My Experience

I had ongoing issues with hemorrhagic cysts on my thyroid gland that had been drained multiple times, but came back faster and larger after each draining. Eventually their presence began to affect my ability to swallow without discomfort, and made it difficult at times to catch my breath. In addition, the constant pressure on my throat began to induce some nausea, so it was time to get it taken care of.

There was very little preparation necessary before the total thyroidectomy. I was not on any medication, so the only prep was the basic fasting the day before.

Walking into a hospital for your own medical issues is always a bit daunting. Sitting in the waiting room anticipating what comes next is really the most anxiety-producing aspect of the day. Soon however I was greeted by a nurse after check-in to confirm all of my information and do another health history while walking me through the procedures of the day. Once finished I was back in the waiting room with my husband, getting ready for the actual trek to the surgery to begin.

I was finally called by another medical person to come in and prep for surgery. My information was triple checked and I was changed for surgery, given an IV, and brought down to a “holding area” for surgical patients. The doctors and nurses were terrific, but you do feel a bit helpless lying there next to other patients, hearing their conversations with nurses, and just waiting to be wheeled into the operating room. Once in the operating room, I have to say I was put at ease. I was surrounded by smiling faces, my surgeon whom I knew quite well at this point, and a very warm atmosphere. We even had some laughs before I fell asleep.

I woke up in the recovery room and that was probably the most difficult transition. I felt a good deal of pain but had to wait for someone to notice that my eyes were open as it wasn’t very easy to talk due to the intubation from the surgery. I had to ask for pain medication, but the one I was offered is one that causes me stomach pain, so I was given a very painful shot of another medication instead. Unfortunately the recovery room nurses were not as warm and pleasant as the original surgical staff.

Once I got to my room and got to see my husband I felt more at ease. My pain was much more controlled in my room than in recovery, so that was better as well. My throat was quite sore and I was quite groggy both from surgery and the meds, but I was really okay. My husband wanted to stay the night with me as I have had some rough experiences in hospitals in the past, but they were not able to accommodate him so he stayed and slept on the waiting room floor, which was too bad.

The following day before getting cleared to leave I had to have the surgical drain tube removed that was in my neck next to the side of the incision. The removal was very fast, but very startling and painful. It’s best to just bare it and be glad it’s over when it happens. A few hours later I was discharged with a prescription for thyroid medication and painkillers and was sent home.

The first few days at home after surgery were a bit of a blur. I was too reluctant to take the amount of pain medication, although properly prescribed, that I really needed, and that was a bad choice on my part. On the third day I went in to get my stitches out, and my pain meds had worn off, making for a tough experience. The person taking out my stitches was wonderful, and gave me all the time I needed, but I still almost passed out.

It was alarming to see the incision for the first time, but over time the healing has been amazing. As for recovery time, I was pretty useless for about a week, getting bursts of energy here and there and having a tough time sleeping, but by week two I was turning around and got consistently better from there.

Showering, however, was challenging! Trying to cover steri-strips so that you can wash your hair is next to impossible, so don’t plan on going out in public for a while. We tried bandages, saran wrap, and everything else you can imagine, so if you have a better idea, please pass it along to others.