After being diagnosed with Papilliary cancer found in my lymph nodes,
I had a total thyroidectomy in 2002. I was in hospital for one
night. The anesthetic is one you should watch out for, I was
vomiting most of the night, because I was so scared of the operation
I became constipated so the night before the surgery I decided to
take an herbal laxative. Stupid thing to do whether herbal or
chemical. I was ill all night. I know this affect was caused by the
laxative because I had surgery 3 weeks before to remove one of my
parathyroid glands (hence the thyroidectomy)and I was perfectly OK.

What the surgeon did not tell me, was that because they have to move
neck muscles out of the way to get to your thyroid, your neck muscles
will be very sensitive to movement for about a week. I was not told
this and felt good enough to drive 3 days after surgery. I suffered
for 2 weeks with pain, and ended up using heat pads to calm my neck
muscles (which worked very well.) I also had a small bone shaped
neck pillow, (purchased from CVS at the time) to help support my neck
while I slept. I found that incredibly helpful. Try not to twist
your neck - I did, the first time around and I think that helped with
my muscle problems afterwards. Second time around I did not twist my
neck at all for about a week, I walked around the house like a wooden
toy. But at least I was not repeating my first mistakes.

The surgery is fine, the recovery is OK too but I was lucky I had
help. My mother-in-law came to look after my son who was 4 at the
time. For the first 2 or 3 days after surgery because I was
prescribed Oxycodine, I slept for most of the time.

I had two surgeries in the same place 3 weeks apart, so as I just got
over one and then had to go and have another. My recovery from the
second surgery was great with no hick-ups (with the exception of my
using laxatives). I protected my neck, and used heat pads to soothe
the muscles. I used my bone shaped neck pillow to support my neck
when I slept or when someone took me in their car.

And I had help for the first few days after surgery until I stopped
needing the pain killers. I was OK after a few days, once I started
using Tylanol.

As I have just said I had two surgeries and my voice was not damaged
in the slightest. Obviously your neck and site of surgery is sore
for a while, and my voice was raspy for a few days, I found it
difficult to swallow for about a day or so, but after that, and again
after a few days everything settles down.

I was really curious to see the scar, but I was instructed not to
take the 'band-aid' off for at least 3-4 days. I did as I was told
because I did not want to get an infection in it. As it was I did
get a slight infection in just one tiny spot sized area right at the
end of the scar, and even today, I see the tiny dimple looking hole
it left against an otherwise perfectly seamless neck line - my scar
is more or less invisible to anyone not knowing I had the surgery.

Hopefully, all this will help you have a wonderful, quick and hassle
free recovery.

Take care

Debbie





--- In ThyroidDisease2@yahoogroups.com, "pacific_northwestwoman"
<pacific_northwestwoman@...> wrote:
>
> I was just diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, I am facing
surgery
> in the next couple of weeks, it sounds like if the find the cancer
on
> the right lobe nodule (which the dr says high probability due to
path
> report on fine needle aspir) they will do a total thyroidectomy.
Was
> the recoup and surgery hard? Olga
>