Thyroid Cancer, Anyone?

[MrsDuck]

I don't think they are doing them again. I don't know about the 5 day thing so maybe they will?

I'm like you I just want to get it over and done with I hate all this waiting around.

Are you having it done in day surgery or are you in overnight? I go in at 8am have the op sometime between 9 and midday it apparently takes about an hour and then they keep you for about 4-5 hours then you can go home (all being well)

 

[Whisper]

I'm going in at midday then having it sometime in the afternoon, really depends on the surgeon and which case he wants to do first i suppose, no idea how long it will take (not been told), but i am staying for 1night (planned), depends how everything goes i guess.

x

 

[MrsDuck]

I'm going in at midday then having it sometime in the afternoon, really depends on the surgeon and which case he wants to do first i suppose, no idea how long it will take (not been told), but i am staying for 1night (planned), depends how everything goes i guess.

x

I hope all goes well whisper xx

 

[MrsDuck]

Whisper how did everything go today?

Afm it looks like last Friday was a complete waste of time I've had in the post today the exact same letter for the pre op assessment but this time with the consultant instead of the nurse and an admission date of 23 July?? so much for Monday.....I'm sick of waiting now I just want it done

 

[Whisper]

Oh no, sorry to hear that Mrs Duck.

I had blood tests done monday, but my op isn't until tomorrow, i shall let you know when i come out.

Why are they making you wait so long? Is there a number you can call on the letter to speak to someone about a cancellation date or to bring the date forward?

 

[kenzi26]

MsDuck~ Wow that is a long wait. I hope you can get it resolved soon!

Whisper~ Good luck tomorrow!


I don't know if I can wait until my appointment on the 16th. I'm getting so tired and sluggish. And, since my 5 month old is teething, she is waking several times per night. I've been up for the day at 4:30 with her for the past couple of days, which is torture on days that I work. I can't deal with this anymore. Why would they not let me schedule my endocrinology appt sooner??? I call every other day and explained to them that I already had the surgery but I'm told there are no openings yet. I'm just so tired.

 

[MrsDuck]

I suppose it is only 3 weeks away but it just seems to be dragging. The consultant who is doing it just had an op on his liver so maybe his recovery is taking longer than expected, I think I would rather wait the extra few weeks for him to be fit and well.

Good luck for tomorrow whisper I'm sure everything will be fine, I'm looking forward to your update when you are feeling up to posting xx

Kenzi I'm so sorry they are making you wait too, at least I feel fit and healthy I can't imagine how you are feeling, I hope you get your appointment soon xx

 

[Whisper]

Hi! So i'm back out of hospital now, i stayed for 2nights in total.

Everything before the op was pretty normal stuff, checking in etc. They gave me the drowsy medicine and i was asleep even before they gave me the anesthetic(i think or i passed out from anxiety lol) !

Not sure how long the op took, i did speak to the surgeon before about a pathologist being there to test the tissue etc he said nope it takes 2weeks for the results to come back, he asked me if i had been looking at 'Dr Google' and didn't seem impressed with my list of questions!
Not overly impressed as they didn't check the other side or the lymph nodes, so i guess i just have to wait for the results to come back, and if its bad news then i'll be back in a month to have the other side out.

So woke up from the op ok, i had 1 drain in and the pain was managable, (after the morphine) swallowing etc is painful as is turning my head, looking up etc.

My voice is kind of messed up, i can only really speak in a whisper and it hasn't really improved over the last couple of days, the doctor said it was a risk and may or may not come back as normal (its very annoying as people can hardly hear me and its such an effort to talk anyway - my kids really don't listen any more lol!)

The scar looks like its been glued together so i am very lucky to not need stitches/staples removed, i am quite excited to see the scar once the sterie strip bandages are removed.

Sorry if my report is very negative but i've not had the best experience, i fainted on the way back from the toilet, luckily i was sitting in the wheelchair and i had just called the nurse but i bumped the back of my head and pulled my scar, so everything is a bit sensitive. Then when the nurse was removing my drain, she was saying how in 30years no-one has ever fainted and its not painful, well yes i fainted again (i'm such a lightweight).

