Until recently, I felt like I was in a bit of a bad loop with trying to decide whether or not to incorporate green tea into my diet. On one hand, green tea is touted to have antioxidant properties that I was certain would be helpful in my fight with thyroid cancer. On the other hand, I'd been reading about the high fluoride content in green teas, and I feel like fluoride absorption is what got my thyroid intro trouble in the first place. Until recently, I was avoiding tea in general because of this, and then I happened upon white teas. For more details on my comparison between green tea and white tea, read on here.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2012
No more Ultra TUMS!
Ever since my total thyroidectomy, I've been chewing more Ultra TUMS than I care to remember. I finally got the go ahead from my endocrinologist to just take a regular calcium supplement and vitamin D instead, so I started looking around for a great calcium supplement to meet my calcium and vitamin D needs. I also wanted to try to find something as close to natural as possible. I've been really happy with Rainbow Light's Food Based Calcium (with vitamin D and magnesium).
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Types of Hypothyroidism
When I first started researching causes for my hypothyroidism (started back in 2006), I was simply told to avoid soy. While avoidance of goitrogenic foods such as soy is very important for healthy thyroid function, it barely cracks the tip of the iceberg on causes of hypothyroidism. My research led me to write a single resource that can act as a starting point for patients seeking to understand more about why hypothyroidism is affecting them. Head on over to Hub Pages to check it out!
My Surgery Experience
Monday July 16th, 2012 – 7 a.m.
Said good bye to the kids and my parents and started off to the hospital in rush hour traffic! Reached the pre-op center at around 8:45 a.m. My husband ate some breakfast while I watched him (nt allowed to eat after midnight, but I was not really hungry though, too nervous) and we checked in to pre-op around 9:15 a.m.
After a short wait, I was taken in to pre-op and asked to change into a gown/slippers/hair net. My clothes and shoes were neatly packed into a garment bag and sent to my recovery room ahead of me. Several nurses came by to take vitals, ask me a bunch of questions (do you smoke, etc.) and I got my IV inserted. The nurse said that it would be the most painful part of my day (which was true, but she didn't say anything about the following days!) :-D
I was the second surgery on my surgeon's list of the day, so someone from the surgical team came by every half hour to let me know how the first surgery was going and when I could expect to go in. Everyone on the surgical team had heard from my surgeon that I am a singer and the anesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses all said they would take the greatest care possible with my voice. Most of the staff held my hand for a bit or patted me on the back and helped me feel reassured and get through that ghastly waiting time in pre-op (so nerve wracking!)
Monday July 16th, 2012 - 12:30 p.m.
Nurse came by to walk me down to the OR. Kissed/hugged my husband good bye and he was off to the main lobby where a nurse said she would come by every 1-2 hours to give him an update.
I got to the OR and everyone gave me a big "Hi!". Before I even reiterated anything to the anesthesia team, my surgeon called the OR himself and told them to give me a size 6 intubation tube because of my singing voice. The team in the OR asked me to sing a song and gave me something to relax. They must have knocked me out while I was singing because I don't remember finishing the song, but it was a lovely and peaceful way to go under. :)
Monday July 16th, 2012 - 6:30 p.m.
I remember waking up in the OR and being moved to my recovery bed. The next thing I remember is being in PACU (post anesthesia care unit I believe) and my nurse giving me some morphine, calcium, and calcitrol. I had some tingling, but nothing too bad.
The next time I woke up, my husband was there to spend a few minutes with me. As he was about to leave, my surgeon came by to give me an update on what happened. I was originally scheduled for a total thyroidectomy with some exploration of the adjacent lymph nodes. Once my surgeon took a look inside, my neck was a MESS apparently. I had tumors on my right side wrapped around my recurrent laryngeal nerve, two affected parathyroids, and several affected lymph nodes. My surgeon ended up removing the thyroid, the two parathyroids, doing a central neck dissection, removing several lymph nodes, and severing my right RLN (he brought in two other surgeons to consult during the surgery to make sure they had no other choice but to remove the part of the nerve mangled up in the tumor).
I was still woozy and he said "I'm not sure you'll fully remember the conversation but I'll come again in the morning to explain it again. It was a lot more involved than we expected, but you're going to be fine".
I stayed Monday Night in the PACU (usually patients move to recovery within 2 hours) because of calcium levels and also I was feeling nauseous on and off. I was connected to the drain and the IV, and to blood pressure and leg cuffs so I didn't really get much rest. I was pretty hopped up on morphine so I was able to close my eyes for a while.
Tuesday July 17th, 2012
My surgeon came back to check on me, went through the surgery again, but I asked him if we could talk again in the afternoon when my husband would also be there. He said he would come back. My husband came in around 8:00 a.m. and I got moved up to my recovery room.
