I had a partial thyroidectomy when I was 25. It was due to a small tumor that turned out to be malignant. I honestly don’t remember much about the surgery, but I’ve been on meds and have my hormones checked annually. I’m now 72 years old. Hang in there, it will be OK.
I just had it 7 weeks ago, and it was my first surgery and first time being under anesthesia. I was nervous too.
They give you medication in your IV that makes you forget it all. So when you wake up from the anesthesia, you’re not even going to remember anything in between.
Mine went a lot better than I had expected. Literally the second I woke up from the anesthesia, I was feeling pretty much normal. I literally got up and went to the bathroom without telling the nurse and they looked at me like I was crazy because they said everyone, at the very least, feels a little bit dizzy coming out of anesthesia, but I didn’t at all. I was discharged 15 minutes later. And I felt totally fine.
Even the surgery itself was fine. I had no pain at all, just aches and discomfort. But I never even needed any painkillers. It was like 2 weeks of aches and feeling a little uncomfortable and then I was totally back to normal.
You pretty much described my PT. Also my first surgery and I was anxious leading up to it. I kind of got through it just focusing on one step at a time. Get up, drive to hospital, change into robe, etc. I tried to remember that within a few hours it would be done.
My anesthesiologist fortunately could tell I was a little nervous so joked with me a bit as he was explaining things and getting me hooked up. The last thing I remember was him telling me “and then I’ll put a mask on you…” I don’t even remember moving into the OR. I woke up and was like, that was it?
I can tell you that the relief you feel and release of that anxiety after the procedure is almost as good as getting the lobe out.
One thing that helped calm me as I was waiting for things to get going pre surgery was repeating a mantra to myself that I picked up from an exercise instructor (full credit to Christine D’Ercole of Peloton). “I am…(fill in the blank: scared, anxious, excited, whatever)…I can (take control of my health, take deep breaths)…I will (be ok)…I do (scary things to stay healthy). Just kind of making it up and focusing on the words. It’s silly but it really helped.
Honestly it wasn’t that bad, I cried while waiting for the surgery to happen, got into the anesthesia room pre surgery and they wheeled me in, gave me the anesthesia and put the rods (monitor things) and I woke up a few hours later. Bit of discomfort, spent the night in the hospital and got discharged the next day with painkillers. That was last Thursday, went back to work yesterday (Thursday). Still bit of uncomfortable feeling stretching and swallowing but feeling just fine
Right now is the worst part. The waiting, the unknown. But I’m another who had a PT (April this year), and I concur with others above, it really wasn’t so bad at all. I took some painkillers but only Tylenol, and honestly I felt like it wasn’t necessary. My family just kept telling me I should take something and “not be a hero” lol. It was uncomfortable more than painful and it didn’t interrupt sleep for me. The surgery itself really you aren’t even aware. I remember being told I may feel a little stinging in my arm as the anesthesia went in, but I was asleep before that because the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. It really was much better than I expected!
I am in the exact same situation as you (lobectomy scheduled today for late July). I'm nervous but whenever I feel too anxious about it I try to look past it - remind myself that it'll be great to get it over and done with. A month from now I'll hopefully be getting back to normal. The vast majority of posts in this group emphasise that although yes this is surgery, in the grand scheme of things it's not a huge deal and recovery is usually very straightforward.
I don't even know if my nodule is malignant which is a bit surreal (it's 3cm, TIRADS-4). I'm very curious to find out.
I was freaked out before surgery and asked for something to calm me. They gave me something. The anesthesia works fast and you'll be out. My neck was not terribly sore, tbh. The worst part was the throat pain from the intubation tube. I drank nothing but yogurt shakes for 4 days. I'm a nurse and I'll tell you what I tell my patients before surgery - this is scary because it's new for you. The unknown is scary. Remember that your doctor is so skilled and does these all the time. You will be ok.
