[Megtimhart]

#1059734

I posted in here a couple months ago about my wife that was diagnosed with graves diease. Well its been about 2 months since she was first diagnosed and we just scheduled her surgery for monday. Since we want to start a family ASAP the endo, surgeron, and us agreed that the surgery is the fastest way. We are going for her pre-op appt wensday. The sergon said the procedure would take around 2hrs and they will keep my wife overnight at the hospital for observations. My wife and i have a couple questions for anybody who has had the surgery already…
How long is the recovery? By that i mean eating real food and walking around?
Is it painful after you wake up from anesthesia?
Recomend any cream or home remedies for scar?
And pretty much any other pointers you all could give us will be much appreciated!
Tim&meg

[snelsen]

#1177161

Hi Tim and Meg,
you’ll hear from a lot of us!
My experience:
neck a little sore, the kind of sore when you use muscles you have not used for a while. In this case, it is the position of your head in the OR, more than the incision itself.

Eating-I found it a bit hard to chew steak (which is what I wanted at that time)
But I ate everything that evening. My surgery was the first case in the morning. If it is later in the day, you probably won’t be that hungry. And probably may be sleepy, depending on when it begins/ends. IF you have a chance, ask to be the “first case.”

Walking around-same day up a bit, next day, could do what I wanted to do at home walking wise. Tired!

Pain-I did not have pain. Just really sore muscles in my neck from the position. Never incisional pain.

I did not use anything on my incision, and it is not visible. Check with the surgeon on this. I’d say leave it alone for at least 10 days, surgeon may say longer (if you want to put stuff on it.)

I think you will be super happy with your experience, that you did this, and you will be able to begin your family a lot sooner with this choice.

However you do need to get your thyroid hormone on board and regulated. This is never as fast as we want. And your OB should definitely know you have Graves’ Some people go to high risk OB’s. others don’t. But they should definitely have a clue, and be in contact with endo!
You will get some more good responses……
Shirley

[adenure]

#1177162

Hi!

I had my surgery 8 months ago and it was the best decision for me. I’m glad that I did it.

How long is the recovery? Well, the first 48 hours are rough, but even for those 2 days, I only took Advil for pain relief. I slept upright for 3 nights to help with drainage and was able to go home 4 hours after surgery. Some surgeons will keep the patient 24 hours at the hospital- depends on the doctor. The first drink of water is a doozy; so, tell your wife to think before she drinks and coordinate the swallowing. I almost choked on the 1st sip! Whoops! I ate soft foods the first few days, but otherwise was fine after that. She will feel weird sensations in her throat as she heals, but they will go away as the days pass. I was able to eat, swallow, breathe, drink, and talk after surgery. My voice was weak and got tired easily for about 3 weeks and I tended to talk from a higher tone, but all was normal after a month or so.

I started taking small walks around the block after a week or so. I was able to shower 24 hours after surgery. I didn’t use any cream or anything on the incision. I had a subcuticular stitch so the incision isn’t very obvious at all.

Her parathyroids will be inflamed so it’s important to take Tums (Calcium Carbonate) 1000 mg 4 times a day the 1st week, 3 times a day the 2nd week, and twice a day the 3rd week as the parathyroids regulate calcium levels. If her levels go low, she’ll have muscle cramps and tingly feelings in her arms and legs. You want to avoid that- so, do ask your surgeon about the Tums. Great thing about Tums is pretty much anyone can take them and they’ll make sure her calcium levels are okay.

I started Synthroid on day 2 after surgery- 100 mcg. Labs done 6 weeks later and upped to 112 mcg and I’ve been on that since. I take the brand name for consistency (instead of generics which could come from different manufacturers). My labs have been stable since 2 months post surgery. I take the Synthroid first thing in the AM on an empty stomach with a full bottle of water and wait an hour or so to eat. Don’t take supplements (especially iron and calicum) until 4 hours after taking Synthroid.

Good luck & let us know how it all goes.

[Megtimhart]

#1177163

Just to give everybody a update…Surgery was a sucess! The surgeron was Able to get most of the thyroid and he said what is left should just die off. We are both staying the night because they wana keep her under observation. My wife said the worst part was getting the IV because she is scared of needles. She doesn’t remember anything from surgery. She has been fighting a migraine from the anestheshia but other then that she is doing great. She said her neck feels like she got a kink in it and a really bad sore throat. But much less painful then she was expecting. They already started her on synthroid .075MG. We are hoping she gets discharged tomarrow since wensday she has a appointment with her eye doctor regarding her Graves’ disease.

[adenure]

#1177164

Congratulations! Great news! 😎 Glad to hear everything went well. Tell her to rest and take it easy- especially for the first week. After that, I’m sure she’ll be getting back to her old self again.

Drink lots of water to get all the drugs out of the system (anesthesia and all that).

Is she going to have labs done in 6 weeks to see where her thyroid levels are at?

[Kimberly]

#1177165

So glad to hear that all went well! Please continue to keep us posted. These stories are a great resource for future patients who are newly diagnosed and exploring their options.

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