[kristi7877]

in reply to: RAI vs Thyroid surgery #1061659

Hello, I had a Total Thryoidectomy in March of 2010 and for me personally it was the best thing I ever did and regret wasting 3 years going back and forth on medication and not doing it sooner. I weighed out the pros and cons of the RAI and TT and I figured either way I was going to be on medication the rest of my life and wanted a once and done deal and with a touch of TED surgery was my best option. For my first surgery ever, it was a walk in the park. The surgery was done on a Monday and I came home the following day and rested a couple of days and by that Friday I was out and about again and felt better than ever. I have had my meds adjusted here and there and currently show no graves antibodies as I am pregnant and have that checked monthly. Best of luck to you.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Graves and Birth Control #1061650

Hello, I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in 2007 and after going back and forth with levels all over the place I had a total thyroidectomy back in March 2010. I swear my onset of graves was birth control related, I could be wrong or its coincidental but I found when I was not on birth control my levels were in normal range and as soon as I went back on they went all hay wire again and I was miserable which prompted me to have it taken out. Best of Luck to you.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: RAI vs Surgery vs Meds #1063975

Hello. I was diagnosed with Graves back in 2007 when I was 29 and after going back and forth with the Tapazole getting me into "remission" so to speak and then going back hyper again I was all set and opted for the surgery after researching all the pros and cons of the RAI/Surgery and staying on the Meds. I had a complete thyroidectomy on March 1 and to this date I have zero regrets about doing it. Luckily I have responded well to the Levoxyl and have had it tweeked a couple of times. My surgeon was terrific up in Nashua NH as I too live in Mass. Best of Luck.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: surgery???? #1065082

Hi Cynthia, I was put out under General Anesthesia they used Propofol. I remember going onto the table and asking what I was being "knocked out" with and when they told me that I said "Oh the Michael Jackson Drug" Lol and thats all I remember and the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. I had a wonderful surgeon who specialized in Thyroidectomies and my scar is healing quit nicely. It was about 2inches long. I did have trouble sleeping before surgery and to be honest sometimes I still do but we are still in the Midst of finding my "sweet spot" for medication and what works for me and its been tweeked a couple of times but the way I feel now is so much better than the way I was prior.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: surgery???? #1065078

Hi Cynthia, I had at Total Thyroidectomy on March 1 and personally for me after weighing out the Pro’s and Con’s of each the surgery was the best way for me to proceed and to this day I have zero regrets. I feel so much better than I did prior to the surgery, the heart palpitations went away, my eyes felt better because I have a touch of thyroid eye disease. The tremors stopped, I stopped losing hair. I have had my medication tweeked twice so far and haven’t gained any weight which was a concern for me. The surgery was a walk in the park for being my first surgery, I was out of the hospital within 24 hrs with no damage to my vocal cords or parathyroid glands. I had sterile strips placed of the incision which was closed with some sort of adhesive glue. Best of Luck with which ever path you choose.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Recovery time? #1065428

Hello, I had a TT back in March and it was my first surgery and personally it was a walk in the park. I was home within 24 hrs and the only pain I had was a minor sore throat from a breathing tube from the anesthesia. I took a week off from work, I work at a desk though but on the phone all day. I had my surgery on a Monday and literally by Wednesday I felt better than I ever did. I tried remission for 3 yrs as well and finally got fed up this past February. My surgeon told me that my only restrictions were not lifting anything heavy and no strenuous excercise and to be careful when turning my neck. My incision was super glued it seems with sterile strips placed on it which fell off on their own.

Wish you the best of luck on your decision.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Decisions, TT or RAI #1065876

Hello. I was in the same boat. I was diagnosed with Graves back in April of 2007 and after going into remission twice and then all the ups and downs I was ready to be done with it. After doing my research and weighing the pros and cons of each and listening to the success stories of each with different people and looking at my own situation the best option for me was a TT. I happen to chose the TT due to the fact that I am 32yrs old and my husband and I are planning for children and didnt want to wait the 6-12 month time period to plan for children. I also have TED and I have read conflicting stories that RAI could effect the eyes even more, that was a risk I didnt want to take and I didnt want to be one of these people who had to have it done all over again (I believe thats rare though but with my luck thats what would happen)! I had my TT on March 1 and for my first surgery it was a walk in the park with zero complications. They tell you you can have a parathyroid clipped or a vocal cord clipped as well but with an experienced surgeon the chances of that happening are less than 1%. My surgeon was terrific! I spent the night in the hospital as I had a drain in the neck. The pain was very minimal and extremely tolerable, it felt like I had a sore throat. To close the wound it was stitched from the inside and then some sort of adhesive placed on it with Sterile Strips covering it which fell off two weeks later on their own. Two days after the surgery I felt unbelievable! Completely normal, I wasn’t jittery or anxiety ridden like I had been, no palpitations and my eyes felt incredible! I could of taken two weeks off but it wasn’t warranted for me personally, I went back that following Tuesday. I am extremely happy and content with my decision to do the TT and have zero regrets. I started 125mg of levoxyl and its been a month now and still feeling great! At first I got some flack from a friend who had the RAI with zero complications from that and shes doing great too, she just thought I was a hypocondriac and over analyzed what could happen with RAI. I just told her that I was happy that she had a great experience with the RAI as most people do but personally I wasn’t comfortable.

