# 4 days post-surgery and feeling fantastic!



## LizLemonade (Jan 4, 2013)

Hi all,

This is actually my first post on these boards.  I had been lurking for a while as I was diagnosed with Graves' in September and while I had clearly been symptomatic for a while, the officially diagnosis freaked me out as I had no idea what to expect. I should be honest that I read a bunch of stuff here about Graves' and RAI and TT and Synthroid and Armour and, well, kind of panicked. There's a *lot* of negativity! I stopped reading anything on the internet that wasn't from a legit medical source (NIH, Mayo) to calm my nerves, and chalked the negativity up to the fact that more people are likely to post something if they're having problems than if everything's going great. Which is why I'm here today - I want to encourage anyone going into thyroid surgery that it CAN be great. So here's my story. (Oh, if it helps, I'm a 32y.o. female and the only other health problems I was dealing with before the Graves' were asthma, depression -enormously helped with Wellbutrin- and mild psoriasis.)

As I said, I was diagnosed with Graves' in September once I really couldn't be in denial about my out-of-control symptoms any longer - I was sweating like a crazy person, having heart palpitations nonstop, constantly nauseated and throwing up in the most inopportune times and places, experiencing constant mood swings, out of breath all the time - there was obviously something wrong. Looking back, I clearly had been dealing with Graves' for many years without realizing it. (I had a lot of "oh, THAT'S what that was" moments after diagnosis.) So... put that lesson in the checkbox of "everyone should get annual bloodwork, no excuses." I'm convinced that the fact that I waited so long to get diagnosed is part of the reason that my Graves' was so out of control and couldn't be resolved by medication alone, (I was taking 40mg of methimazole a day and it took until last month for my T3 and T4 to enter the top of the normal zone while my TSH was still really low), so I was given the choice between the RAI and TT. After reading every possible detail of both, I opted for the TT. (There are a bunch of reasons why which I won't get into here, but I'd be happy to elaborate if anyone's interested.)

So I scheduled my TT and had it this past Monday, 3-25 - it's Friday now. I'm lucky to live in New York City so I knew it wouldn't be a problem to find a qualified surgeon, and as I've been very happy with my endo at Mt. Sinai (and substitute endo while my first one was on maternity leave), I opted for their recommendation to have the surgery with Dr. Randall Owen at Mt. Sinai. When I met with Dr. Owen I was immediately put at ease. I think he could tell that I had done my research so he explained everything using medical terminology - I never felt like he was talking down to me, which was great as that's my biggest pet peeve when it comes to doctors. My biggest concern came from the fact that I'm a singer and had read about a wide variety of results in terms of vocal control and hoarseness, and he explained every aspect of how those nerves come into play during the surgery and what he'd do for me specifically to mitigate any vocal damage (the biggest thing being a larger incision). Because he said he'd done 1000+ of this specific surgery, I didn't have any concerns about accidental surgical mishap and knew I was in great hands.

My experience at the hospital this past Monday was great - every single doctor I encountered (with the exception of one slightly obnoxious resident) put me at ease, and I felt like I couldn't be in a safer place. They all seemed to understand and acknowledge my vocal concerns, which I really appreciated, and even the anesthesiologists reassured me that they'd take extra care with the breathing tube. Anyway, I woke up in recovery after a 2.5 hour surgery, apparently smiled, and promptly fell back asleep for another three hours. When I woke up I was in a *lot* of pain (mostly from swallowing) and the nurses put something in my IV that made me feel much more comfortable in about 10 minutes. Actually, when I woke up I remember thinking that the pain in my arm from the IV was the first thing I felt - it hurt more than my throat! The greatest thing of all is that once I was settled, I opened my mouth to speak and my voice sounded completely normal! No hoarseness whatsoever - absolutely normal. I was enormously relieved and thankful. Dr. Owen came by to check on me and agreed that he was thrilled with my vocal nerves result and how the surgery went in general, and I was sent home that night around 9:00 pm! (The surgery was at 1:00 pm.) I was given a prescription for oxycodone + Tylenol for the pain, plus a prescription for Calcium and Vitamin D (and Synthroid).

