Joana and thyroid peeps

I saw the surgeon today. He said that what I have is a follicular adenoma with a lot of blood supply to it. Anyway, I asked for another needle biopsy to be done and he agreed. However, I basically got the impression that surgery is definitely on the horizon.

Been off the Synthroid for almost 2 weeks now. Been trying to take care of myself i.e. exercising. I'm not feeling as 'hyper' as I was before. The Endo said I was a bit high last time he checked me, and I have to go back in for more blood work on the 28th.

Anyone else had thyroid surgery? I'm kind of nervous about the cutting part of the neck! Yikes. It sounds like they have to be so careful that they don't mess with anything else in the area. Now knee surgery doesn't seem that bad. At least it couldn't interfere with my voice

[Joana]

Awww Sweetie!!! Weird- just yesterday I was about to look for the old thread and ask how you are now......but then I got stuck watching a docu and sort of forgot about it.

This will sound stupid- but for a sec when reading your post I was like "Ha!! Gotcha!". Remember how I kept getting confused wether it was a hot or cold nodule as the info you gave was kind of conflicting (as in presuming it was cold but then it did have a lot of blood supply which would point to hot??). Now THAT is solved.

First good thing: adenomas are usually benign! And I am sure that is something nice to hear for you!! They usually cause trouble as they either get too big, thus people get probs with breathing etc.- or because they start producing hormones (autonome adenoma) sending peeps into hyperthyreosis.
Second good thing: MAYBE the reason your hormone levels were too high is the fact I stated above. Meaning: it wasn't the meds fault or your fault or the docs fault but maybe just the adenoma deciding it wanted to do some productive work.

As for the surgery- you are right, there CAN be complications, esp. with the voice. But they don't happen that often- esp. the ones that last. I've only seen one case where a woman only could whisper after the surgery. All the others- and they were the minority, most came out alright- recovered after a bit.
As I know you like facts and to be informed I will post three things that are issues when there is thyroid surgery- two of them I have NEVER heard happening, and the third being the "voice- issue".
One: there are many blood vessels around and in proximity of the thyroid. True. But the docs know very well where they are and what to avoid. I have not heard of a single case in my surroundings in the last years where there were probs concerning this issue.
Two: in former times sometimes the parathyroids were taken out by mistake when there was a total resection (removement) of the thyroid. They realized very soon that THAT is a real problem (I'll not go in it too deep as it would be loooong- just say this: the parathyroid produces hormones important for the calcium levels of your body- which are not only impacting your bones but how the whole system works.......). So they are REALLY careful when it comes to that- and I haven't heard of a case of that in recent times around here either.

Third: the voice issue. This is one that is indeed out there- but it happens to a minority, trust me. Thing is that along the thyroid there are also some nerves in charge of the vocal chords. One is called "nervus laryngeus recurrens". There is one of those on each side. Recurrens means that for reasons only known to mother nature and poor medstudenst like me (I'll spare you the details) he goes down, down, down first- makes a slick move around the Aorta on the left and the Arteria subclavia on the right- and then goes back up, up, up- passing the thyrdoid and going up to your vocal cords. He is in charge of "tightening them"- so you can speak loud for example.
Now- to make this plastic for you as you most likely have never seen a nerve: a nerve of that size looks like a teeny weeny thread. So usually the surgeons see it. In very few cases it gets hurt or cut- and then the people have a prob with their voice. Which can be lasting- but also go away after a while if the nerve hasn't been damaged too badly as they can slowly grow back.
You will- searching forums for example- surely hear MANY of those stories. Don't let them panic you and keep in mind that esp. those who DO have a prob are looking for advice. NOT the ones who came out alright.
In fact that little "nervus laryngeus recurrens" is a favourite subject in oral exams......but they usually make it more dramatic, stating there was an accident and the patient is fine but all of a sudden has a problem with speaking. Why?? Aorta get's in the way and the voice goes poof.

As for the cut: they are there but they are not huge. If it heals well you will hardly see anything after. The size also depends on wether they will take your whole thyroid out or not. But I think they will try to avoid taking the whole out and just focus on the adenoma. Of course someone fumbling around with your throat is an EWWW feeling- but remember that they only work on the surface and don't go deep as the thyroid is sitting and waiting for them right underneath your skin.

If they take the whole thyroid out- and even if they don't- you will no doubt have to go through another sh..... phase of having the hormones adjusted. Yep, sorry.

To sum it up: yes, there are few risks. No, haven't seen things like that happen often at all. Yep- normally the cuts do heal well and are almost not visible after they do. Yep, you will be up and about a day after the surgery.
No- no skipping the pills after.........

Hope this helped a little. As hard as it is: try and have a little faith in the doc. I know "we" can't be trusted - but try to. All the worries will just make it more stressful for you- and in every hospital I know thyroid surgery is a regular.....
Try to remember that once this is over and after a phase of recovery this issue will be done with!! Maybe that helps.

Hugs to you- and if you have questions or need to vent....you know where to find me.

[JudyBluEyes]

Mariposita, I'm so glad you finally found out what the problem is. The worst sometimes is not knowing what's going on. I hope everything goes well with your surgery and a speedy recovery.

I was hoping to hear from people who actually had the surgery. It's going to be a few weeks before they do it. Of all the bloody things, they now want to put me through a bunch of tests for my heart because daddy died from a heart attack and my mum actually has a heart problem. I think it's just my thyroid! Oh well, I guess that's why the premiums go up every year.

[MWC]

Check out some of the forums on webmd.com. They were invaluable to my husband and me, to get through his cancer treatments.