Sigh…

Today was my 1month post-surgical check.  He liked the way my scar was looking [much better than the 1st surgery] but said it will probably get pinker before it starts to fade.  AOK with me - ‘tis turtleneck and sweater season after all!  I told him about my experience with the RAI and he seems to be the only Dr that wasn’t surprised to hear of the “no side effects” side effects.  I am scheduled for a whole body scan tomorrow morning and he said I can call him next week for the results.  He also said I need to come back in another 6 weeks for a follow-up and another neck ultrasound and that we will check my labs again to make sure my meds are the correct dose.  He also said I don’t have to keep taking my calcium supplements much longer.  Right now I'm on 1 Tums twice a day.  If you remember, I started out at 2 Tums 4 times a day after surgery because of injury to my parathyroids.

So then we turned to the topic of when I can go back to work.  I said I was thinking that after 2 weeks of being back on my thyroid meds, I should be good to go.  Dr seemed a bit hesitant and said I would still be exhausted and coming out of hypo hell at that point because my TSH is extremely high.  I bargained with him and said I could work from home when I was feeling the exhaustion and he agreed to write me the note!  So I'm set to return on October 19th as I originally planned! 

Here comes the sigh…SIGH…

If you have seen me over the last year, you know that last year I worked very hard to lose 25-30lbs over the summer.  I was feeling better than I had in a few years [aside from unexplained thyroid symptoms].  Over the holidays and such I had gained back 5-10lbs but still felt really good.

Before	After

Well since the start of this whole thyroid cancer mess in May, I have successfully gained back all but 5-10 of those hard lost pounds. What really sucks is in just one week before my RAI, I gained 10lbs!!!  Seriously?!  At that point I was eating less than 1,000 calories a day. Basically my TSH went so high that my metabolism became non-existent and all of my body functions slowed to a ridiculous point.  There were days when I didn’t even feel hungry because what I ate the day before was still there.  Yes, some of it is water retention and swelling from surgery, hypo hell, and RAI and when my TSH gets back to "normal” my metabolism will return to “normal.”  But you can bet your bippy the weight isn’t just going to magically fall off. [Another thing to liken to pregnancy?] I know that I can lose it again but I also know it is going to be a long, slow climb back to “normal.”  Thank God I haven’t sold/donated any of my bigger clothes yet!

Calci-YUM!

Tum, Tum, Tum, Tum….TUMS!

So my calcium is still all out of whack! I get crazy tingling in my hands, arms, feet… it basically feels like my hand fell asleep and is starting to wake back up almost constantly. The Dr. said that if I got this sensation in both hands and around my mouth that I would have to get checked ASAP. So far i’ve had both hands, one hand & one foot, or just my mouth tingling - but never 2 limbs plus my mouth at the same time. Believe me I will be having a chat with the Dr on Tuesday when my stitches get pulled out because this is nuts!

To combat a calcium plunge, i’ve been dutifully chewing on 2 peppermint Tums tablets every 4hours while i’m awake. That equals 8 peppermint Tums a day or approximately 160% of my daily recommended value. Even this cannot stop the tingling and I wonder if I will ever be able to stop chomping on the chewable chalky peppermint goodness that is Tums? I’m thinking I must have some parathyroid damage so is it permanent or are they in a recovery period? Only time will tell… in the meantime, its time for my 7th & 8th breath refreshers of the day!

Surgery #2 Update

I'm coming off some darvocet so bear with me ;o)

I know you are anxiously awaiting my update on surgery so here it goes! We got to the hospital pretty much on time (6:55am), picked up Grandpa in the lobby and headed to the surgery check in. We were surprised to find a nearly empty surgical check-in room! Either everyone was much earlier than me or much later or... they just didn't have a big schedule? Anyway, once I got checked in I waited maybe 10 minutes before getting called back to the pre-pre-surgery area. (btw i like their scale, it said i was 4lbs lighter than my home one) When we got back there I was told to pee in a cup (urine preg, required on all women of age) and disrobe and then wait. So wait we did... About 8am they took me to the pre-surgery area where my IV was started in my hand (ouch) and I chatted with my surgeon and anesthesiologists briefly. Then I got some happy medicine, dropped my parents off at the surgical waiting room, and remember being told to move to the other bed and then I was out!

I woke up in PACU to someone in the next bed moaning like crazy. I didn't make a sound and I think I startled the nurse when she saw my eyes were open. She asked if I was doing ok, I said yes but it was starting to hurt so off she went to get some meds. She came back with toradol and dilaudid - the good stuff - and I was feeling good in a matter of seconds. My mom came back to see me and it seemed like just a few minutes later I was off to my room! (this was maybe noonish?)

When I arrived on 5West I was promptly told that I had the best room on the floor -5 West has all private rooms and is usually reserved for hysterectomy patients (my connections are in the OBGYN world) and the views of downtown were amazing!

I was also near the helipad so I saw aeromed land and take off a few times. By this time I had several visitors in my room - Gma & Gpa K, Gpa S, Mom, Dad, Katie.. I started drifting off to sleep and they headed to grab lunch. Everyone was amazed that I was talking so well - much better than last time but this time they didn't have to scrape my vocal cord. I was armed with my new pink quilt (from work) and pink pillowcase (from Jessa) and all the nurses & techs loved it!

So basically my stay went like this: I had my vitals taken every 30mins-1hr, was poked by lab for calcium levels every 4-6hrs and got up to walk a couple times that night. They kept me packed with ice to keep some of the swelling down but I still have chubby cheeks :) Someone in surgery was a bit overzealous because the pulse ox was on so tight it had bent my nail down – yeah that hurt a bit. Then I noticed that my nose hurts a little because I have a bruise on the bridge of my nose and some slight bruising under my eyes from the breathing tube/mask. I also had betadine from my nose to the backs of my shoulders to about 5 inches below my collarbone. I guess I would rather have them be overly cautious!?

This morning I was told that although my calcium levels were still in the “good” range, they had continued to drop during my stay. My surgeon wanted them to stabilize before sending me home so I had Tums ordered and another blood draw. One of the side effects of my surgery is damage to the parathyroid glands which control blood calcium levels. Hypoparathyroidism (hypocalcemia plus hyperphosphatemia) can cause numbness & tingling, muscle cramps and in severe cases seizures. So you can see why they were concerned with my levels dropping… It means that my parathyroid glands took a bit of a beating through both surgeries. My last blood draw showed that my levels were stabilized after the Tums so I was able to come home!

Now i’m home and ready to ice and rest once again. I have darvocet for pain and have to take 2 Tums 4 times a day (8 total per day) until further notice. I have band aids in both elbows and on both hands from blood draws and IV’s and of course the giant bandage on my neck! :) That can come off tomorrow when I can finally shower so i’m eager to take a peek behind the “curtain.” I will be back at the Dr. on Tuesday to get my stitch out and then we start more blood draws to see how fast my TSH rises… hopefully it goes fast so I can get my RAI and be done!