Symptoms to expect after Thyroidectomy

Hi  

Sorry to hear that you've had the diagnosis. Please try not to worry about living without a Thyroid. You probably won't hear much positive about having an organ removed due to cancer, but the positive is that you'll most likely live a normal life with a full life expectancy. Obviously this is great.

Yes it's a bit of a rough ride getting to the right levels of medication, but if you compare it to say, being type 1 diabetic, I'd take having to have 2 tiny pills each morning over injections 3-4 times a day. Basically I thought it was all doom and gloom but it's actually led me to become a lot healthier. For example, my alarm goes off at 06:00, I take my pills first thing with a glass of water next to my bed. shortly after I get up and then go for a quick run. Come home, have a shower then guess what, it's now an hour later and I'm really ready for breakfast. Sometimes I don't run, I simply turn my alarm off and go back to sleep.

I was similar to you, but my lesion was 30mm by 25mm, was fully encapsulated, had minimal vascular invasion and there was only one. my team recommended removing the other half. I really didn't understand why remove the healthy half, but apparently it would be likely that it would pop up in the future. I figured that I'm only getting older and should have the completion. Now I'm 9 months out and I feel great. Again, having no thyroid hasn't made much difference to me except the two tiny pills each morning.

Obviously you have the right to refuse the completion, that's up to you. Just have a chat with your Drs and let them know your concerns, if you still feel concerned ask if you can be monitored and if you change your mind, have the completion later.

My new motto is "No Thyroid, No Problem!"

All the best

Chris

Thank you Chris, your words are very encouraging to hear! I really need to hear more stories like it to allay my fears. I assume they didn't find any cancer on your other lobe and you didn't need the radioiodine treatment? This is just another factor I have to worry about post surgery - but I know I am getting ahead of myself....

Hi Cazzyh

So here is then your first positive come back...lol! Had my thyroid removed in two surgeries after they found my cancer (MTC), also had central neck dissection. I was 65 when this all happened, and to be honest I have not had all the problems others have mentioned, except feeling hotter. Living in Mexico that can be a disadvantage during the summer. But my levels have been bang on from the start. Although I must say, with my type of cancer I do not need to keep my TSH  suppressed. So that might be where the problems of getting it right in the first place. 

With regards to the tiredness, just rest when you feel you need to. 

So I hope you will take heart, don’t expect the worst, it may be that you will be one of the lucky.

Wishing you well

Lis

X

Hello

There are people who have side effects but mostly they are temporary. The problem is that the people who DO have problems shout a lot louder on the internet than the people who don't.  You couldn't fill a newspaper every day with "Nothing bad happened yesterday" or it wouldn't sell papers. The internet's a bit like that. People don't go looking for good news, they go looking for bad. 

I would strongly suggest to stop reading up on all the stuff that could go wrong. If you did, you'd never get in your car, go on a plane, eat processed foods or possibly even step outside your house. 

Like many people I've not had ANY life changing side effects - very few even temporary ones. 

Hello

I was diagnosed in July 2017 (hurtle cell) 2.5cm tumour, encapsulated, none invasive, had completion September 2017, RAI December 2017.

I can honestly say that I dont feel any different to how I did before, I was put on 100mg levothyroxine the day after my completion and have continued on this since. A couple of weeks after op I was out running again, same after RAI.

I spent hours reading up on google how awful life would be afterwards but my life is the same as it was before!

 No life changing effects here either.

Hi Lis, thank you for your message and uplifting words of advice and support. 

Thank you for your reply and advice and support Barbaral, I agree I should stop reading information on the internet as I am just scaring myself!

Hi Bloggs72,

Its great to hear you feel the same post TT as you did before! It is so nice to hear from other people on this site. I feel so much happier already after reading the replies. 

Hi

I have had partial removal in June last year and the remainder removed the end of August. I was then put straight on 100mg levothyroxine. I went for RAI in November and saw my oncologist early Jan. all ok apart from TSH a bit higher than normal so have been gradually having my dose increased. I have to say to be honest I haven’t really found much difference in how I am now to how I was with my thyroid and am just continuing with plans as I would normally. 

Hopefully you will feel as well as I do. 

Good luck with your journey 

Hi Cazzy,

I can second the comments about not reading up on what the worst outcome can be. Every cancer and treatment is entirely personal and based on what I have heard here and in my personal network there is little to be concerned about (and I know at least two people personally who have had full TT). Thyroxine is a tried and tested approach and I also would contrast it very favourably with something with much more impact on your life like diabetes (or indeed a serious allergy).

Getting the levels right is also a personal thing although again, try to avoid reading horror stories about that side of it. As a personal anecdote on that subject: I was getting fatigue, headaches and 'woolly' thinking in December and was talking to my onco about that (I had pap cancer diagnosed in July and TT + RAI in August). We tried changing the levo dose to no effect. He then said: I'm going to check your vitamin D levels. And it was that: I had really low vit D, which was causing these symptoms — nothing to do with thyroxine levels.

So I can honestly say that a TT has made little difference to date and it is a relief tbh to know a cancerous organ has gone and can't threaten me anymore.

Wishing you all the best whatever you decide to do.