Diagnosed a month ago

Hi

I know exactly how you feel at my initial diagnosis I was also led to believe that though it was cancer it would be fine, unfortunately i did have the aggressive version and though I opted for a hemi first I then had to go on to have the full thyroid out and RAI. 

I was also so concerned about the thyroxine and I now have been on it for three months with no weight gain and in some ways I think I feel better, my thyroid had probably not been working properly for a while.  It's been a huge relief that it's all worked out.

 I reacted quite badly to the anaesthetic and the first surgery had some complications so the recovery was longer than anticipated, probably about a month before I was feeling more normal, the second surgery was completely different and i recovered much quicker really much better after a couple of weeks, it's so tricky as we are all so different, I felt so under prepared for the first surgery, and the recovery was a real shock.  Five weeks is a good amount of time I think to be almost there, fitness wise I was pretty good but even after three months my neck is still very sore and I am having speech therapy for my voice which was affected.

sending you best wishes, Vicky

Thank you, it’s helpful to hear the good and the not so good. I also don’t react well to anaesthetic so dreading that. I’m booked in for a full thyroidectomy so hopefully just the one surgery. The waiting for the results is not fun is it?

I was 67 when I had my op last year and had TT plus central and rh side neck dissection and I would say I recovered quite quickly.  Not sure whether I would have wanted to be returning to full time work but luckily was working part-time from home and could do what I wanted when I wanted so it wasn't an issue.  I felt tired and would rest when I needed to and was also worried about weight gain, but it was the other way round with me I lost weight, some people do.  Some seem to bounce back quickly while others need more time and find going back to work too quickly too much for them.  We are all different and you have to go with what your body tells you and rest if you need to.  Good luck with your surgery and I hope all goes well and you are feeling like your normal self as quickly as possible.  Always harder when you have a family too but I am sure you will be fine with some support  from everyone around you @ElleB.

Hi Elle B,

When I was diagnosed and googled how long the recovery time would be, I also got the sense "no big deal, it's quite possible to be back at work within a couple a weeks. As a result, I made no plans for proper recovery time and even planned a long-distance business trip for about 6 weeks later. Physically, I did indeed feel relatively OK after the operation. But things really fell apart for me about one months after the operation, once the radioactive iodine therapy was over. The big problem was my psyche, and still is. I was completely overwhelmed by emotions, very suddenly, and spent 10 days in a psychriatic ward as a result. I had follicular cancer, so by far not the worst type. But the situation still hit me like a bus. Perhaps if you are psychologically stable, you might get through things well. But if you have any type of predisposition towards depression or any previous trauma you have not yet fully processed - beware. And I totally get what you are saying about the "my aunt had it and she was fine". You are not a distant, hearsay aunt. You are you. So watch out for the psychological aspect of things. 
I hope this helps and really don't want to scare you. It's just that your post asked exactly the question I asked myself, and to which I definitely got the wrong answers.
Best, J