Think thats it for now, i have my follow up appointment in 2weeks time, i'll update in between if any significant happens.

Sorry if this doens't make much sense but the pain meds, make my head a bit fuzzy!

Hope everyone else is ok. x

 

[kenzi26]

Two weeks to get the results?!? Wow. I'm sorry you have to wait that long! That's definately not how we do things here. I am so thankful that my surgeon was very experienced and took everything out based on what he suspected, otherwise I would have had to have another surgery. Fingers crossed for you that everything comes back normal!!!!!!!!

Sorry to hear the operation was a bit rough. And your nurse has no idea what she is talking about if she says it isn't painful. You just had surgery, of course you are going to experience discomfort.

Rest up, and take care of yourself as you wait for the results. I hope everything turns out ok!!



On a different note, I finally got my hands on my actual pathology report, and my official diagnosis is papillary carcinoma, follicular variant, which is the most common form of thyroid cancer. Fingers crossed that I won't need radioactive iodine!!

 

[MrsDuck]

Hi wisper im glad you are ok and all went well.

Wow 2 nights in hospital, why so long, I'm hoping to be out the same day?

I think I'm going to be in the same boat with the removed tissue being sent off for testing.

I hope your voice returns once the swelling goes down. It's good news about not having stitches I know they are going to stich mine and then I will have to go back in 2 weeks to have them removed.

Thanks so much for the update, I hope your pain reduces soon so you can come off some of the pain meds So you can start to feel normal again.

Take care and rest up, any idea how long you will be off work?

Xxx

Kenzi fingers crossed for you that you dont need radioactive iodine. When will you find out?

 

[Whisper]

Yeah i thought two weeks was a long enough wait and then if its cancer then go back 2weeks after that for the rest to be taken out! The surgeon said on the day of the surgery he was operating on someone again that day to have the 2nd half taken out!

Glad to hear you finally got your results kenzi, fingers crossed they took everything out with the op and you won't need the iodine treatment. x

Mrs Duck - i think because my HB is always really low 9.4 before op and 9.3 after op that i take longer to recover, plus i have really low BP i think 86/56 after the op, plus the drain and the fainting episodes.
If you dont have a drain you probably will go home the same day, but honestly don't push yourself its much more restful in hospital (is for me anyway). The pain seems to be pretty bad for me but i have a low pain threshold and at the moment the mornings are worst.

I should have been given a sick note from the hospital for 2weeks off work but they were rubbish i didn't get anything, i found that although they were very good with most care they forgot about me a lot of the time, and spent most of their time with the people that cannot feed themselves (fair enough but they need more staff).

Hope you get your date soon. xx I'll try and post a piccie later.

 

[MrsDuck]

I'm dreading having to go back in for further surgery if i need it but that seems like how they do it in the uk it's a shame they can't test at the time of the first op so you don't have to go through it all again

How are you feeling now and how is your voice any improvement?

 

[FuzzyCaz]

Only just seen this.

I didn't have Thyroid Cancer but I did have a Total Thyroidectomy in May 2010 and this thread has bought up so many memories of how I was feeling in the run up to the op.

Hopefully now its done Whisper, you'll continue to improve and get life back on track.

MrsDuck - I would be VERY surprised if you're out the same day! I hope you're right, expecially as you've been told you should go home the same day...but it a bit more than a day-surgery procedure.

They'll usually want you in for at least one night, if nothing else they should want to check that your calcium levels don't nose-dive after the op. (The para-thyroids, responsible for regulating calcium levels, are literally just behind the thyroid gland, and can often get mighty upset during thyroid surgery).

My bloods were taken weekly up to my op, then again on the morning of my op, and then 6 hrly after the op until I was sent home...but my TSH/FT3/FT4 levels were all over the place, so they needed to be sure they cut me when my levels were as optimal as possible. For this I thank my Endo's Senior Registrar...he was completely wonderful in the run up to the op, tweaking my meds by miniscule amounts so that we hit the bullseye on the day! I saw more of him than I did of my husband in the run up to my op

I think I was in for three nights in the end, my chest drain had to stay in longer than normal because it was producing too much gunk. The nurse who removed mine told me it shouldn't be painful, although she wasn't going to promise, but that it *would* feel very unusual and/or unpleasant as the vacuum pipe came out of my chest. And she was right, its a VERY odd sensation!

my scar is bigger than average, simply due to the size of my goitre, and how firmly it had embedded itself in there..after promising me a 2" scar my surgeon did have the good grace to apologise for the length of it haha!....but to be honest, its barely noticeable these days.

