Comments on: Another Gimp Story: Thyroid Lobectomy

By: Kim

Kim — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 01:27:48 +0000

WoW. this is almost my entire story. Except for the beginning. Mine is the right side. I’m scheduled for surgery on the 13th of august. The vocal cord issue is my big concern also. My dr. recommends doing both as in most patients they will need to have the other removed within 5 years. My only concern with that is the Metabolism issue. I have read to many horror stories of gaining alot of weight. I have always had a hard time lossing the weight. Do I really want to have the left removed and dealing with weight gain? IDK what to do.

By: Roberta

Roberta — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:33:41 +0000

Hey Brittany,
THANKS FOR SUCH AN UPLIFTING STORY. I AM SCHEDULED FOR A RIGHT THYROID REMOVAL ON AUGUST 6, 2010. I AM A TEACHER ALSO. I BELIEVE THAT ALL THINGS ARE GOING TO WORK OUT FOR MY GOOD. THANKS AGAIN FOR SUCH AN ENCOURAGING STORY. MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:26:59 +0000

Had right thyroid lobectomy last week. As soon as operation had finished I started bleeding heavily and had to go back for 2nd operation to stop blood flow. However first I knew about it was once it was all over and I was drinking a very welcome cup of tea! Very little pain, slight sore throat and could eat normally straight away. Wound looked awful but already much better after a week. Still waiting for tests to see if I need thyroxine. For anyone worrying about pain of opeation – stop! Really not a big deal! Waiting for op was worse than the event itself. Best Wishes from England.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:38:13 +0000

Roger- Good luck with your surgery. Hope all goes well! Funny how endocrinologists can have such differing opinions, isn’t it?

By: Roger

Roger — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:16:57 +0000

Hi Brittany
My situation is remarkable similar to yours. 2010 has been my upside down year. Aside from my nodule saga I detail below, I was diagnosed this spring with an inguinal hernia that will need surgical repair. Six years ago they discovered I had 2 nodules on my left lobe when they were ultrasounding a bump on my adams apple-(which turned out to be just cartilage). I was referred for an FNA biopsy on the larger nodule which showed atypical cells (Hurlthle cellls). I was referred by the surgeon to an endocrinologist for his opinion “just to cover all the bases” and he said we could just watch the nodule and do annual ultrasounds, that surgery at this point would be “premature”. For the first couple of years afterwards I was good about getting them done but there was not much noticeable change , so I figured ” I am all set with this thing” and I let 4 years go between scans! This Feb. I had an ultrasound done and it showed a “slight increase in size and complexity ” of the nodule. I went back to my endo doc and he wanted to repeat the FNA. After reading way too much about it on the web and scaring myself out of my wits, I questioned the medical advice I was getting , and did not do a repeat FNA. Through the web I found Dr. Randolph at the Mass Eye and Ear who specializes in thyroid cancer, and went and saw him for his opinion. He told me that he would not even consider repeating the biopsy since even if it came up normal, there was atypia there in 2004, and the only way to be certain one way or the other would be to remove the lobe. Needless to say I was a bit shocked that the advice I was getting from my endocrinologist was so far off base. I am scheduled this Wednesday July 14th to have the lobe removed. Having never had surgery , and having a 10 yr old son and a 6 yr old daughter, this is a very scary ordeal for us all. I am glad and thankful to have found your website

By: Brittany

Brittany — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:20:50 +0000

Rick, Glad the surgery seems to have gone well! Best of luck to you and my best wishes for a speedy recovery!

By: Rick B

Rick B — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:01:07 +0000

Brittany all went well left lobe with cyst removed /spent night in hospital . Pain was minimal due to drugs . Today feel incision a bit more may take a vicodin tonight. Also voice a little raspier today . As a precaution taking Keflex and have a drain which will be Removed tomorrow.
Thanks for your informative blog . My situation was very similar to yours in re to diagnosis etc.
Good health

By: Brittany

Brittany — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:03:51 +0000

Best of luck with your surgery!

By: Rick B

Rick B — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:44:25 +0000

Brittany
thank you for blog . Tomorrow Dr will remove cyst by leftlobe
and do biopsy on two nodules . Your description of procedure enlightened me.
My concerns needless to say is to get bad stuff out and to keep my voice.
Thanks again
Rick

By: Brittany

Brittany — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:04:53 +0000

Hi Susan,

You can ask any questions you like!

I am not sure if you are having an entire thyroid removal, or a lobectomy. I had a lobectomy- the left part of my thyroid removed. It generally is easier to adjust after this type of surgery rather than a full thyroid removal. Still, I have had several friends who have also had their entire thyroids removed. While everyone handles these things differently, I can tell you that my friends and I have all had successful recoveries. Weight gain has been negligible. We are all athletes, and continue doing the athletics that we love and live normal lives. The only difference is that we are all on synthetic thyroid hormone medication. Once a dosage is determined for you, you’ll have to get your blood checked for thyroid levels every year. Be careful with this. My doctor was only checking my TSH levels, not my T-3 and T-4. In the fall and early winter this year I was tired a lot, had low energy, and wasn’t eating as much as usual. I thought maybe I was just “getting old”. But, I had my blood levels tested. My doc said everything was fine, but when I looked into it, he only looked at the TSH levels. I read from multiple sources that your T3 and T4 levels matter even more so I went to a different doc and had her prescribe another blood draw to test these levels. She confirmed that my medication dosage was indeed too low and bumped me up to the next level. Within a week or two I felt back to my normal self- normal energy, not so tired, and had my appetite back. Other than these minor things I really lead a normal life, and so do my friends with full thyroid removals.

I hope your surgery goes well and if you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I know this surgery seems really scary.