I met with my endocrinologist on Wednesday, she was very a tune to my concerns with the Hashimoto’s, we went over everything and all of the available data and it pretty much came down to I could argue that a partial or total removal were best. So I kind ofhad to choose. So I spoke to my surgeon and let him know that I want him to go into the surgery with the priority be in my left lobe, but if that went well to go ahead and take the rest of it. He was in agreement. Thursday I had a total thyroidectomy, went very well, there was a moment where they almost severed one of the nerves on my right side, but he caught it and did didn’t damage it thank goodness. But people with Hashimoto’s do have thyroids that are usually inflamed, and can be hard to get out, my doctor described Hashimotos thyroids can be “sticky.” so it’s a bit of an additional challenge for surgeons, so it’s good to get an experienced surgeon.

The ultimate reason why I decided to go total is because that allows for more ways to monitor for recurrence in the future. If you get a partial you can really only monitor via ultrasound, but with a total they can use thyroglobulin levels, ultrasound, CT with contrast and also I could get Radio iodine if pathology comes back and they think I should do that. I also wanted to avoid a second surgery. Meeting with the endocrinologist was key, though, I would not have had my surgery until I was able to do that, so I would advise anyone that is about to have their surgery. Make sure you meet with your endocrinologist beforehand.