The nurse ordered me a liquid breakfast (some vegetable broth, a lemon ice, and some jello) but as soon as I stood up to use the bathroom, I felt super nauseous again. So she gave me some anti nausea meds and I ended up waiting another couple of hours before trying to eat anything.
The surgical team came back in the afternoon and I had already drained 45cc by that time. He said I couldn't go home unless my 24 hour output from the drain was less than 30cc. We talked more about the surgery and he reassured me that in a few weeks (6-8) I could go see a laryngologist and we could discuss options to temporarily/permanently repair my severed right RLN.
By dinnertime, I was able to eat normally. I had pasta, roasted vegetables, garlic bread. I didn't let my pain get too bad, tried to stay ahead of it.
My roommate got discharged so I had the room all to myself Tuesday night. I still didn't sleep too well because while the pain medication helped with the general pain, I still had tons of stiffness in my neck and back (later I learned this was from me trying to hold my drain in place).
Wednesday July 18th, 2012
I saw my surgeon and his team bright and early in the morning as my husband and I were taking a walk around the floor. He checked my drain again and said if didn't have too much output by 2:00 p.m. he would discharge me. Unfortunately, the minute he I got back to my bed, my drain filled up (65 ccs!) so I pretty much figured I would be staying in the hospital Wednesday night too.
For some reason, I had the worst trouble with swallowing on Wednesday, my throat was super irritated so I tried a soft foods lunch (mashed potatoes, broth), but then by dinner I felt OK to eat regularly again (french fries!).
I had trouble sleeping again, my sore back was just getting worse and worse.
Thursday July 19th, 2012
After the big 65 cc drain I had on Wednesday morning, I had only put out another 5 cc. One of my surgeon's associates came by to remove my drain (ouchie) and then said the pharmacist and nurse would be by to discharge me. I also made a follow-up appointment to see my surgeon in one week.
The pharmacist came by with my medications - Synthroid, Calcitrol, Colace, Ultra TUMS, Percoset, and Senna.
The nurse came by, went over some care instructions (don't shower for 24 hours, no looking up at the ceiling for a few weeks, don't life anything greater than 10 lbs for a weeks, no upper body exercises for a few weeks)
I got dressed, said good luck to my new roommate who had come in Wednesday night and left for home!
My Story
I went in to the doctor in July 2011 for a lingering sore throat. I didn't see my regular physician, but one of the on-call doctors who was handling the walk-in appointments. As he palpated my throat, he mentioned that he felt a nodule on the right side and recommended that I get an ultrasound immediately.
He had a technician perform the ultrasound and sent me home. Later that week, I received my ultrasound results that indicated a irregular mass in the right lobe of my thyroid gland. It was noted to contain calcification and a biopsy was recommended. In early August, I visited with a local endocrinologist to discuss my options and he mentioned that he could take care of my biopsy right there. In retrospect, I should have consulted other doctors for a second opinion, and done my research on the best way to proceed with a biopsy, but I agreed to go ahead with the biopsy that day.
The results of the biopsy (known as a Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration or FNA) noted "significant findings" with some atypical characteristic, but overall, the report was inconclusive. The endocrinologist I had done the biopsy with said that I could proceed with a hemi-thyroidectomy (a procedure to removed the affected right lobe, but leave the left lobe of the thyroid gland intact) but it was no rush. This time, I did get a second opinion, unfortunately, (again in retrospect) the second opinion was worse than the first. The second endocrinologist I consulted told me not to worry about the results - "inconclusive" results meant nothing and that we would re-check everything in a few months.
In April 2012 (almost 9 months after my first biopsy), I had a repeat FNA performed. This time, we researched and found a pathologist who specialized in thyroid fine needle biopsy consultations. The biopsy experience was so different - the pathologist used an ultrasound to re-evaluate my entire thyroid (right and left), and my neck. He also used the ultrasound to guide his needle and ensure he was collecting samples from the right spots.
When I received the biopsy results in the end of April 2012, there was no mistake about it - positive for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Furthermore, the pathologist had found PTC spread beyond the thyroid in a lymph node as well. At this point, everything started to move forward full speed ahead.
I did some focused and intense research into the best head and neck surgeons in NY and came up with a short list of three surgeons. One of them was unfortunately not an in-network doctor in my health insurance. I met with the remaining two surgeons who both concurred that I would need a total thyroidectomy (complete removal of the thyroid gland), as well as a possible neck dissection to explore and remove any lymph nodes affected by PTC. Furthermore, following the removal of my thyroid (and affected lymph nodes), I would need to undergo radioactive iodine treatment to ablate any remaining microscopic thyroid tissue (malignant or benign) that surgery could not address.
