Tips for recovery from thyroidectomy and neck dissection

Hi there,

2 weeks is not long after your op and make sure you take. Ibuprofen and/ or paracetamol to keep you comfortable. Were you shown excercises to regain mobility in your neck at the hospital ? If not perhaps you could contact your care nurse to see if they can offer advice to help you. I can't say that I had specific pain as you are describing but I had discomfort and I did take painkillers for a bit. For the burning sensation along my scar I used Dermatix a silicon gel which my surgeon perscribed. Because my first scar was not healing well and was burning all the time.

Look after yourself and be kind to yourself , it will take time to heal and to get back to you old self.

All the best,

Swichee

Alright Chris, 

I had two surgeries...a hemi then a completion with neck dissection 4wks later. I found it easier on my neck to support my head with my hand when I was lying down/getting up etc....looks abit wierd doing it but it helped. In time, the pain wears off but even now 6mths later my scar area is still a little sensitive. I remember it itched quite alot when the surgical glue started to wear off. I use bio oil on the scar....dont really know if its helping but the colour is fading.

Tiredness should be expected. The general aesthetic takes its toll on you as well as the emotional turmoil. Also your thyroid hormones will take months to settle down and for your body to get used to taking synthetic T4. It will probably need adjusted to suppress your TSH levels to prevent cancer recurrence. 

Things will probably be a bit erratic for a while. I struggle to sleep during the night then feel tired during the day but in time things should work themselves out.

The main thing I learned is not to be too hard on yourself. You've gone through a trauma and it takes time to come back from it.

Good luck and good health,

Mark

Thank you both

I'm happy to hear it I'll gets better. I'll do my best to be patient and kind to myself. 

I wasn't given exercises, so I'll ask my nurse.. I'll also look into the creams for the scar.

Chris

Hi Chris

I had very limited movement in my neck which caused more pain than my scar. I went to see an osteopath who worked miracles  and gave me my mobility back. With the pain gone from my back it helped me sleep at night.

Are you taking your thyroxine at least 30 minutes before you eat anything first thing in the morning? I was advised to do this as it helps absorption. I have a glass of water and tablets beside my bed.

Take it easy and rest.

Hi,

I am taking my pill 30 minutes before food, but I've just discovered that I need to wait 4 hours before eating anything rich in calcium.

There goes my morning yoghurt

Chris

Hi Chris, 

Where did you hear/read that you should wait 4 hours for calcium rich food? I’ve been having my morning tea or coffee with milk in 45 minutes after my pills since I started on them over 2 months ago! When I was in hospital after my thyroidectomy the nurses said I could have milky tea 30/40 mins after the pills and I couldn’t see anything suggesting otherwise on my prescription box! Fingers crossed I don’t have to lose my morning caffeine, 

Jess

Hey Jess,

I found it hidden at the bottom of this page in section 9 under the question "Is there any food or drink I need to avoid?"

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/levothyroxine/

Seems the coffee's ok after 30 mins but should probably be black. I'm also gonna take a while to adjust to this

Chris

Apologies for jumping in, just to say that you’re fine having your cereal or yoghurt about an hour after taking thyroxine.

Lass mentioned this on a post recently, but I don’t know how to link it in to my reply. I take mine on waking with a glass of water, then shower etc, then have my cup of tea and cereal about an hour later. I’ve just got myself into the routine, works fine. 

I think the problem is if you’re taking calcium supplements, then you have to wait the four hours.

Hope this helps, 

Heya Chris, 

Couple of things I've not seen mentioned yet. 

First of all, whenever you sit down, are you resting your head on something? You need to make sure that your head is supported to take the strain off your neck. Your neck needs to rest, recover, and heal - and it can't do that if it's supporting your head the entire time you're awake. That would explain the spasms, because the damaged tissues are all being overworked and are knackered by the evening.

The other thing, have you built a slope to sleep on, or are you trying to lie flat on your pillows like before your op? If you've not built a slope of pillows, duvets, towels, etc I highly recommend it. It again just takes the pressure off your neck and allows it to properly rest. 

The tiredness will partly be the anaesthetic still in your body, and partly the fact that all your resources are going on trying to heal everything in your neck. 

But everything sounds really normal, and it will def get better as time goes on. Just remember, a neck dissection takes an average of 6 months to fully heal. So def get onto those physio exercises and massage techniques. Your GP should be able to show you some to help. And if not, refer you to a physio. 

To the person wondering about dairy. Yoghurts are fine 30 mins to an hour after your levo. The key thing is consistency. If you have a yoghurt every day 40 mind after levo, then even if the yoghurt absorbs a bit of it each day, then when they take a blood test then they will adjust your meds accordingly. So a yoghurt, milk on your cereal, milk in your coffee, soya products, etc are all fine a minimum of 30 mins after levo.

Lass

Xx