I need some advice for Additional Surgery on my Thyroid

[I Love Bailey]

Hi There!
Has anyone else had problems with their Thyroid post surgery?
I had my Thyroid out on 9/22/06 due to precancerous nodules on my Thyroid.
I have lost my voice! I sound like I have a continuous case of laryngitis.
I went to the Dr's today and she told me my left vocal cords are paralyzed...well that explains my voice loss (which my 2 teenagers don't mind )
She says I have 3 choices:
1) Surgery to put a plastic chip in my vocal cords...SAID NO! Will not do that!
2) Injection of Radiesse in my vocal cords...outpatient surgery..not sure..
3) Acupuncture and /or speech therapy in all 3 choices

Anybody else have any experience with this?
I am a bit discouraged at this point.
Thank you.

[yorkieK9trainer]

My mom has "Hashimoto's Disease" and had to have half of her thyroid removed. She doesn't have any issues w/ it now or further symptoms, thanks to the Synthroid that she's on.
However, w/ her vocal cords, she was having issues because of Acid Reflux...that's being controlled by medication too.

I wish you the best and I'd look more into option two and see if that holds a high success?

[FlDebra]

Originally Posted by I Love Bailey

Hi There!
Has anyone else had problems with their Thyroid post surgery?
I had my Thyroid out on 9/22/06 due to precancerous nodules on my Thyroid.
I have lost my voice! .

Actually I always sounded like I was hoarse before I had my thyroid out -- for same reason. I was hoarse after surgery for about 2 months, then it returned to normal. I still do not have a lot of force to my voice -- if I want to holler, it may come out a croak. You may still get your regular voice back, some take longer than others.

Can't offer any experience on the 3 choices you listed but I can refer you to a pretty good support site for thyroid and maybe someone there has had to go through that: http://thyroid.about.com Once there, scroll down on the list to left of page and click on FORUMS. Good luck!

BTW -- how are you doing with the thyroid meds? Took me quite a while and a few changes to find the right med and the right dose.

[I Love Bailey]

Originally Posted by FlDebra

Actually I always sounded like I was hoarse before I had my thyroid out -- for same reason. I was hoarse after surgery for about 2 months, then it returned to normal. I still do not have a lot of force to my voice -- if I want to holler, it may come out a croak. You may still get your regular voice back, some take longer than others.

Can't offer any experience on the 3 choices you listed but I can refer you to a pretty good support site for thyroid and maybe someone there has had to go through that: http://thyroid.about.com Once there, scroll down on the list to left of page and click on FORUMS. Good luck!

BTW -- how are you doing with the thyroid meds? Took me quite a while and a few changes to find the right med and the right dose.

No, I won't get my voice back unless I have some sort of procedure done to correct the paralyzed vocal cords. The Dr put a scope down my throat today and took some pictures as I was trying not to gag... but my left vocal cords do not move at all.
I am doing fine with synthroid, I have been on that for 6 years. I am now on 100 mcg. I have to have blood work done again soon, they had to remove one of my parathyroid glands at the same time. So my calcium levels have to be monitered closely for a while.
Thanks for the info, I'll check out the website.

[Patti]

My mom has a paralyzed vocal cord and they wanted to do surgery but she is in her late 80's and the surgery sounded too risky for her. She sounds hoarse all the time and is on thyroid medicine. She tried the speech therapy but decided it wasn't helping much. Maybe a second opinion would help you decide.

[I Love Bailey]

Well, this is my 4th opinion....I just want to talk to somebody who has had the injection of Radiesse in their vocal cords. Radiesse is primarily used for plastic surgery patients to fill in deep lines and plump their lips ...
This is affecting my job, because I have to talk to clients on the phone and they cannot understand me if they are hard of hearing.
I found this link, it was on health watch in Austin, Tx a few weeks ago:
http://www.news8austin.com/content/l...t/?ArID=175278

[newmommy]

OMG i went through this in early 2005. it was terrible. I thought i had one lump then they removed all of my right and 3/4 of my left thyroid. my voice sounded funny for months and hurt to talk .

[I Love Bailey]

Originally Posted by newmommy

OMG i went through this in early 2005. it was terrible. I thought i had one lump then they removed all of my right and 3/4 of my left thyroid. my voice sounded funny for months and hurt to talk .

