Thyroidectomy Day22 - All the pills

I am taking a massive number of pills throughout the day. To be more accurate, they are mostly vitamins.

If you follow my vlog you know that I use a six position pill cup. The cup has dividers for six different sets of pills.

Thanks to Eatela Ramirez's suggestion in one of the forums, I downloaded an app called Mango Health. Mango Heath tells you when to take a medication, keeps track of what you have taken, and will report any drug interactions.

The most important thing Mango Health told me? Calcium has to be taken at least four hours after taking Thyroid medicine.

Failure to do this can reduce the Thyroid medicine's effectiveness. I had been only waiting 30 minutes and didn't know I was causing problems!

Here is my Feast of Pills for the day

I start the day, 6:30-7:00, with my Thyroid Hormone replacement pill. 

At 9:00 am, I take a bunch of vitamins: c, d, biotine, and a Claritin.

At 11:00 am I take 3.5 calcium pillls, a Calcitriol and Centrum multi vitamin.

Mid afternoon, around 4pm, I take 3.5 more calcium pills.

In the evening, around 9pm,  I take 3.5 more calcium pills with Calcitriol.

I would rather eat this many M&M's instead of vitamins, but, this is life post-Thyroideectomy.

Post Op 3 Weeks Update

I am three weeks post-op. Life has returned completly to normal except for the following:

1. I am massaging my scar. It is supposed to be 3-4 times per day but usually I am too busy. I do sunscreen it when going outside.

2. I have read that RAI can mess up your teeth. I read recommendations to be in the best oral health possible, so, I am brushing them everytime I think of it - 3 times per day.

3. I am taking a boatload of pills five times per day

4. As part of eating to heal, one meal per day is a salad

5. I get blood drawn twice per week to check calcium levels. This week is an additional draw for the upcoming Endocrine appointment

6. When I leave the house I wear a shirt with a button up collar because the scar is still very red. 

7. I avoid shirts, like t-shirts, that ride close to the neck because they provide irritation after a few hours

I think that is everything I do that is different. Life is normal and the same except for those items. My energy levels are high, I am not tired, my mood is good, and (except for one Friday) I am highly engaged at work. Life is good!

Thyroidectomy Scar Massage

There are as many ways to massage a scar as there are doctors. But I couldn't find any videos demonstrating any methods. Watch my video to learn the method I use.

Why should you massage a scar? Massage will help break down the collagen that forms in the scar so the scar has the best chance of turning into something hardly noticeable. 

When massaging, provide whatever pressure you feel comfortable with. If you aren't using lotion, the scar can become red and sore from friction if you are pushing too hard.

Also, as part of scar care, keep sun tan lotion on the scar, especially if you know you are going outside. Reapply the suntan lotion throughout the day. You'll need to do this for about a year to avoid the scar from picking up a dark pigmentation. 

I hope this helps!

First Day Back To The Gym

I often see the question "when can I return to the gym", or, "when can I work out". I will share my story in the hope it will help you out.

Four hours after surgery, I was active. I walked the hospital wing with the aid of a nurse or my wife. Initially the walking was useful to get the anathesia out of my system. But when I ended up staying in the hospital for four days while my calcium levels straightened out, walking became a way to break up the boredom.

In my continuing (and lately failing) attempts at weight control I am a frequent gym attendee: five to seven days per week for an hour. Before I put on 55 pounds (something that I probably incorrectly blame my thyroid for) I would often work out for several hours per day, and just two years ago I was running five miles every day.

So, excercising is not a challenge for me.

That is why I continued to walk when I left the hospital and went home. I used the treadmill for light and slow walks, building myself up, being careful to be sure I was ready and wasn't over doing it. I started at 1.5mph for 15 minutes at a time, and that was fine.

On Post-Op day 10, my surgeon cleared my for physical activity. Even so, I knew I wasn't ready for the gym. I just continued to walk on the treadmill.

By Day 15 I was feeling pretty good. I was walking 3.5mph for 30 minutes, twice per day. Yet I still didn't feel like I was ready to return to the gym.

Day 20 hit and I was ready to return. I am starting a 10 week cardo program that involves 15-30 minutes on a stationary bike, 30-60 minutes on elipticals, time split evenly between two of three completely different styles of elliptical.

I don't feel ready for weight/resistance training. In fact, I am very careful (and a little timid) about lifting anything too heavy around the house. I am confident I will overcome that... I have ten weeks before I need to switch up my workout by adding weights.

My advice (for what little it is worth)?Listen to your body. It will tell you when it is ready to increase activity. Don't push yourself while still healing. A little bit is OK - if you can do 1.5 mph for 15 minutes? Great! Finally, remain flexible to your body's needs. If you physically need a shorter workout or to take a day off? Do it. 

Thyroidectomy: What to have ready when returning home

Most people will spend the first night in the hospital after a total thyroidectomy. The purpose of the stay is, primarily, to make sure calcium levels are OK. Whether it takes one day or several days for Calcium to become acceptable, you will eventually be sent home. Under the best of conditions you will be up and about, able to care for yourself. However, you might not be so lucky. Therefore, there are some things you can do in advance to prepare for your arrival home.

The following is a list of items to have at the house:
Ice pack
heating pad
soup
soft foods
ice cream/Popsicle
books/magazines

Neck pillow
Ibruprofen and Tylenol
thermometer

Throat lozenges/hard candy
Chapstick
Straws

Hand sanitizer
portable fan

Tums/Rolaids

You may not be up for grocery shopping for several weeks. Therefore, stock up to get you by.

You can only lie in bed for so long. Preparing a comfortable chair with a blanket, pillow, and a small table would be beneficial. Easy access to a television, electronics, and cell/telephone will help the time pass.

Preparing these items in advance will help with an easy transition from hospital to home.

Thyroidectomy Scar First 20 Days

Exhaustion or Hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism can include being tired and depressed. I have read that some people will experience a hormone crash 2-4 weeks after a Thyroidectomy. Therefore I have been watching my mood, energy, and level of tiredness. Every day I score those three elements on a scale of 1-10. I have been fortunate to be able to score a 9 or 10 on everyday... Except for today.

Today is Day 19 of Post-Op and we need to do back-to-school clothes shopping for the boys. They are old enough to stay home alone, they hate clothes shopping, it is easier to just do it without them, so we leave them home. I hate clothes shopping worse than the boys - it is pure torture. If I had to choose between a poke in the eye versus clothes shopping? I would take a poke in the eye every time.

Luckily my wife loves to clothes shop or else we might never have new clothes in our house. She doesn't like shopping by herself so it is up to me to accompany her. 

We drove an hour to the other side of the city. 150 minutes at the mall were unproductive so we headed to Kohls. After four hours at Kohls, we left with several large bags of back to school clothes and clothes for my wife.

At somewhere around hour 3 at Kohls, something just stopped working correctly. I was drained of all energy, very tired, and had feelings of depression. I wanted to go home and go to bed.

Admittedly, four hours is a long time to do something that is close to torture. Maybe it was just natural exhaustion. Or maybe this was the result of a thyroid  hormone deficiency. 

Day 19 will get a bad score. Hopefully tomorrow will get a better score