Posture after thyroidectomy

Hi I had total thyroidectomy just over 2 months ago my arms feel a bit weaker and I get aches and knee joint when walking up stairs.  I have a physical job and it does seem  a bit more of a struggle. Also had some twitching under eye today, I looked it up and could be something to do with calcium  or vitamin d levels. I'm still on calcium d3 tablets having blood tests soon. I was told to do neck exercises after op. My swallowing still feels funny sometimes.

It is possible that your Spinal Accessory nerve (one of the cranial nerves) was damaged during the surgery.  This nerve innervates the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles.  You should voice your concerns with your doctor and if this is the case, request physical therapy to build up the remaining muscles of your shoulder.  When you lose muscle function in the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles your shoulder joint will not be stable (these muscles help keep the joint in place).  This happened to me, and just so you know, despite my shoulder droop and mostly missing trapezius and completely missing sternocleidomastoid muscles (they both atrophy when there is no nerve connection),  through physical therapy and some exercises I have nearly full function of my right arm (I just can't raise it laterally out to the side very well, as one would do when doing jumping jacks).

Hi mojmoj,

Did you have a neck dissection aswell as the thyroidectomy? As CCRNandMTCsurvivor said, with a neck dissection it's common that the Spinal Accessory nerve gets damaged/bruised and that affects the shoulders. It certainly did mine. I had a bilateral ND and it took months of physio to get the movement and most of the strength back again. Still having trouble 15 months on with upper trapezius pain and because of this it has affected my shoulder position yes. I agree with getting onto your team as soon as possible and they can forward you to physio if needed.

Thanks for both of your replies! I only had a thyroidectomy no neck dissection so don't know if it's that in my case. But due to see the team so will mention, it could be because the larger nodule was on that side I put all my strength into the other shoulder XD

Hi K9crazy, hope you’re doing ok.

Do you know if this damage can cause tingling sensations in the arms and hands? I’m 48 hours post TT and my calcium was 2.0 which they weren’t concerned about and did prescribe adcal but the pins and needles arent improving. I’ve been back today for my clips to be removed and they did more bloods and my calcium remains at 2.0.

My calcium when to normal on 6th day after tt. Your on same tabs as me i was taking 2 twice a day and now 1 3 times a day.

It was 2.5 back in September, I’m not sure if that would be considered my normal. The registrar said I don’t need to worry unless I start getting muscle spasms or facial tingling but having read some other posts that isn’t uncommon. The tingling is definitely unnerving and whilst it isn’t getting any worse it also doesn’t appear to be getting better ‍♀️

Hi lazodre, the tingling sensations are usually reported as being a calcium problem if the parathyroid has been affected. Mine were ok so I don't have any experience on this. Hopefully someone else will.

If you were asking about the spinal accessory nerve damage/bruising causing tingling, then I didn't feel that and I haven't heard others mention it either, just the arm/shoulder impairment and pain.

I would speak to your CNS and ask their advice. They know your personal circumstances and the surgery you had, so should be able to advise. Hope this helps.

I'm not sure what my twitches are I'm gonna mention to consultants when I speak to him could be something to do with vitamin d

Thank you, typically it’s happened after 5pm on a Friday  so i was just seeking others experiences over the weekend x