My Experience

I ended up having a partial thyroidectomy. I had developed a cough that never seemed to resolve itself. I saw my primary care physician who treated me with antibiotics, inhalers, cough syrups and allergy medication. But the cough never went away. After still another doctor’s visit and examination a chest X-ray was ordered. The X-ray showed that my lungs were clear so a CAT scan was ordered. The CAT scan showed something in my throat/neck area so an ultrasound was ordered. The ultrasound showed seven nodules in one thyroid lobe as well as a cyst and a couple of nodules in the other lobe with possible isthmus involvement. The next step was to be referred to a specialist.

I saw an ENT who happened to specialize in thyroid disorders. I saw him for an initial consultation and he reviewed both the ultrasound and CAT scan results. I was initially skeptical about the ENT’s practice because it looked busy and the front desk staff wasn’t exactly warm and friendly. But sometimes getting past the front desk staff, you will find the best physicians. I work at a front desk in a dental office and we’re the first people you see/meet or speak to on the phone so making a good first impression is what I feel is important.

Fortunately, in this case meeting the doctor made me feel so much better. He made feel like I wasn’t just being a baby or a hypochondriac. He took the time to reassure me that this was the right place to be to have my throat evaluated. The next set of appointments in the office went more smoothly. I understand the ringing of the phones and the delay in being seen by the doctor, etc. It’s a very busy office. So I sat and waited, knowing I would get my turn with him and that he would answer all my questions and take the very best care of me.

As part of my evaluation I had a fine needle aspiration biopsy. Those results were inconclusive so I had another biopsy. We decided to go with surgery after communicating via telephone as well as email about the results of the second biopsy were still inconclusive. We decided that surgery would provide the definitive answer I was looking for.

The doctor’s secretary called me at work to schedule the surgery. She also handled all the insurance issues for me. The surgery was booked for my birthday. Happy Birthday to me! I had a pre operative visit including blood work, an EKG and another chest X-ray. I was told to have nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before the surgery, although they said I could have clear liquids up to a couple of hours before.

My hospital experience was not really what we had expected. My husband and I arrived at the appointed time, sat in a waiting room with a lot of other patients for a long time before I was called for pre admissions. Sorry, they said, we forgot to tell you that the surgery time had been pushed back by four hours. After determining that my blood pressure was too high I was finally cleared by the anesthesia department to proceed with the surgery. After the procedure, I woke up in recovery with some terrific nurses who really know their job.

Blood pressure problems and a bleeding/clotting issue kept me staying overnight for observation. I was on the pediatric ward because no beds were available but that was okay, I was way too out of it to care where I was sleeping that night. I went home the next day with prescriptions for pain medication and antibiotics.

There was pain involved with the incision, on a scale of 1-10 probably an 8, and it was not totally relieved by the Percocet. The antibiotics made me sick to my stomach. The anesthesia hangover lasted about two days. I was advised not to drive until my first post op visit that was four days later, and not to lift or do anything strenuous for 7-10 days. I took 10 days off from work but really and truly could have used two weeks off to recover. My neck was sore, the incision was nasty-looking, and the bruising was not expected and distressed me. On my first post op visit I had vasovagal nerve response (lightheaded).

My best advice is to lay low, stay on the couch, order take out and let your spouse take over as much of the chores as possible including shuttling kids around, paying bills, laundry and meals. I mean it! I hung out on the couch during the day, took the pain meds for four days and tried switching to Tylenol too soon.