I just had a right side of my thyroid removed for a benign Follicular nodule. My TSH prior to surgery was borderline hypo. I don't know what to expect now. Will my thyroid labs change now that half the thyroid is gone or will the remaining half just pick up the load? I've been reading about people going hypo after surgery and I don't know what to look out for? any suggestions?
I had my entire thyroid removed in March, due to thyroid cancer. Although my endo said my levels went down, the only thing I ever really noticed was weight gain, and possibly a little sluggishness. But, I think the main symptoms are: tiredness, depression, weight gain, forgetfulness, loss of hair, swelling in the face, and cold hands/feet. Anyone else can correct me if I'm wrong or add to these with any others.
Basically if you ever had too much too drink and happened to have to get up for work the next day....after that initial cup of coffee wears off and you feel like you have no idea how you are going to make it through the next 8 or 9 hours......that's kinda what hypo feels like.
There is a good chance that your other half will pick up the entire load for a long time and then burn out. There is also a chance that it will pick up the load forever and be fine. There is also a chance that you will be slightly hypo as the other side has trouble keeping up. You never know. My mom had half removed and was perfect for 1.5 years and then the other half died on her and she was slurring her words and bumping into furniture. We all thought she was drunk or something. Turned out she was reallly hypo.
Body temp is usually a pretty good indicator for those who take their temp regularly. When you start turning hypo, if it happens, you will probably feel a little colder than normal and your temp, particularly your waking basal temp will be low. Mine is commonly 96.2 degrees upon waking and Im hypo with hashi's.
Don't harp on it...just know what to look for in case you start turning hypo. You'll know....dizziness, muscle cramps, feeling out of sorts, really tired, depressed and a general sense of ickiness. Its like a really miserable rainy day. The biggest thing to know is that if it happens, act on it. Don't procrastinate and think its just a passing bug or something. Get checked out, measure your levels frequently and take meds if needed. Its a lot easier fixing hypo before it goes too long. You don't want yourself to get too hypo without meds available.
Last edited by nastyhashi; 06-05-2005 at 12:56 PM.
Just had surgery...what should I expect? 
Re: Just had surgery...what should I expect? 