My parents -who came in from out of state- drove me to my aunt's house in the suburbs (as dealing with a car and my Manhattan apartment would be a huge pain for everyone) where I stayed for a couple of days. I was positively SHOCKED at how well I felt after the surgery even that night - not only was my voice completely normal but I didn't feel weak or exhausted at all, I had a normal amount of energy, and the only dizziness/nausea I felt was from the car ride... which I get from car rides anyway. It did hurt quite a bit to swallow (whyyyy do they make those calcium pills so giant??) but the oxycodone helped a lot with that. Sleeping was uncomfortable especially the first night as I'm used to sleeping on my stomach, and I did wake up like clockwork every four hours as the pain meds wore off and I needed a new one, but really the only pain I was dealing with was in swallowing, and the pain in my arm from that damned IV. I didn't even feel the incision in my neck! (They had sealed the incision with one internal suture and surgical glue on the outside... I will admit that it's kind of creepy looking to just see a bandageless neck wound like that! I look like I got shivved in a crazy bar fight.) On Tuesday I was still dealing with swallowing pain but it was gradually getting better - the only real difference in my throat was that the area below the incision swelled to about the size of a golf ball. I called my surgeon out of concern and he explained that that was completely normal and would subside in time. The one freaky thing that happened was that I had horrific extra-vivid nightmares on Tuesday night that left me hysterically crying upon waking, so I took one more oxycodone Wednesday morning and decided to call it quits after that - I did NOT want to go through a crazy nightmare again that night, as I assume it was narcotic-related.

Anyway, it's now Friday. The pain from swallowing is 99% gone, and the swelling in my neck is still there but has definitely subsided. Last night (Thursday) I started experiencing some stinging at the incision site, which my surgeon said to expect, so I took some Advil which helped quite a bit. I'm still dealing with some of that stinging, but it's not terrible at all and Advil takes care of it, so no big deal there. I started 137 mcg of Synthroid for the first time this morning and feel the same, but I guess it's really too soon to tell how I'll feel on it long-term.

I really just wanted to share my story because I had been reading a bunch of accounts of post-surgery weirdness and lack of energy and voice issues and I simply have not experienced any of that. I feel totally normal, and really have since waking up in recovery. (I should admit that I was feeling so normal that I took a walk for a few blocks to a diner today and was definitely winded&#8230; it was the first reminder that I had had surgery as I was feeling so great that it was easy to forget!) I'll also say that since coming out of the surgery I've been eating an extremely healthy diet - all-organic, protein & veggie-heavy, and no sugar or complex carbs whatsoever. Besides my singing voice, my biggest concern in all of this has been gaining weight, as I had gotten used to eating complete garbage for years with no weight gain thanks to my Graves' metabolism. I have been completely terrified of 'blowing up' now that I'm hypothyroid, so have made it a point to use the surgery as turning point and live as a very healthy person. It's a win-win, and I'm sure my body is already thanking me for the non-pizza nutrients.

I hope that anyone who's preparing for a TT (or considering it) will read my story and be encouraged - I have no doubt that some people have had less-than-ideal experiences but I am happy to say that that's definitely not a guarantee! I'm hoping that I continue to feel well as I learn to live on Synthroid, and I'm happy that my endocrinologist supports the use of Cytomel and Armour should I feel like I need it in the future. I'd say the key to my successful experience is having a really great endo who I trust and a really experienced surgery team. I know that not everyone lives in NYC and has such access to top-of-the-line physicians, but I'd really encourage the trip to a major city, especially for the surgery. Good luck, and I'm happy to answer any specific questions if anyone has them!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

That's great!! Just remember to pamper yourself and remember that the infamous crash can certainly happen a week or two out. If it doesn't? AWESOME! If it does? You'll still be better off in the long run...it just takes time for those adjustments to sort themselves out. 

So so glad you had a great experience!


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Thanks for posting, Liz, and welcome! It's always great to hear the good experiences because, as you mentioned, there are so many stories on the 'net about the bad experiences. But you're right...the people who are doing well generally don't spend time on the internet writing about it.

