# Cytomel side effects & incision site



## refinnej (Jul 31, 2010)

I think this is my 4th day of 25 mg Cytomel. Monday marks a week since my thyroid was removed. Since being on the medicine I feel as if I am in a fog. I am super hungry and feel light headed. Is this normal? ETA...I've also had a cough since starting this.

And for those of you who have had this surgery before, what was your incision site like? I have internal sutures and then steri-strips over the actual incision. It doesn't look infected, but is still really swollen directly above and below the suture line. When does this swelling go down?

Welcome to the board!


----------



## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

refinnej said:


> I think this is my 4th day of 25 mg Cytomel. Monday marks a week since my thyroid was removed. Since being on the medicine I feel as if I am in a fog. I am super hungry and feel light headed. Is this normal? ETA...I've also had a cough since starting this.
> 
> And for those of you who have had this surgery before, what was your incision site like? I have internal sutures and then steri-strips over the actual incision. It doesn't look infected, but is still really swollen directly above and below the suture line. When does this swelling go down?


Is Cytomel the only medication you are on? I usually experience that sort of hunger while very hyper as well as light headiness. It could also be your body getting used to the Cytomel. Is your endo planing on giving your Levothyroxine as well?

The incision will be swollen - I kept ice on it and it felt alot better. I cannot remember how long it was swollen.


----------



## refinnej (Jul 31, 2010)

Yes, cytomel is the only thing I am taking right now. I'm thinking the dose needs to be tweaked, because I feel like I have the hyper symptoms all over again. I see my surgeon on Thur and my endo on Fri, so I'm sure they will adjust my meds.


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

refinnej said:


> I think this is my 4th day of 25 mg Cytomel. Monday marks a week since my thyroid was removed. Since being on the medicine I feel as if I am in a fog. I am super hungry and feel light headed. Is this normal? ETA...I've also had a cough since starting this.
> 
> And for those of you who have had this surgery before, what was your incision site like? I have internal sutures and then steri-strips over the actual incision. It doesn't look infected, but is still really swollen directly above and below the suture line. When does this swelling go down?


That is one huge dose of Cytomel. Is there a special reason your doc scripted such a high dose?

When I started on Cytomel, my doc Rx'd 5 mcg. per day and even that was a bit hard to take. Then we slowly titrated upwards to where I leveled off on about 10 mcgs..

You might wish to query your doctor about this.

Let us know.

Others will comment about the surgery; I did not have surgery.


----------



## refinnej (Jul 31, 2010)

Andros said:


> That is one huge dose of Cytomel. Is there a special reason your doc scripted such a high dose?
> 
> When I started on Cytomel, my doc Rx'd 5 mcg. per day and even that was a bit hard to take. Then we slowly titrated upwards to where I leveled off on about 10 mcgs..
> 
> ...


I have no idea. I cut it in half this morning and took it about 2 hours ago and I still feel loopy and like I am in a fog! All of my joints ache so bad that I had to take Tylenol. I don't want to sit out in the ER today so I'll wait until tomorrow morning to go out and see the Dr.


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

refinnej said:


> I have no idea. I cut it in half this morning and took it about 2 hours ago and I still feel loopy and like I am in a fog! All of my joints ache so bad that I had to take Tylenol. I don't want to sit out in the ER today so I'll wait until tomorrow morning to go out and see the Dr.


I hope you can reach the doctor in the morning but in the meantime, be wary. As I have mentioned, that is a huge dose of Cytomel.

Please let us all know.


