Post surgery scar, 3 months

Taste

Three weeks later and I am still unable to taste foods fully.  I can taste some stronger flavors like onions, garlic and peppers.  I am also able to taste sweet foods, which is great!  Bread tastes bland to me. 

My doctor prescribed sucking on lemon drops 3 times a day for 10 days after the RAI.  Even though it's past that time, I'm still sucking on sour candies:  lemon drops, Lemonheads, and Sour Patch Kids.  I'm hoping that it will help to bring my taste back faster.

Post RAI scans

One week after the RAI treatment, I had a post-ablation body scan.  The scan lasted about 30 minutes.  My arms were strapped to my body to keep them out of the way of the machine.  I also had to lie still the entire time.  I was allowed to listen to my iPod during the scan.

In the scan above you can see where the RAI settled in my neck where the thyroid gland used to be.


There was a large uptake of the I 131 in my right salivary gland that concerned the radiologist, so he ordered a CT scan on my head and neck.  I again had to be strapped with my arms against my body and hold still for 25 minutes.  This time I wasn't allowed to listen to my iPod. 

My radiation oncologist was also concerned about the uptake of the RAI in my salivary gland, so he ordered an MRI.

I'll admit I was a bit scared for this scan.  A cage-type appartus was placed over my face and head.  I had to lie still for 25 minutes.  After 15 minutes, I was given an injection of Gadolinium, a contrast dye.  Then the scan continued.

I really had to focus on not having a panic attack and keeping my breathing under control.  I was given a panic button to push, but I figured the sooner the scan was over, the better.

My doctor called me today and said that after reviewing the scans, there were no signs of metastatic disease.  I'll need to go in for a follow-up in 6 months.

RAI treatment

I received 100 mCi dose of radioactive iodine on Thursday, Nov. 17th.  It was a capsule that I swallowed.  They kept me at the hospital for about 15-20 minutes.  I was very radioactive by the time they sent me home.  I had to ride in the back seat of a minivan for the hour ride home.

After 4 hours of ingesting it, I started to become nauseous.  I ate a small amount of dinner but didn't feel like eating much.  Went to bed around 9:00pm.

The next morning, I was still nauseous and started vomiting.  We called the doctor and they gave me a prescription for an antiemtic.  I tried to drink water throughout the day to help flush the I31 that wasn't absorbed by leftover thyroid tissue and cells. 

By the next day, I was feeling better and could eat a little bit.

I've had to spend most of my time in the bedroom and keep a 6 foot distance between me and my family.

Two days after the treatment, I was able to start a regular diet (no more low-iodine), start my new synthroid prescription and lemon drops.  Sucking on lemon drops prevents damage to the salivary glands.

On day 3, I noticed that I couldn't fully taste the foods I eat.  I'm hoping that it doesn't last too long!

Day 10 "Going Hypo"

Had my blood tests today.  TSH is 36 so I'm having the RAI treatment tomorrow.  After all the horror stories I've heard about being "hypo," it really has been bad this week.  I did take the week off from work and just taking it easy at home.  That might be helping to keep the "hypo" symptoms at bay.  I have been colder than usual, and occassional leg cramps.  Other than that, it hasn't been too awful.

Going "hypo," Day 4

I'm starting to feel it now.  I'm moving slower, my legs hurt a little bit.  Some light-headedness and slight dizziness.  Had to lay down for an hour when I got home from teaching school.  I was able to make dinner afterwards.  Going to bed early again tonight.

Going "hypo," Day 1

Stopped taking cytomel today.  No big difference felt.  I taught elementary school for 3 1/2 hours.  I wasn't any more tired than I usually am on Mondays.  I did go to bed at 10:00pm, instead of 11:00pm.

Post Surgery Scar

2 weeks post-op

3 weeks post-op

 

5 weeks post-op

6 weeks post-op

Surgery

I had surgery on Tuesday, September 20, 2011.  My entire thyroid was removed.  No cancer was found in the surrounding lymph nodes during surgery.  I spent the night in the hospital.  Every two hours someone came into my room to give me pain medication (morphine through IV), or to check my vital signs, or to check my respiration, or to take blood (for calcium level test).  I didn't get much sleep!  The doctor came to check on me around 1:00pm.  He was pleased with the amount of fluid that had drained from the surgery and that my calcium levels were pretty stable.  I was discharged shortly thereafter. 

My incision is being held closed with steri-strips.  This photo was taken six days after surgery:

After the steri-strips were taken off to be changed.

Most of my pain has been in swallowing, especially food.  I found that soft foods like jello, yogurt, smoothies, and milkshakes were the easiest things to eat the first two to three days.  I especially like milkshakes because the coldness feels good on my throat.  It has taken several days to get my appetite back to where it should be.  It also took several days to get my appetite back to normal.  I could eat, but just not large amounts of food.

The front of my neck feels heavy.  I have to remind myself to keep my head straight up and not hunch over.  The nurse told me that trying to protect the incision will cause more pain than the surgery itself!

I was able to stop taking the pain pills the fourth day following surgery. 

The diagnosis:

I went to my doctor in July 2011 for my annual exam.  She felt my thyroid and said that it felt enlarged.  She asked me if I had a family history of thyroid problems.  I told her that my sister, who is 32 years old, was diagnosed two years ago with thyroid cancer.  I am 45 years old. 

She sent me for an ultrasound to find out why it was enlarged.  The ultrasound found 4 nodules in my thyroid.  Thyroid nodules are pretty common, and less than 10% of the time they are cancer. 

Since I had the family history, she thought that I should then have a fine needle aspiration on the 2 largest nodules.

The procedure was done in the ultrasound room, by a radiologist.  I was injected with lidocaine on both sides of my thyroid first.  Then he used 4 needles to obtain a sample on the left side, and 3 needles for the right side.  The procedure wasn't very painful.

This is what my neck looked like after the procedure:

It hurt to swallow some foods and to laugh for a couple of days.

My doctor's office called me to come in as soon as they had the results. The first nodule tested, which is solid, is just a goiter.  The second nodule, which is cystic, is thyroid papillary carcinoma.

My doctor had already set up an appointment with an Ear/Nose/Throat physician to discuss my options.

He said that if the cancer hadn't spread to the lymph nodes, he could just remove the one side.  Or, I could have him remove the entire thyroid.  He said, "If it was my wife, I would have the entire gland removed."

It's been an emotional roller coaster since I've had the diagnosis.  My surgery was scheduled for 6 weeks after my diagnosis.  I really didn't want to wait that long, but his thyroid surgery schedule was booked up until then.