I have had thyroid surgery Nov 3rd, 2006 for Hypotyroidism- I am still tired, loosing my hair extremly moody 0 - 80 in seconds. Have not lost any weight. I have also had damage done to my left voical cord. It is completely paralyzed. I can not sing, shout, scream. I sound like I have laryngitis all the time. When my voice is weak, most people think I am deaf. The doctors stats that they saw the nerve endings. The doctors have said that it would take aprox. 6 weeks to get my voice back. Then it was move to 3 months then 6 months now the extended it to 9 months to a year. They state that this is common. How common is this. I was to believe that in a few weeks I would be back to noraml. I am so fustrated and can cry my emotions are all screwed up. Please advise.
Thank you
2007-03-18 02:27:07 · 4 answers · asked by Paws 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Other - Diseases
I had a thyroidectomy a little over 3 years ago. And I think when I looked at the surgery one complication was damage to the vocal cords. If my memory serves me correct it was 7%. I did not suffer any complications like this.
I did suffer the emotional side effects of not having a thyroid. I am more emotional now than I was before the surgery, but the 1st year was the worse. I suffered from depression for a time, just remember most of the emotional problems are temporary. When you are at your proper thyroid medication level most of your emotional changes will disappear.
Just look in the wikipedia.
Laryngeal nerve injury in about 1% of patients, in particular the recurrent laryngeal nerve: Unilateral damage results in a hoarse voice.
From Georgetown University site:
Great care is taken to protect the recurrent laryngeal and superior laryngeal nerves during surgery, and almost all patients have normal function of these nerves following surgery. If present, temporary weakness will usually recover in 3-4 months without the need for any additional therapy. Permanent weakness can also occur, but is very rare if the nerve is visibly intact at the conclusion of the procedure.
2007-03-18 02:52:48 · answer #1 · answered by no_frills 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hey!
Sorry about the complications. The truth is the normalisation period for voice after such a surgery is maximum 2 months. You might want to get second oppinion!?
If you had surgery for hypothyroidism, how is the status now? You will not loose the wt until it normalises...and taking in concern the other symptoms you have...I would say you are still hypothyroitic...arent you taking any medications/substituites?
Hope you find some closure to this.
2007-03-18 09:33:42 · answer #2 · answered by inlove 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hey there,Paws.Im sorry to hear that.I dont have much knowledge abt this,but I read somewhere that "complications after thyroid surgery are rare. They include bleeding, a hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, numbness of the skin on the neck, and low blood calcium. Most complications go away after a few weeks. Patients who have all of their thyroid gland removed have a higher risk of low blood calcium post-operatively.
Patients who have thyroid surgery may be required to take thyroid medication to replace thyroid hormones after surgery. Some patients may need to take calcium replacement if their blood calcium is low. This will depend on how much thyroid gland remains, and what was found during surgery. If you have any questions about thyroid surgery, ask your doctor and he or she will answer them in detail".
Why dont you take a second opinion?Consult another doc and see what he/she has to say abt it,right?Best of luck and keep the faith.
2007-03-18 09:36:40 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
http://www.thyroidsurgery.org/complications.htm
2007-03-18 09:38:47 · answer #4 · answered by dee_ann 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