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in reply to: Thyroidectomy recovery #1172453
The first week I felt like I could do simple things. I had horrible chills for awhile, but they improved after about 10 days. Mine was done about one year ago, and I’m just starting to feel like I can be really, really active. I did miled exercise the months after surgery.
in reply to: Thyroid Surgery #1172346snelsen wrote:Hi PolishTym, my post is mostly about semantics and clarity.I have worked with a lot of surgeons. They tend to like to do the procedures they like to do. I imagine your surgeon is a general surgeon, who decided to call himself (or others call him) an endocrine surgeon. Not sure what all that entails, but I do think a surgeon who does 50 thyroidectomies a year or more, may or may not call themselves an endocrine surgeon. But it covers a lot of territory in the body.
In my case, the surgeon was described by the university hospital as a specialist in endocrine surgery, but he did chair the general surgery department at a large research university hospital. His research area is in endocrine surgery, and he trains others in thyroidectomies. The yearly number I was given was about 300 per year. I don’t know how he times to write research articles, too!
I bring this up simply to say we have our own comfort zones. For me, this fit my comfort zone. I understand the university culture and lingo, and his research productivity meant something for me. For others, not. Someone else might want a different kind of surgeon–maybe someone more down the street who they can see more. Or not surgery at all. But we each have to live with our decisions, and I haven’t regretted my surgery because it fit my comfort zone and was a success.
in reply to: Thyroid Surgery #1172340lilstorm92 wrote:PolishTym wrote:It was one of the hardest decision I ever had to make, but it was also one of the best. I don’t feel like my ‘old self’ but I feel much better than when hyperthyroid and on methimazole.Thanks so much for sharing!! Makes me feel a little better. I’m really leaning towards surgery. I just want to be done with my thyroid; it has caused me nothing but trouble.
Can I ask you why you chose surgery instead of RAI?
It was part gut, part head. I never felt comfortable with the RAI, although I respect other people’s preference for it. The thought of adding radioactive chemicals into my body always freaked me a bit.
I’ll be upfront that I don’t have a medical background, but I have a research doctorate that helped me evaluate the findings. I was able to access a number of peer-reviewed research articles, both domestic and foreign, through my university. Maybe I was biased by my gut, but I didn’t find the research supporting RAI over surgery convincing enough to change my position. There were strong arguments out there for surgery over RAI (e.g., RAI’s greater potential for eye problems or worsening eye problems; disagreements over dosing; some foreign organizations were suggesting longer isolation times than the Americans). One foreign study made a side note regarding America’s obsession with cost-saving measures, and the authors suggested this may be a factor in pushing RAI (e.g., cost of surgery; fear of lawsuits). A good amount of the foreign research was supportive of surgery, and the surgeon I chose was one of the domestic researchers.
My surgeon does a lot of procedures yearly–and he only does endocrine surgeries. His office had highly detailed information about the procedure and recovery. I felt very comfortable with him. I would not have allowed one of the local general or ENT surgeons do it, though. If I could not have had this surgeon perform it–he was literally called a “rock star” by other doctors–I might have gone with the RAI.
in reply to: Thyroid Surgery #1172338It was one of the hardest decision I ever had to make, but it was also one of the best. I don’t feel like my ‘old self’ but I feel much better than when hyperthyroid and on methimazole.
in reply to: Cannot Believe it… #1172315Great news! My endo told me that after my surgery I would know if my hair loss was due to methimazole or age. Mine has been coming back over the last year. I’m not back to where I was before the med, but it is much improved. So, I am happy for you. You’re not alone. Even my scalp ached.
in reply to: how long till brain is back? #1171999Sorry to hear about your memory problems. My memory was highly detailed visually until I got on methimazole, and then bam. It dropped like a rock. It has been getting better after surgery, but I think it is a slow return. Making more lists, jotting down more detailed notes in my calendar, saving more emails, and being more organized helped me.
Best wishes.
I’ll agree with James’ post. I haven’t made it back in my 40s with the disease, at least fitness-wise. But your son is young, and I suggest you give him some stories on now-retired football player Bobby Engram. He missed part of a season but he came back.
