Thyroid cancer

Sorry you find yourself here, nobody wants to be here.

Please be kind to yourself, your body has been through a lot in the last 7 weeks. The medical profession are very good  at preparing us physically for surgery but not always mentally. I had a TT and bilateral neck dissection with lymph nodes removed in April last year, followed by RAI in August. Physically I recovered quite quickly but mentally I have found it much harder. Earlier this year I went to my local Maggies centre and it felt so good just to talk.

I found the RAI treatment very uneventful, I was in hospital for 2 nights. I did find it helpful that I was shown the suite I was going to before hand. There was a room which had a small fridge that had some food in and a bathroom. I spent quite a lot of time sleeping as emotionally I was exhausted. Personally I think the prospect of it quite daunting, partly because I knew no one who had been through it. 

Rest and take things easy and be kind to yourself,  emotionally it’s exhausting.

Heya

I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling mentally at the moment.

In chatting to a lot of people, everyone is feeling quite bad and low at the moment - myself included - and it has everything to do with the whole cancer thing, as well as the weather. It's been so dark, dingy, cold, and wet recently that it does affect people mentally. Add on to that trying to wrap your head around a cancer diagnosis, treatment, and what it might mean for the future - and you have the perfect storm for making someone feel depressed. Add on to that that the thyroid is known to help control moods, and the folks in this particular area of the forum are super prone to mood changes.

It's good that you've recognised that you're feeling down and not quite yourself, as that's often the hardest thing to do. The word cancer plays funny tricks on the brain, especially when we're feeling low. Even when the logical side of your brain is telling you that everything is going to be ok, there's that other side that's whispering that it won't, then throwing all sorts of worst case scenarios at you.

As Runner said, it's good to talk to people and let out those fears, even if the logical side of you says that they sound stupid. People at Maggie's Centres and Macmillan Centres know where you are and what you're feeling. So they'll listen, understand, and just chat. Sometimes it's easier to let these things out to strangers than it is to friends or family, because friends and family just want to make it better, where strangers realise that sometimes you just need to vent. So if you've someone to talk to, anyone you feel comfortable talking to, I'd def recommend it.

Then there's the keeping yourself busy and distracting yourself. If you can keep your mind occupied and on other things then it helps to stop it from wandering onto wondering about the future and the current situation. So as it's coming into Spring, why not empty out all of your cupboards, rearrange them, clear them out, give them a good clean. You can start in the kitchen then work your way around the house. Think of it as a metaphor for cleaning out your own head. Sounds silly, but a bit of decluttering can work wonders. Then, with it coming into spring, have you a garden that needs a good fettle? Bit of fresh air in the bracing temps might do you good - just stay dry. Don't want you getting sick with a bug! So, yeh, distraction. Find yourself a project, something you've maybe been putting off doing or something you've wanted to start but thought you never had time, now is the time. It'll be a real tonic!

And of course, we're always here should you need to vent, shout, cry, moan, chat, whatever!

Lass

xx

Thanks so much I try to distract myself a lot it’s at night I can’t sleep because my mind goes nuts. My god I’m so fkn sorry to hear what you’ve been thro and I love u have a sense of humour like mebout it all. Your doing absolutely smashing and should be so proud of yourself your a brave little star u just keep fighting this shit

sorry to hear you are feeling so low Nicnak89.

Just wanted to offer my experience which may be relevant. After I had my TT, approx a month later I felt TERRIBLE mentally. suicidal and awful. I knew it wasn't me but but it was a terrible darkness I had never experienced before. 

Turns out my replacement dose was way too low [75mcg] and as my own thyroid hormones tailed off after the TT, the new dose wasn't enough to replace them and resulted in me slumping down into a truly horrible place,

As your own hormones leave the body and the new ones kick in you have a bit of a transition period which can be a bit grim for some people. date wise, you may be about right for that.

may be worth getting your does and TSH levels checked again. I had my dose upped quite dramatically at that point and started to feel much better within days. I feel absolutely fine now my dose is stabilised. Much better mentally than I have in years.

Hang on in there and realise you are going though a hormonal storm at the moment and maybe get them to run checks. There is a light at the other end of the tunnel. You will get there. sending you a bug hug ️️️