September 27, 2009

Happy Autumn Everyone!  Since I wrote my blog last Sunday, my voice has cleared up and gone back to normal.  I only have a little tickle in the back of my throat that requires me to cough every once in a while and the same is true for the need to clear my throat- only occasionally.  Another thing that is different is my neck’s appearance and how it “feels” from my perspective.  I have NO problems swallowing food anymore and it really feels like a tennis ball was removed from the front of my neck!  On the down side, the removal of such a big thyroid from my neck has left a little bit of loose skin under my chin.  I’m hoping the doctor will tell me that it will adjust to my new neckline over time, but I just don’t know!  My new routine includes leaving my Synthroid pill bottle by my bed, so that I can take my pill as soon as I wake in the morning.  (Note: Synthroid must be taken 30-60 minutes before eating and it should not be taken with any calcium supplements.) 

 I noticed that after about Tuesday I was physically ready to get out of the bed, out of the house, and accomplish some things, but my head didn’t seem to be ready.  I seemed to drag myself through the entire week, without accomplishing very much.  Normally, if I had four or five days at home to myself, I would have accomplished tons of things.  However, it was a struggle to get up every day.  Then, after I got up, I couldn’t seem to concentrate on a task to complete it.  In fact, I usually make a “to do list” so that I can mark things off as I accomplish them.  But, I am now realizing that the thought never once crossed my mind to make a “to do list” last week.  I also didn’t really have my usual strong desire to “get things done!”  I hoped that as the week progressed, my body would adjust to the thyroid medication and my mental status and I would get back to my normal “Get Things Done” attitude about life.  But, it never happened.  On Saturday (yesterday), I found myself lying in bed all day not really wanting to get up and go anywhere!  (The concept of lying in bed all day when there is so much to be done is a foreign concept to me.)  My husband was even thrown for a loop!  He pushed me to call the physician/surgeon on call to see if there was anything he could do.  Unfortunately, the surgeon on call told me that I would just have to wait until Monday and call to talk to my surgeon’s nurse.  She may want me to go to the lab to get my levels drawn to see if my thyroid medication needs to be adjusted.

 I talked to a friend who has been on thyroid medication for a number of years.  She told me that the dosage of thyroid medication takes some fine-tuning and that there is a small range that your thyroid levels must be in for you to feel good.  Even though everyone’s “feel good” range for your TSH is somewhere between .3- 3.0, each person’s feel good range inside that large range is different.  So, first thing on Monday morning, I will be calling the surgeon to see what he can do.  I tell you all of this not to bring you down or to make it sound like thyroid surgery is horrible, but just to let you know what a “real woman with diabetes” has experienced.  It certainly has not been horrendous.  The surgery itself was quite simple.  The most difficult part, as I am learning, is finding the correct dosage of medication after the thyroid has been removed.  I am hopeful that I will accomplish my goal of finding the correct level this week!  Say a prayer for me!  I will keep you updated on my new life without a thyroid.  If you have had thyroid surgery or have been put on thyroid medication, I encourage you to write to me about your experiences ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or post your experiences below.  It is always helpful to hear from other women who have gone through/are going through the same things.  It is also amazing how healing and empowering it can be to help another person simply by sharing your life experiences.  It gives so much purpose and meaning to every aspect of your life!  With that in mind, I encourage you to ask me any questions you’d like about my surgery, my thyroid experiences, etc.  If there is any way I can help you by sharing my experiences, I am more than happy to do so.

Until next week…

Brandy