Thyroid removal.

[TX-RAT]

Has anyone had their thyroid removed?
What meds will i take?
How long to heal?
Any side effects?
Going in next week to have the left side of mine removed. It's not cancerous, just developing a large tumor thats starting to interfere with blood flow.

[fleabert]

1. my mom had hers 'oblated' I don't know if that's the same thing, but

she's okay now, has to take meds to replace whatever the thyroid was supposed to do (but didn't, hence the oblation). sorry i don't have more info...hope your experience is uneventful! If I talk to her today, I'll ask her about it. :-)

[TX-RAT]

2. Thanks

[sally343434]

3. You'll be fine

The only possible problem is damage to the parathyroid, which covers the thyroid. But endocrinologists have been doing this surgery for a long time and you should be just fine. Depending on how much they remove, you may or may not need an oral thyroid supplement pill(Synthroid) to get your TSH level right, but it's a drug that's been around for a very long time and has no known negative side effects.

BTW, even if it were cancerous, almost all cases of thyroid cancer are benign and fully cured with either removal or I131 treatment.

[TX-RAT]

12. Thank you.

[Wwagsthedog]

4. Had mine removed in 2003 due to a slow growing cancer.

All gone, not half. After removal, went through the oblation process. Recovery from surgery was fairly quick, about 7 - 10 days. Then came the oblation which is radiation to kill off any thyroid they missed due to surgery. What took the longest is trying to get my "synthroid" (med) dosage to some kind of equilibrium. (A side effect was that I gained weight because of a slow metabolism.) That process is still going on but nearing completion. I'm not a doc and don't pretend to be but this post sounds worse than it should. Hope I helped and good luck from Montgomery Co., TX.

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

6. i agree

the 6 initial week for preparation of the "I-131 kill all whats left" are the hardest IMO besides finding the right dose of synthroid(?)

dizzyness and sleepyness was the cause (had too little)

after a year you got to redo the procedure (new procedure standards in EU don't know if in US as well) and abolish the synthroid for 4 weeks and go over I-131 again to map the remaining cells and if its too much another one just stronger. while doing I-131 you'll be in solitary confinement due to radiation. depending if its "mapping" or "wiping" more or less long (1-2 weeks)

after mapping/wiping the synthroid is resumed. if you have to "wipe" you'll at least get to map next year again.

while abolishing synthroid you won't be hampered too much as the period is shorter than the initial one. 4 instead of 6 weeks

losing the whole thing causes you to be dependednt on the synth for the rest of your life btw.

be prepared that you'll lose your ability to taste for the subsequent month. all will taste like styropore and pappmaché.

[TX-RAT]

13. No cancer here, just a tumor.

Thanks

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

5. i had it removed

the whole that is...so there might be some stuff you maybe don't have to.

first its not that a big thing (if they not screw it up that is)

the surgery isn't a big thing... i was able to do tvnights with lotsa smoking the same day. after a week i was home again. drop the smoking if you don't do or they havent smoker rooms in the hospital.

your head will look like its stapled or sown on your shoulders for a while (ca. 3 weeks.) the removal is no big deal either.

beware if they find cancerous cells in the biopsy of the removed mass. then you can go to hospital right again. i suggest you repost in that case.

MAYBE you will have to take supplement artificial thyroid hormones. depends how functioning the rest is.

the surgery will take about 5 hours because there lotsa nerves they shouldn't touch which are the most possible screw ups...it my disfigure you if they cut the wrong straps. the chances are small with a proficient surgeon though.

its a while ago if ya got particular questions i'll check back

[TX-RAT]

11. Quit cigarettes many years ago.

Now I'm a hopeless cigar addict.( I don't inhale )
Thanks for the info.

[Left Is Write]

7. My husband had his thyroid zapped with radio-iodine.

He had hyperthyroidism due to Graves Disease.

It wasn't surgery, so there was no recovery time. As for medications, he will have to take synthetic thyroid hormone (Synthroid or the equivalent) for the rest of his life.

[crispini]

16. My cat had that done.

She was radioactive for a while, and then fine. She had to take stuff too. But she lasted 8 years after that, so it was worth it.

[mcscajun]

8. Sounds just like the surgery I had in 2000.

No cancer, just a haemorraghic cyst that was pressing on other structures in the throat/neck.

The surgeon took out the left lobe of the thyroid and the isthmus (the part that joins the left and right lobes of the thyroid) leaving the right lobe behind. I've been taking synthetic thyroid hormone ever since to assure that another such growth doesn't occur and to maintain proper thyroid hormone levels.

If your doctor deems it necessary, you may be on some form of synthetic thyroid hormone (a pill a day, no biggie) indefinitely. You may also need a blood test each year (or more often) to determine your levels of thyroid hormone are maintained at the proper levels.

For information on the rest of your questions, I would suggest you check out the following websites:

http://www.thyroid.org/patients/faqs.html
http://www.thyroidfoundation.org/book.htm
http://www.endocrineweb.com/nodule.html

[TX-RAT]

10. Mine sound identical to yours.

Thank you very much for the info.

[mcscajun]

15. You're welcome -- and check your inbox.

You have a PM.

[TX-RAT]

9. Many thanks to all.

They have assured me its non-cancerous and they're only taking 1/2, their not sure on the meds.

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

14. take it with a grain of salt

they did to me too until i got through "unusual" channels that i had to go again...