I was writing a thyroid blog before, during, and for a while after my TT. Fee free to PM me for a link to it if you feel it may be of interest.

I can't remember who wrote it, but the consultant who condescendingly asked if you had been checking 'Dr. Google' needs a short-sharp lesson in talking to patients! You're about to let him cut you open, and do somethng that may change your life forever...of course you're going to do research, and he should answer *any* question you may have! That's the WHOLE point of the Pre-Op consultation!!! He tells you what will happen, what *may* go wrong, the likelihood of that happening, how they'll deal with it and your future post-op....and you get to ask him anything about the op that may be on your mind...anything less, and a complaint form needs to be filled out IMHO !

Wishing you the best of luck to Whisper & Kenzi for your post-op recovery, and the very best of luck (and a little virtual hand-holding) for MrsDuck for your surgery!

 

[Whisper]

Well things are improving well, my voice is still the same although it doesn't get tired out as quickly, some sounds are harder to pronounce some sounds i can't say at all, its very bizarre. I am still only really talking in a whisper, a really husky whisper (its hard work when sometimes i need to be louder than the kids and i am not even close).

Took the sterie strips off this morning and am quite impressed with the scar, i thought i would hate it but actually i really like it (i know its weird, lol i'm weird!), i haven't been out in public yet though so might get annoyed with people staring (it hurts at the moment to have anything touching it).

On a pain level i'm trying to not take the co-codamol they gave me as it makes me feel a bit woozy, but i don't really need them just taking a couple of ibuprofen as and when, hopefully tomorrow i won't take anything.

Think the swelling is bad as it feels like someone is constantly pressing their fingers into the front of my throat (not painful just a bit of a gaggy feeling) and this might be TMI but wind seems to get trapped for ages and then i do a weird burp and the pressure goes for a small time!?

Anyway picture time if you don't mind seeing it.....

I should add the second picture without bandages was taken this morning, its bit greasy looking as i rubbed some coconut oil into the skin around the wound.

 

[Whisper]

Thanks Fuzzycaz, only 1 more week to go till the results and life can hopefully get back to normality.

Its sounds like you had some really good care during your treatment, where did you get your treatment done?

I think mine is done with minimal contact, i am less than impressed to be honest but i guess i need to wait till next week to fully decide.

The condescending consultant was mine and i have the pleasure of speaking with him again next week, luckily my husband will be with me, i was a bit too out of sorts the day of surgery to say anything back to him but at my previous appointments he was very nice - maybe he was having a bad day!

I would be really interested in reading your blog. I know a TT is a much harder recovery but how long until you could drive and do normal things again, i wanted to drive tomorrow but my husband and mum insist i don't yet (because of my fainting episodes). I'm not going to push the subject anymore but i feel up to driving, how long did it take you?

 

[FuzzyCaz]

Well things are improving well, my voice is still the same although it doesn't get tired out as quickly, some sounds are harder to pronounce some sounds i can't say at all, its very bizarre. I am still only really talking in a whisper, a really husky whisper (its hard work when sometimes i need to be louder than the kids and i am not even close).

My voice was hoarse for a while afterwards, but it was hoarse in the run up to the op too, due to compression of my windpipe, so nobody noticed any difference

I didn't notice the going of the croakiness, I just remember realising one day (ages after the op) that my voice didn't have a rough croaky edge to it anymore.

But I couldn't sing.....for ages! Not a world-stopper....I only sing for myself - in the car or in the shower....but very odd to be singing away, with no sound coming out! Nothing, not a peep! Singing voice did come back though, much to hubby's disgust!

