Having to choose whether to have surgery or not

Well yeah most of us tbh,

I was diagnosed with Graves Disease so my options after my two FNA's were, half or full Thyroidectomy, my choice, glance into what my future could have entailed anyways I opted for full generally because Graves disease would have still been an issue and I may have had to take that route anyway.

I've read quite a few people's stories on here with the same options as yours.

February isn't too far if you chose to wait for that, it's a nightmare ain't it! 

Thanks for your reply, I just find it strange that the patient has to make a decision and then deal with the consequences whatever they may be. I'm leaning more towards getting my thyroid removed as one nodule is affecting my swallowing so I think it makes sense.

You're right, February is not too long away and hopefully I'll have more of an idea as to what I want to do by then. Would prefer if the doctor made the decision!

Hi KaspianSce, I too think it's hard to put all the decision making on the patient in these circumstances. I've read quite a few posts with similar decisions to make and some under much worse medical conditions. 

My surgery was the only option, so thankfully I didn't have to make choices in the state I was in, both mentally and physically. 

May I suggest you weigh up when considering surgery, that you will obviously have to take replacement thyroxin for life. Even if you have a hemi-thyroidectomy, if the remaining half doesn't step up. This is not an exact science. Every one of us is different and has to be dosed individually. Thankfully most do just fine on their Levothyroxine dose and most consultants/surgeons won't put weight on this issue. But bear in mind for a few of us (and it is a small minority) it can take months or even years to begin to feel well again and it can affect your quality of life. My surgeon thankfully listened to how unwell I felt and referred me to a separate Endocrinologist who is still trying to help balance everything but some have had a battle with this on NHS. You will also need blood tests to monitor TSH/thyroxin levels every 8 weeks to start with until you find the right dose and even then it doesn't stay the same indefinitely, so has to be monitored regularly.

You'd be amazed how much your thyroid and it's hormones actually do for the whole body! Brain, metabolism, energy, heart rate, temperature, bone health. The list goes on. I had no idea. 

Also to think on, thyroidectomy is in an incredibly delicate area and can sometimes cause damage to parathyroids, which can then give you calcium deficiency. There are a few members with this issue and have to take supplements. Also some members have had vocal chord issues.

I was very lucky I had a top notch surgeon and my parathyroids and vocal chords weren't affected.

It is far from my intention to scare you with this. This is all information that you can gather if you search on the forum or reliable resources but I just wanted to be honest to try and help you make an informed decision. Research as much information as you can on your options and ask alot of questions of your team until you are satisfied. I've done so much research into my condition since my diagnosis. One thing I've seen suggested on here is to ask the consultant what they would choose for their partner. 

It sounds like if the nodule is affecting your swallowing, you may have no option but surgery in the future anyway so that may sway your choice.

Anyway write these things down and talk to your consultant about them, so they can reassure you of expected outcomes. I hope this has been of some help and I hope you get some more constructive guidance from your medical team. I wish you the best.

Hi k9crazy,

Thanks for taking the time to share all of this information as it has helped me have a think about how I want to move forward. I am going to go back and speak to my usual endocrinologist (not the endocrine surgeon) and see what her recommendation is regarding surgery etc.

I think it will be interesting to see the results of the second ultrasound in February and if there has been any growth or not. If it has grown, I'd lean more towards surgery but if not then I'd be happy to be under surveillance.