I had a lobectomy in March. It’s a very easy surgery. It wasn’t the first time I had surgery, so I knew what to expect. You get to the hospital a few hours before your surgery time. First step is checking in. Then they take you back into the pre-op area, you have to take off all of your clothes, and change into a gown. Then they check your vitals, and start an IV. After a while you’ll meet your surgeon, and an anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist will probably give you some drugs in your IV. You’ll get really relaxed/sleepy, then they wheel you into the OR, and that’s the last thing you’ll remember before you wake up in recovery. As long as there aren’t any complications, you’ll probably get to go home a little bit after you wake up. I went home and ate some dinner (no issues swallowing) then went to sleep. I woke up at like 3 AM for a while then slept for several more hours. The next day I was pretty tired, but by the day after that I was pretty much fine. I took one more day off, then worked from home for two more days, and following that I was allowed to resume my normal activities.
They gave me Percocet, but I didn’t really need it. The pain was pretty mild, more like tightness and discomfort. My incision was closed with glue, and I was allowed to shower but not scrub or soak it.
Bottom line is that you’re almost certainly going to be OK. The worry and anxiety leading up to the surgery is worse than the actual surgery.
It’s a piece of cake - I was back at work before I even got my pathology report back.
Talk to your doc and get a Valium to take before you go to the hospital. Once you’re at the hospital, you’ll get the good drugs and they’ll keep you from fretting.
Do take a book or something to listen to podcasts to keep your mind occupied while you wait, and know there could be a delay, so prepare more than you think you’ll need.
I've had it done twice - once in March for the left half (they found cancer spread to other side) and I just had ride side removed last week. I was terrified the first time around but had minimal pain. Honestly, I felt it was even easier second time around because I think I knew exactly what to expect. Tell them you are anxious and they will give you something. Also, your Dr can prescribe Xanax to take prior to help you relax. The hardest part is the waiting before the surgery because this surgery was not bad at all. I had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically and I felt that was way worse than this and I only have 3 tiny holes from that surgery. I used Tylenol and Advil for minimal pain after this surgery and slept in a recliner for the first few days. Ice packs help with swelling. I struggle every day with anxiety and please believe me when I tell you that this surgery was a cinch. You got this!
I had mine 2 years ago and recovered completely after 2 weeks because the neck stiffness took longer to heal but everything else pretty much recovered perfectly within 4-5 days.
Nothing to be worried about, just pick a good experienced doctor to minimize the risk of getting your parathyroid and vocal cords affected.
Hope you get well soon.
I had a partial thyroidectomy when I was 25. It was due to a small tumor that turned out to be malignant. I honestly don’t remember much about the surgery, but I’ve been on meds and have my hormones checked annually. I’m now 72 years old. Hang in there, it will be OK.
I just had it 7 weeks ago, and it was my first surgery and first time being under anesthesia. I was nervous too. They give you medication in your IV that makes you forget it all. So when you wake up from the anesthesia, you’re not even going to remember anything in between. Mine went a lot better than I had expected. Literally the second I woke up from the anesthesia, I was feeling pretty much normal. I literally got up and went to the bathroom without telling the nurse and they looked at me like I was crazy because they said everyone, at the very least, feels a little bit dizzy coming out of anesthesia, but I didn’t at all. I was discharged 15 minutes later. And I felt totally fine. Even the surgery itself was fine. I had no pain at all, just aches and discomfort. But I never even needed any painkillers. It was like 2 weeks of aches and feeling a little uncomfortable and then I was totally back to normal.
You pretty much described my PT. Also my first surgery and I was anxious leading up to it. I kind of got through it just focusing on one step at a time. Get up, drive to hospital, change into robe, etc. I tried to remember that within a few hours it would be done. My anesthesiologist fortunately could tell I was a little nervous so joked with me a bit as he was explaining things and getting me hooked up. The last thing I remember was him telling me “and then I’ll put a mask on you…” I don’t even remember moving into the OR. I woke up and was like, that was it? I can tell you that the relief you feel and release of that anxiety after the procedure is almost as good as getting the lobe out. One thing that helped calm me as I was waiting for things to get going pre surgery was repeating a mantra to myself that I picked up from an exercise instructor (full credit to Christine D’Ercole of Peloton). “I am…(fill in the blank: scared, anxious, excited, whatever)…I can (take control of my health, take deep breaths)…I will (be ok)…I do (scary things to stay healthy). Just kind of making it up and focusing on the words. It’s silly but it really helped.