----------



## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

I had surgery two weeks ago. My incision was a little different. It's about two inches long at the base of my neck. There was like one long stitch in it (I could see the ends on either end) and it was covered in some sort of clear water-resistant tape. I don't know what it was and have never seen it described before, but it was great. I called it saran wrap. It kept my incision clean and easily visible, kept blood in and germs out, made it easy to shower, and didn't react with my usually hyper-sensitive skin. I had heard of a lot of people reacting to steri-strips and suture material and warned my surgeon about sensitivities and list of allergies, and was quite relieved when they used something that did not cause a reaction.
I kept I ice packs on my neck almost the entire first week. helped it feel better, and took my mind off the pain. I had an occasional cough, and I felt like I could hold everything together with the ice. I even slept with ice. I alternated between drinking ice water and herbal hot tea with honey. Pain meds for about 4 days, then tylenol, then nothing a week later.
Surgeon took the saran wrap off when he took out the stitch (one snip, one yank) and done. Told me to put polysporin on it 3x a day "keep it moist," which I have done and it is healing nicely. I have not used ice since the saran wrap came off because there was a bit of blood and I was concerned about germs with something right up against a still closing incision.
So, 17 days later, my incision is closed and healing nicely. There is still some swelling, its not directly around the incision, but I imagine where my thyroid was, and I assume that is everything underneath healing and it will go down. My skin is a bit tight, and I have limited movement in my neck (I don't want to pull anything apart as it heals). I have been very careful about my movement, housework, lifting things, even doing dishes or laundry, I take it slow! 
I started driving at 14 days and noticed my neck was a bit sore, I think from having to turn my neck to look for traffic, I am less aware of my own body sensations because I am focused on traffic when driving. There is still a bit of pain in my neck on the right side, and my throat is a bit sore still. I have been using cough drops. Oh, and it really hurts when I have to sneeze! Feels like its tearing everything apart!
When I go out, I have a gauzy scarf that I wear. It's a hot summer, but I do not want strangers staring at/asking about the slit in my throat. I also feel like it protects it from dirt and germs, and I hand wash it every time I wear it. I will probably wear it less as it heals, but for now, it's my favorite fashion trend. 
Oh, and it took about a week for me to feel mentally well again (see my posts on calcium issues)
I hope this helps, and that your recovery continues to go well.


----------



## desrtbloom (May 23, 2010)

I am going on four weeks post total thyroidectomy. My incision looks great. I still have some neck swelling, but the swelling around my incision has significantly gone down. I wear a scar patch (you can get at CVS pharmacy - I can tell you the brand if you want - it was recommended by my surgeon) 12 hours a day and clean it with an alcohol swab and put on scar cream three times a day. I avoid the sun on it. This is what my surgeon told me and it has worked great.

I would talk to your Endo about the Cytomel. I'm on Synthroid and that seems to be doing pretty good. They adjusted me once since the surgery because of symptoms, but on my new dose I'm doing better. I have never heard of anyone just taking Cytomel, but I'm pretty new to all of this thyroid stuff.

Hang in there! Your neck will be looking better soon.

:hugs:

Patti


----------



## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Andros said:


> I hope you can reach the doctor in the morning but in the meantime, be wary. As I have mentioned, that is a huge dose of Cytomel.
> 
> Please let us all know.


Why are you on Cytomel only? That is strange - are you waiting for RAI? Did you have cancer?

Cytomel has some wicked side effects (hyper) and I personally think the body needs time to adjust to it.

I noticed side effects the first time I tried it with just 1/2 a pill or 2.5mcg.


----------



## refinnej (Jul 31, 2010)

I did end up going into the ER today just because I was feeling so yucky. I was concerned it may be my calcium levels, but they were normal. I started feeling better this evening. The Drs at the ER said just to continue taking the recommended dose and then call my Dr tomorrow.

Tomorrow marks one week since my surgery and I am really happy that the incision site doesn't hurt. The hard part around it bugs me, but I guess it's all part of the healing process. I bought some scar cream to put on it once the steri strips come off. I haven't heard of the scar patches. I may have to see if I can find them at the drug store. I also plan to invest in some scarves. I'm working on my degree in Elementary Education so I don't want to scare the little kids when I have to work in the school this fall! lol It's kind of nice that scarves are the "in" thing right now!

I had my goiter removed because it was causing me problems swallowing. I am assuming if it was cancer then I would know something by now. I see the surgeon on Thur and my endo on Fri. Thankfully I still have a week before my college classes start to recover some more.

Thank you guys for your input!


----------



## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

I had to laugh when I thought of you scaring the kids! That could be some halloween costume! I work with the homeless in some pretty impoverished areas, and there has been a lot of gang violence in my city this summer. I just kept thinking people would think I was some sort of a stabbing victim if I went out with this wound in my neck!
I am glad your calcium level is good, I hope I didn't scare you with my calcium horror story.
Good luck in school, I start a graduate program in counseling next week as well. I am so glad I got this over with before classes start! I was so sick with my graves for months, and was worried that I would never feel better! Surgery has been such a relief for me.
desrtbloom, I would love to know about that scar patch. I have been using polysporin per my surgeon's recommendation, but I would like to switch to something a bit less messy as it heals. I was reading up about scar patches, and really don't know what is best.


----------