I spent a lot of time blaming myself for waiting those 9 months to consult with a surgeon and not being more aggressive about advocating for myself after my first FNA results came back "inconclusive".
In July 2012, I had my total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection. My PTC was a lot more involved than the biopsy let on. I had carcinoma in my right lobe, microcarcinomas in my left lobe, two parathyroids affected by PTC, several affected lymph nodes, and a tumor wrapped around my right recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). My surgeon actually stopped the surgery and scrubbed out to discuss my RLN with two of his colleagues to make sure they had no other choice but to sever the RLN. My surgeon also told me that my PTC was so calcified, it was clear it had been there for many years. It was a small comfort to me that I didn't bring this upon myself by waiting those 9 months between my biopsies, but I did start to wonder about what in my diet and lifestyle choices I could have changed (and change moving forward) to make sure my future "me" was a healthier "me".
On September 17, 2012, I start my radioactive iodine treatment. It brings with it another host of concerns about my health and well-being moving forward.
My goal for this journal is to continue to share my story to help raise awareness of Thyroid Cancer (ThyCa) and research and share tips and tricks for healthier living. I hope you can join me on this life-long journey and I would love to hear your stories and advice as well!
He had a technician perform the ultrasound and sent me home. Later that week, I received my ultrasound results that indicated a irregular mass in the right lobe of my thyroid gland. It was noted to contain calcification and a biopsy was recommended. In early August, I visited with a local endocrinologist to discuss my options and he mentioned that he could take care of my biopsy right there. In retrospect, I should have consulted other doctors for a second opinion, and done my research on the best way to proceed with a biopsy, but I agreed to go ahead with the biopsy that day.
The results of the biopsy (known as a Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration or FNA) noted "significant findings" with some atypical characteristic, but overall, the report was inconclusive. The endocrinologist I had done the biopsy with said that I could proceed with a hemi-thyroidectomy (a procedure to removed the affected right lobe, but leave the left lobe of the thyroid gland intact) but it was no rush. This time, I did get a second opinion, unfortunately, (again in retrospect) the second opinion was worse than the first. The second endocrinologist I consulted told me not to worry about the results - "inconclusive" results meant nothing and that we would re-check everything in a few months.
In April 2012 (almost 9 months after my first biopsy), I had a repeat FNA performed. This time, we researched and found a pathologist who specialized in thyroid fine needle biopsy consultations. The biopsy experience was so different - the pathologist used an ultrasound to re-evaluate my entire thyroid (right and left), and my neck. He also used the ultrasound to guide his needle and ensure he was collecting samples from the right spots.
When I received the biopsy results in the end of April 2012, there was no mistake about it - positive for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Furthermore, the pathologist had found PTC spread beyond the thyroid in a lymph node as well. At this point, everything started to move forward full speed ahead.
I did some focused and intense research into the best head and neck surgeons in NY and came up with a short list of three surgeons. One of them was unfortunately not an in-network doctor in my health insurance. I met with the remaining two surgeons who both concurred that I would need a total thyroidectomy (complete removal of the thyroid gland), as well as a possible neck dissection to explore and remove any lymph nodes affected by PTC. Furthermore, following the removal of my thyroid (and affected lymph nodes), I would need to undergo radioactive iodine treatment to ablate any remaining microscopic thyroid tissue (malignant or benign) that surgery could not address.
I spent a lot of time blaming myself for waiting those 9 months to consult with a surgeon and not being more aggressive about advocating for myself after my first FNA results came back "inconclusive".
In July 2012, I had my total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection. My PTC was a lot more involved than the biopsy let on. I had carcinoma in my right lobe, microcarcinomas in my left lobe, two parathyroids affected by PTC, several affected lymph nodes, and a tumor wrapped around my right recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). My surgeon actually stopped the surgery and scrubbed out to discuss my RLN with two of his colleagues to make sure they had no other choice but to sever the RLN. My surgeon also told me that my PTC was so calcified, it was clear it had been there for many years. It was a small comfort to me that I didn't bring this upon myself by waiting those 9 months between my biopsies, but I did start to wonder about what in my diet and lifestyle choices I could have changed (and change moving forward) to make sure my future "me" was a healthier "me".
On September 17, 2012, I start my radioactive iodine treatment. It brings with it another host of concerns about my health and well-being moving forward.
My goal for this journal is to continue to share my story to help raise awareness of Thyroid Cancer (ThyCa) and research and share tips and tricks for healthier living. I hope you can join me on this life-long journey and I would love to hear your stories and advice as well!
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