Regarding the calcium pills - geez, that has bothered me since my surgery--why are they so darn big? For a while, I was buying the gummies, but I felt like I should really be a big girl and take the pills. So I finally asked my pharmacist, and she showed me CITRACAL PETITES. Holy buckets, I wish I had known about them sooner! They're half the size of the horse pills!


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## LizLemonade (Jan 4, 2013)

Thanks, Joplin & Octavia! Very good to know about a potential "crash" and about the smaller calcium pills - I appreciate it!


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## jsgarden1 (Aug 29, 2009)

Liz, thank you so much for posting your surgery details....it makes a person like me, who is scheduled 4/16 breath a lot easier! I am SO glad you are doing well!!! Congrats on such a successful surgery!


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## LizLemonade (Jan 4, 2013)

Best of luck with your surgery, jsgarden! Oh, the one thing I didn't write in my initial post is a hilariously simple one but something I wish I had been told: make sure you buy bendy straws to have on hand after the surgery. It didn't cross my mind that I wouldn't be able to tilt my head back to take pills for a few days!


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## jsgarden1 (Aug 29, 2009)

LizLemonade said:


> Best of luck with your surgery, jsgarden! Oh, the one thing I didn't write in my initial post is a hilariously simple one but something I wish I had been told: make sure you buy bendy straws to have on hand after the surgery. It didn't cross my mind that I wouldn't be able to tilt my head back to take pills for a few days!


LOL! I actually have a box of them here at home! I have permanent custody of my almost 4 year old great niece so they come in handy lol.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

jsgarden...I re-roofed the house 11 days after my TT. Just had another surgery...it'll be two weeks on Tuesday and today I was able to wash a few dishes. Given the choice, I'd do the TT again in a second!!!  you are going to do great!

Liz, I had to laugh...I was just telling my husband that I think this surgery has messed with my head because my dreams are AWFUL. He said, nope, it's not the surgery, it's the narcotics. I had no idea!


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## Nowensmama (Mar 28, 2013)

Thanks for posting! I am having a TT on 3/10 and reading positive stories is so helpful! Glad to here you're doing so well!


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## hyperinnyc (Apr 18, 2012)

Dr. OWEN IS MY SURGEON TOO! He is AWESOME!!!!! I am so glad I clicked on your post! He and his staff were so great, I sent them a thank you card 

I had my TT in December and like you felt GREAT after - no complications. I barely used the oxycodone once I noticed I had no pain. The first 2-3 days after my chest was sore but that was from the breathing tube. After 3 months, my scar is slowly fading into my neck crease. I am now seeing my endo to manage meds. I slipped a couple of weeks ago and went hyper again (too much meds) but having surgery was the best thing ever.

Just curious - he gave you synthroid immediately? I got it on my 3 week followup (I had my TT over Xmas so he was a way for a while) and he only gave me 75mcgs which I am still on (the 100mcg was too much. I feel like I should go to 88mcg). Who is your endo? I've gained 6lbs since surgery but I will take that instead of Graves


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## lblowers (Mar 27, 2013)

Had my surgery yesterday. My thyroid was deemed "sticky" by my surgeon (help folks, what does that mean?). I feel good, just tired and not in too much pain. I am taking Ultram ER for the pain that I do have, and probably will take it every four hours through tomorrow. I am, in addition to magnesium and potassium (which I already was taking), taking Calcium Carbonate - 500 mg, 3 times a day. Will post back after a week or two, but so far, so good!!


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## lblowers (Mar 27, 2013)

Well, it's been quite a ride so far. Trying to get stabilized on the Synthroid. Just found out today that I really need to take the Synthroid by itself with soft water (distilled) NOT bottled water, for sure. THEN, pretty much don't take ANY meds for 3-4 hours before or after! Too many meds and supplements impede the potency of the pill. INCREDIBLE!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Yup, take on an empty stomach with plenty of water, don't eat for an hour after, and avoid any and all meds and supplements for about four hours. It makes a huge difference.


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