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The effects of thyroid supplementation after thyroid surgery
In the past ten days I have found out that I have one 3.6 tumor on the left side of my thyroid and a 4. on the right. I have had 2 ultra sounds, an MRI and a fine needle biopsy resulting in a diagnosis of a TI-RADS 3, Bethesda category 111 on the left and a TI-RADS4, Bethesda category V1 papillary cancer on the right. Since each lobe has a large tumor, with one definitely cancerous and the other a "maybe" I am fairly sure the whole thyroid will have to be removed even though I would really prefer to keep the left side if at all possible. At this point, to help in my decision making, I would appreciate anyone's opinion on this type of surgery and on thyroid supplementation (synthetic or natural) after such a procedure and also how it has affected their life in general and well being?
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I may be facing this myself and I am so happy to see some one so positive .. I am going to be 69 this October and I have felt like my life is winding down, not much to look forward to except pain and discomfort .. but you give me hope, thank you !
@kmlnj
Do you know what your TSH and thyroid hormone levels are? When I had my right lobe removed, I became hypothyroid so they put me on 88 mcg of levothyroxine and then a few months later, they increase to 100 mcg. I did not get radiation or chemotherapy due to only finding a micro cancer which was contained in the lobe.
You want to make sure the thyroid medication is the right level for you because if it is too much, it could cause problems for your heart, etc.
My endocrinologist monitors everything. I had a recent blood test and she was pleased with levels. She did reduce the 137 by having me take 50 one day a week. But I will continue to understand this new journey we are on.
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1 ReactionI didn’t have my Thyroid removed at Moffitt since i had a nodule on one side and they would schedule the removal for the one side and not process the biopsy for the other side until after surgery and if the other side was cancerous another surgery would have been required . The Clayman Thyroid center processed the biopsies of the other side while in surgery and in my case it was cancerous and they removed both sides not requiring a 2nd surgery. Also, surgery scheduling at Moffitt was about two months out where scheduling at The Clayman center was two weeks. I see Dr. Agosto at Moffitt for follow up and she is great.
I'm bringing @dsh33782 into this discussion. He also goes to oncology and endcrinology at Moffitt. I hope you also saw the reply from @bobfal1 here about his experience https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1301749/
@shenvalpr18, how did your appointment go? What are next steps for you?
shenvalpr18
Hi, I've going to Moffitt for several years now for treatment. First I had esophageal cancer which they fixed with chemo and radiation. Next I had kidney cancer which Dr Spiece removed. Next I had thyroid cancer which Dr Otto removed from one side. Now I'm working on prostrate cancer and have had byopsy done which showed gleason score of 4+3=7. But I'm looking at radiation closer to home for treatment. I had a recent PMSA scan which was clear of cancer except for prostrate. Like Colleen I would like to hear how you are doing and proceeding with treatment for thyroid cancer?
Don
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1 ReactionThank you for referring me to previous comments. I did a lot of research prior to my appointment (maybe a bit too much because I was getting extremely anxious about everything) but I had a good appointment with Dr. Otto and she answered all my questions. I had ultrasound of my lymph nodes earlier that day and nothing suspicious was seen. The doctor recommended only taking the right side of my thyroid so that's what I'm going with. Surgery about a month from now. My only question now is how long it will take for my remaining thyroid to take over and if it needs help how soon will they put me on levoxothyrine? Am I going to feel bad for awhile until this part gets stabilized? I have been seeing an endocrinologist in the head and neck department at Moffitt for almost 5 years now and that's how I was referred to Dr. Otto who is in the same deparment.
I was scheduled to have one side of my thyroid removed at the Clayman Thyroid Center and when i was in surgery they did testing on the other side and found it cancerous and removed both sides. Since i had both sides removed i started Synthroid immediately and also Calcitriol for a short until my parathyroid glands started working again. From my little knowledge of medicine the parathyroid glands get disturbed during surgery and start functioning again after a short time and i was also told we only need one of the two parathyroid glands to function. I only felt uncomfortable for about 3 days. Since The Clayman Thyroid Center doesn’t do followup care, I went to Moffitt for initial followup and now lab work and ultrasounds every 6 months.
I have gotten a lot of good feedback. It has given me some new insight on what to expect post surgery. Also, some new concerns. As the comments have shown, many have various takes according to their differing circumstances. Having thyroid surgery on 6/02, so I will have my own story to tell. Appreciate all of the input.