This was by far the worst surgery I have ever had!! Thank goodness I never have to do that again. I thought it would get better on it's own but not a chance. Who did your surgery? Did you come into Reno?

[Monday]

Originally Posted by I Love Bailey

I am doing fine with synthroid, I have been on that for 6 years. I am now on 100 mcg. I have to have blood work done again soon, they had to remove one of my parathyroid glands at the same time. So my calcium levels have to be monitered closely for a while.
Thanks for the info, I'll check out the website.

I have been on synthroid for 6 months (0.025 mg ... kinda coral color round tablet).. I go back in January and he will do blood work. I only see him in July and January so far!


what do the calcium levels have to do with it?

I am also taking Forteo shotz b/c i had osteopenia ... No surgery in the conversation yet ... I surely hope not judging from what you all have to say about it ....


I have no experience with the surgery but I sure hope you can get help with your voice ... did they warn you that there might be such a side effect?

[Monday]

BTW, I was diagnosed with HYPOthyroidism ... does that make a difference from you guys???

[newmommy]

Originally Posted by I Love Bailey

This was by far the worst surgery I have ever had!! Thank goodness I never have to do that again. I thought it would get better on it's own but not a chance. Who did your surgery? Did you come into Reno?

I got it done in salt lake actually. and it freakin hurt for a long time.

[I Love Bailey]

[QUOTE=Monday]I have been on synthroid for 6 months (0.025 mg ... kinda coral color round tablet).. I go back in January and he will do blood work. I only see him in July and January so far!


what do the calcium levels have to do with it?

Yes, my doctor who did the surgery said it could happen but it was a very small risk. He said that it doesn't happen very often at all
I also have hypothyroidism, it makes ME very intolerant to cold.

Parathyroid glands regulate the calcium level in our bodies so that the nervous and muscular systems can function properly. They are located behind the thyroid. You have four, I only have 3 now because one was embedded in my very large thyroid gland.

[FlDebra]

I had at least one of my parathyroids removed too and had a calcium imbalance after my total thyroidectomy. My lips and around my mouth starting tingling and going numb. It was no problem, I just took 10 times the normal calcium dose for about 2 months. My remaining parathyroids finally came awake and took over.

Sorry you had such a bad time -- it was the easiest surgery I ever had. My thyroid was so enlarged that I actually felt a lot better right after surgery. It was such a relief to be able to swallow normally again. I think I was also greatly relieved as there was no invasive cancer. I had the FNA biopsy before the surgery and it was inconclusive due to abnormal cells. My scar is not bad at all either -- barely noticeable. I had a great surgeon -- a real joker. When I met him, I asked how much experience he had with thyroidectomies and he said they called him Mr. T because he took out so many thyroids. I figured a sene of humor on a surgeon was rare enough I would stick with him!

[I Love Bailey]

Originally Posted by FlDebra

I had at least one of my parathyroids removed too and had a calcium imbalance after my total thyroidectomy. My lips and around my mouth starting tingling and going numb. It was no problem, I just took 10 times the normal calcium dose for about 2 months. My remaining parathyroids finally came awake and took over.

Sorry you had such a bad time -- it was the easiest surgery I ever had. My thyroid was so enlarged that I actually felt a lot better right after surgery. It was such a relief to be able to swallow normally again. I think I was also greatly relieved as there was no invasive cancer. I had the FNA biopsy before the surgery and it was inconclusive due to abnormal cells. My scar is not bad at all either -- barely noticeable. I had a great surgeon -- a real joker. When I met him, I asked how much experience he had with thyroidectomies and he said they called him Mr. T because he took out so many thyroids. I figured a sene of humor on a surgeon was rare enough I would stick with him!

I have been taking extra calcium, I need to have another blood panel done.
My scar is looking very good, way better then I imagined. I'll try and post a picture of me a week after surgery...pretty bad...people would actually ask if I was knifed My family was very over protective and would block the stares of the overly curious.
I am going to try acupuncture first because it is the least invasive of all procedures and least expensive, the medical bills from this are killing me

[I Love Bailey]

This is a terrible picture of me, but was taken one week after my surgery.
This was the first day I got dressed to go out other then my pj's (to the Dr's to have bandages removed) Since I was not allowed to drive my son had to drive me. The bruising actually got a bit darker, I was asked several times if I had been attacked

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