RAI treatment to blast those as well as anything else.  

I’m so sorry to hear about your voice, how are you feeling? So typical your voice reappeared at the hospital, it’s always the way!  I’m sure the RAI will be able to clear the remaining cancer which is a big relief for you though. 

My consultation went okay, thank you. The consultant said that there was a lot of scar tissue and inflammation, which made the surgeryvery complicated. He said he had to literally peel layer by layer away, as everything was stuck together and so inflamed! He thinks this is what has caused the nerve damage, as the nerve might be upset from the 2nd surgery. He is hopeful that my voice will come back in the next 3-6 months, but said if it hasn’t come back then he will consider surgery on my vocal chords.

There was a speech therapist who was in the consultation too and she was lovely. She said that she would arrange to see me so help me in the meantime, my first appointment with her is on 15th September, i can’t believe she got me in so quickly! I don’t know if you have the same problem when drinking/eating, but I can’t swallow properly so I end up feeling like I’m going to choke. She said to help avoid this tilt your chin into your chest, as this helps to close the airway - I’ve found this definitely works for me.  

I’ve also got my RAI consultation 28th of September so I’m hoping I’ll have a date for that soon  xx

It's good that they explain how things went during the surgery, I wish I had thought to ask more now, including what kind of cancer I have, I completely forgot to ask.  At least you know why your vocal cord is damaged but good to hear they they think it will repair itself although it may take a while, hope you don't need further surgery @Rosie_x and that it starts working for you.  It is frustrating.  I often read out to my hubby during the day any news articles I am interested in, he reads a lot himself but I like to share and talk about things, but I can only manage a couple of sentences and my voice gets worse so end up shutting up as I start coughing too.  It's annoying as you will appreciate.  I am being careful when eating and drinking but am fine swallowing mostly, although do struggle with larger tablets sometimes, such as paracetamol and they taste horrible when they won't go down.  I did have an episode before my op and wasn't eating or drinking anything, just swallowed the wrong way and I started coughing, but as I breathed in the noise was horrendous, can't explain it but like someone who was dying and fighting for the breath.  It really worried me and I thought if it carried on I would collapse and be dead on the floor and my hubby was in bed (suffers a lot of pain and doesn't sleep well).  About and hour later he appeared at the top of the stairs and shouted are you alright?  I said I am now but I could have died and you wouldn't have come down lol  I can laugh now but it scared me a lot and I am now being a lot more mindful of how I eat and drink and much slower than previously.  I have had nasal problems over the years and had 5 operations to remove nasal polyps so my passages are not so great anyway and I think it adds to the problem, but I am ok and will bear your speech therapist's advice in mind if I do have problems.  Let me know how your Speech Therapist appointment goes and RAI consultation goes, I should be receiving a letter soon too I was told. Best wishes.