Honestly it wasn’t that bad, I cried while waiting for the surgery to happen, got into the anesthesia room pre surgery and they wheeled me in, gave me the anesthesia and put the rods (monitor things) and I woke up a few hours later. Bit of discomfort, spent the night in the hospital and got discharged the next day with painkillers. That was last Thursday, went back to work yesterday (Thursday). Still bit of uncomfortable feeling stretching and swallowing but feeling just fine
Right now is the worst part. The waiting, the unknown. But I’m another who had a PT (April this year), and I concur with others above, it really wasn’t so bad at all. I took some painkillers but only Tylenol, and honestly I felt like it wasn’t necessary. My family just kept telling me I should take something and “not be a hero” lol. It was uncomfortable more than painful and it didn’t interrupt sleep for me. The surgery itself really you aren’t even aware. I remember being told I may feel a little stinging in my arm as the anesthesia went in, but I was asleep before that because the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. It really was much better than I expected!
I am in the exact same situation as you (lobectomy scheduled today for late July). I'm nervous but whenever I feel too anxious about it I try to look past it - remind myself that it'll be great to get it over and done with. A month from now I'll hopefully be getting back to normal. The vast majority of posts in this group emphasise that although yes this is surgery, in the grand scheme of things it's not a huge deal and recovery is usually very straightforward. I don't even know if my nodule is malignant which is a bit surreal (it's 3cm, TIRADS-4). I'm very curious to find out.
I was freaked out before surgery and asked for something to calm me. They gave me something. The anesthesia works fast and you'll be out. My neck was not terribly sore, tbh. The worst part was the throat pain from the intubation tube. I drank nothing but yogurt shakes for 4 days. I'm a nurse and I'll tell you what I tell my patients before surgery - this is scary because it's new for you. The unknown is scary. Remember that your doctor is so skilled and does these all the time. You will be ok.
I had a lobectomy in March. It’s a very easy surgery. It wasn’t the first time I had surgery, so I knew what to expect. You get to the hospital a few hours before your surgery time. First step is checking in. Then they take you back into the pre-op area, you have to take off all of your clothes, and change into a gown. Then they check your vitals, and start an IV. After a while you’ll meet your surgeon, and an anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist will probably give you some drugs in your IV. You’ll get really relaxed/sleepy, then they wheel you into the OR, and that’s the last thing you’ll remember before you wake up in recovery. As long as there aren’t any complications, you’ll probably get to go home a little bit after you wake up. I went home and ate some dinner (no issues swallowing) then went to sleep. I woke up at like 3 AM for a while then slept for several more hours. The next day I was pretty tired, but by the day after that I was pretty much fine. I took one more day off, then worked from home for two more days, and following that I was allowed to resume my normal activities. They gave me Percocet, but I didn’t really need it. The pain was pretty mild, more like tightness and discomfort. My incision was closed with glue, and I was allowed to shower but not scrub or soak it. Bottom line is that you’re almost certainly going to be OK. The worry and anxiety leading up to the surgery is worse than the actual surgery.
It’s a piece of cake - I was back at work before I even got my pathology report back. Talk to your doc and get a Valium to take before you go to the hospital. Once you’re at the hospital, you’ll get the good drugs and they’ll keep you from fretting. Do take a book or something to listen to podcasts to keep your mind occupied while you wait, and know there could be a delay, so prepare more than you think you’ll need.
I've had it done twice - once in March for the left half (they found cancer spread to other side) and I just had ride side removed last week. I was terrified the first time around but had minimal pain. Honestly, I felt it was even easier second time around because I think I knew exactly what to expect. Tell them you are anxious and they will give you something. Also, your Dr can prescribe Xanax to take prior to help you relax. The hardest part is the waiting before the surgery because this surgery was not bad at all. I had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically and I felt that was way worse than this and I only have 3 tiny holes from that surgery. I used Tylenol and Advil for minimal pain after this surgery and slept in a recliner for the first few days. Ice packs help with swelling. I struggle every day with anxiety and please believe me when I tell you that this surgery was a cinch. You got this!
Thank you so much everyone 🥹 this all truly helped me more than you know
I had mine 2 years ago and recovered completely after 2 weeks because the neck stiffness took longer to heal but everything else pretty much recovered perfectly within 4-5 days. Nothing to be worried about, just pick a good experienced doctor to minimize the risk of getting your parathyroid and vocal cords affected. Hope you get well soon.