Took the sterie strips off this morning and am quite impressed with the scar, i thought i would hate it but actually i really like it (i know its weird, lol i'm weird!), i haven't been out in public yet though so might get annoyed with people staring (it hurts at the moment to have anything touching it).

The pics look great! Lovely, clean wound site! And nice and neat!

Don't worry about people staring! Did the hospital not tell you to keep it covered, and out of direct sunlight for at least 12 months? I wore thin silk scarves (light and non-irritating), and on the really hot days I put Factor 1-Million Sunblock on it, and tried to keep my back to the sun (ie keeping front of my neck in shade).

Think the swelling is bad as it feels like someone is constantly pressing their fingers into the front of my throat (not painful just a bit of a gaggy feeling) and this might be TMI but wind seems to get trapped for ages and then i do a weird burp and the pressure goes for a small time!?

LOL I used to love those burps! It felt like they'd trapped a load of air inside me during the op - I'm sure they didn't and I'm fairly sure its a normal part of recovery - I assume from neck/muscles having to work slightly differently during recovery, affecting swallowing etc.

Its sounds like you had some really good care during your treatment, where did you get your treatment done?

It was done here in Ireland...and I was lucky to have a really great ENT surgeon doing it - answered any question, even the stupid ones and was really approachable. Not the Prima Donna Mini-God that some surgeons think they are.

I would be really interested in reading your blog. I know a TT is a much harder recovery but how long until you could drive and do normal things again, i wanted to drive tomorrow but my husband and mum insist i don't yet (because of my fainting episodes). I'm not going to push the subject anymore but i feel up to driving, how long did it take you?[/QUOTE]

It was a while before I drove...and when I did start driving, purely through cabin fever and wanting some independence (haha!) I started too soon...turning the steering wheel was very painful, and looking left/right at junctions....well it didn't happen.....I just had to open the window, trust my ears, and when all was quiet, go for it.....not recommended

I'll PM you the blog link

 

[MrsDuck]

Fuzzycaz thanks for your post I just want to get it over and done with I feel like I'm stuck in limbo at the moment I can't plan anything.

Whisper I've been advised to check with my insurance company before attempting to drive as you may not be covered on your insurance.

Whisper thanks for posting the pics I would be happy if my scar was that neat and tidy.

I have bought various scarves for after the op but I hadn't realised I would have to keep it out of the sun for 12 months??

You should be getting your results back around the time I'm in for my op, I hope it's good news xx

 

[yumyum1979]

My husband was out the same day in at 10 home by 7 even when he went in to have a radical neck dicection ( ear to ear ) he was only in 3 days that was with over 50 staples in his neck . I think now a days they want you out ASAP lol , well good luck everyone . I wouldnt wish what my husband went through on anyone but on a good note his cancer cells calcitonin levels were at 37000. (bad ) and got results back Friday after going every 6montns to the royal Marsden and now it's dropped to 876 so we are so pleased love to all xx

 

[Whisper]

Thanks FuzzyCaz, you've been really helpful and i enjoyed reading some of your blog this morning, you've had soo much more process to go through than me. I've literally had 4 appointments Gp referral - ENT specialist - Ultrasound (FNA) - Consultant again - then op......So you can see why my information is soo limited and they didn't say anything to me about the care of the wound when i left hospital just leave it till my follow up appointment 2weeks later (no way those strips would have stayed on!).

Mrs Duck fingers crossed its soon, keep us posted on your date i wish you luck. The only advice i have is i expected less pain but longer recovery and actually i'm doing pretty good, its way way less painful than a c-section just in a really stupid awkward place.

Yumyum, thank you for sharing you husbands story with us, its great news he is recovering so well now, i don't know what those numbers mean but the lastest one looks pretty damn amazing!

My update is i have antibiotics, one side of the scar looks like it 'might' have an infection and i saw my lovely GP today (she spent quite a while talking about the op and results, my voice etc) so she didn't want to take any chances considering where it is, so they start tomorrow.

x

 

[MrsDuck]

Yumyum thank you for sharing you husbands experience I wish him well x

Whisper I hope you continue to recover very well and your infection doesn't get any worse. I hope I have the same recovery as you.

Good luck with your results, please keep us posted xx