I wish you luck on your decision, my advice is to do your research and do what you feel is best for you and your health.

Take Care, Kristi ” title=”Smile” />

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Surgery Complete! #1066279

Hi Sue, I hope your second opinion with your surgeon went well for you. It was a big decision for me to make, but I weighed the pros and cons of each and in my case with the dry eyes as Yes I do have Thyroid Eye Disease going the surgical route was the best choice for me and to this day I have no regrets. I had my Total Thyroidectomy on March 1 which went off with zero complications. I stayed 24 hours and recovered very nicely at home. By that Wednesday I felt so good, I was feeling bad for so long with anxiety, heart palpitations that I didnt know what normal was. I took a week off from work. I had a follow up with my endocrinologist 2 weeks after along with an appt with the Opthamologist and last week I had a post op appt with the surgeon and all of them were in agreement that I have improved so much! Before the surgery I had gotten some flack from a friend who had the RAI and my endo really thought that was the best route but after seeing how well I did after the surgery she thought otherwise! I wish you luck on your decision. Take Care Kristi

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Surgery Complete! #1066274

I can’t believe its been almost a month since the surgery! Time has flown by and I still feel terrific. Still on the 125mg of Levoxyl, due to have my labs done in Mid April. My eyes feel really good, I actually went and saw my ophthamologist two weeks ago and he said that my eyes look better than they did last October!

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Scared and Frustrated #1066632

Thank you. I definately feel more comfortable with my decision. I actually was at the hospital where the procedure is being done and was talking to a nurse who works on the floor where I will be spending the nite. She knew exactly who my surgeon was and said that he is one of the best and she sees thyroidectomy patients every other week. All that made me feel so much better! She said no worries about the general anesthesia very common because Im freaked out about that. She said most people freak a bit over the drain on the neck which is common. I kinda got some flack from a friend who had the RAI and she couldn’t get over the fact why I wouldnt do that, years ago when this started I probably would of. Now with my eyes the way they are and I hate feeling anxious this is the best decision.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Scared and Frustrated #1066629

Thank you! I feel more comfortable with my decision now. I flip flopped back and forth for a couple of days because I did have the RAI scan and uptake all set for next week. Im just all set with it. Lol. My eyes have been really dry, gritty, bloodshot and irritated for the past 3 weeks. They were doing good for a while. I think back in 2007 the first time the meds failed I should of gone the RAI route. However this is the best thing. Im really comfortable with the surgeon and although there are risks like anything, everything Ive read is that they are pretty minimal.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Scared and Frustrated #1066625

So I opted for surgery! March 1st. Got some slack from a friend who did the RAI, saying Im out of my mind to do the surgery as Im young. My thinking is, that it will be over and done with, either way I will end up hypo so lets move on and be done!

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Scared and Frustrated #1066622

Well I met with the surgeon yesterday and very impressed with him, very nice and supportive. Basically now the ball is in my court in regards to a more permanate solution. We went over all the concerns that I was having with the RAI and my reasonings for not doing it because of my eyes, wanting to start planning for pregnancy at the end of August and just my overall fear of being exposed to radiation and developing cancer down the road. He advised that graves and hyperthyroidsm is treated very successfully with the RAI and if he were to make the choice personally for himself he would do it and be comfortable with it. He said with anything there are risks. Most of the surgeries that he completes for a TT is due to nodules and cancer, on occation he said he does them for women in their child bearing years who are planning a child in 1-3 months but in my case if I went the RAI he wouldn’t forsee any issues. He looked at my eyes and hes said not meeting you before I would not even be able to tell that you had Graves. At the end, he said he would do whatever I wanted, if I wanted the surgical route he would be more than happy to help me. He suggested that I speak to my Endo again with my concerns over the RAI and then make a decision. I was so deadset in doing the surgery that when speaking to him about everything, RAI doesn’t seem so bad and I can go with the plans I have set for myself. So now Im going to take the weekend to think and waiting for a call back from the endo. Im so grateful that I found this discussion board. Ive learned a lot from many on here and it makes me feel better that I am in good company with people who understand what I am going through.

[kristi7877]

in reply to: Scared and Frustrated #1066619

My Endo called me on Friday and Im showing hyper again. She had asked me what I wanted to do and I told her I would like to go the surgical route. She seemed surprised and wanted to know why I didnt want to do the RAI? I told her I was actually scared by it as I want to plan for kids in the summer. She said there shouldn’t be any issues for wanting to try in August if I do this now. I had mentioned about my eyes and I was scared also if I try the RAI and it doesn’t work for some reason since I didn’t respond well to the meds with my luck! I know have a consulation Thursday. Now Im more confused and frustrated as I really dont know what to do. I want to be fixed and feel "normal" my moods are ridiculous.

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