Maybe you should find a doctor who has worked with athletes? I’ve noticed a number of prominent people with the disease went pretty quickly with the RAIs or surgeries. Find an expert who can tell you whether this approach helps an athlete to get back quicker than someone who stays on meds for a year or two.
in reply to: Woke Up With Red Eyes.. #1171690My opthamologist said old floaters go away but new ones develop, and there isn’t much one can do about them. Bummer. Mine developed slowly in my teens and kicked up around when I was 21, but my sister’s floaters started when she was in her 30s or 40s and are fairly light.
in reply to: Woke Up With Red Eyes.. #1171687I don’t have TED, but I have some of the same conditions. I live by a farm field, so my eyes are constantly red and itchy. Going away from it makes my eyes feel better after some special eyedrops.
I also get some eye twitching at times, but mainly when I’ve been having to use one eye more than the other, like photographing and using a viewfinder.
Floaters are a real pain. My eye doc told me it is some kind of virus that you can’t get rid of.
That probably doesn’t help much, but some people without TED do they have some of the issues you describe.
Best wishes.
in reply to: The Shakes #1171373Gina wrote:Oh I hate the tremors! Mine is in both hands and sometimes I just shake all over in general. Someone hugs me and they say they can feel me shaking. I write quite often or at least I used to.How did you feel before and after surgery? No complications, right?
What finally led me to the surgery decision was I got really cold and was shaking all over. It didn’t last an excessive time, but it was enough for me to move from the anti-thyroid meds. The tremors had already made photographing really hard and I had mostly given up on it even with the meds. I see you’re in Ohio, which fortunately has some pretty large medical centers, but I don’t know about their endos.
After the surgery, I had no problems. In part, because I went to a great surgeon. He had me take a thorough physical from a doc who specialized in these physicals, and he felt confident to go ahead. I had to be careful moving around too much, and for about two weeks I was very, very cold.
in reply to: Is it bad to drink coffee #1171385I read that you can eliminate most of the caffeine in the caffeinated teas by tossing out the steeped water after 30 seconds, and then adding new water. It works pretty well for me, if someone likes black and green teas without caffeine.
in reply to: The Shakes #1171360I had some wicked tremors for awhile. Sometimes I had to use my left handle to stabilize my right hand while writing. The methimazole reduced the shakes, but my surgery made a dramatic difference.
It was a GP’s nurse who first noticed my tremors while taking my pulse. The GP thought it was just some inherited tremor. Too bad the GP didn’t think of Graves’ at the time.
in reply to: Is it bad to drink coffee #1171382Have you thought of tea? The juiced up kinds have less caffeine than tea, and I think easier on the stomach. I notice less jitters with tea, too.
in reply to: Depression #1171340Darcy43 wrote:Thanks for the post and the link on depression.On a side note: I wish that we could not *see* how many folks lurked on this page but did not reply. I was at my breaking point that night and it felt even more depressing to see that some folks read and looked at this but offered no support. I know, maybe they didn’t know what to say. It just made me feel a bit saddened. …..
Cannot wait until my meds really kick in and kick out my sensitivity chip. I won’t care so much then LOL. thanks for “lurking” if you are reading this and will not post a reply.
I think there are valid reasons for viewing posts without replying, such as seeking advice on a similar topic or feeling one’s own advice is redundant or not as valid as current ones.
I imagine a lot of people look at the posts regarding depression because so many of us have been hit by it to some degree and don’t know how to respond. I can’t add much but I agree about the sleep. Whatever your situation, you (we all) need that down time of sleep. It seems so much easier to handle things after a good sleep, and we know being hyperthyroid makes that tough.
in reply to: What about thyroidectomy? #1171280There are some good threads on this issue. I haven’t posted much but I am an advocate for considering surgery.
Outside of the simplest surgeries, it seems that going to a specialist is serious option to consider. My surgeon only does endocrine surgeries, and I drove 90 minutes for it. It was well worth it. One of the moderators suggested, I think, at least 50 a year. Mine does around 300 each year. I’d ask your endo which surgeon she/he would go to if needed to be done. I didn’t even consider a local ENT. And I didn’t have to worry about the post-RAI contamination around my kids!
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