My thyroid needle biopsy was yesterday. They called me from the waiting room and I followed the nurse back. She opened a tiny closet that had a bench and some gowns hanging on the wall. She stood there for several seconds before concluding she didn't have a gown for someone 6'4", 285 pounds. So, she had me take my shirt off. I laid down on the table and she covered me with a towel.
She did some ultrasounds to see what she was working with, then left to go get the doctor. The doctor arrived several minutes later. First thing first! Paperwork. He asked me to sign a consent form.
The doctor did a quick ultrasound of the thyroid to decide his approach. Then he wiped my neck with byodine. Once that dried, he got to work.
I stairs at a dot on the ceiling or closed my eyes through the procedure. The most difficult thing for me was: where do I rest my hands so they don't fall over the table edge. All through the procedured I did regular "body checks" to make sure I didn't have any muscles unnecessarily flexed and if I did? I would relax them.
The doctor biopsied two nodes and each went the same way. First, a tiny prick to administer the numbing agent. Many people describe this prick to be like a bee sting, but for me it was just a prick. After the prick I felt nothing expect for some pressure as the doctor worked. I don't really know what he was doing because I had my eyes closed and I don't think I could accurately describe the pressure I was feeling. I can just report there was zero pain. The procedure was over in just a minute or two - very fast.
I understand they took whatever they gathered and put it on microscope slides. The nursed showed me one slide after the doctor left... and I really would have been OK with not seeing that!
The nurse washed off the biodine. She then asked me to sit up and asked if I felt light headed. I lied and said I felt fine. She had me put my shirt back on and then showed me to the exit.
During the procedure I noticed my left ear felt a little numb and my jaw hurt a little. I assumed I must have had my jaw clenched. Also, the back of my head ached. Again, I assumed I must have had a muscle that was tense during the procedure.
Other than the two pricks for numbing, there was no pain.
My wife drove me home. On the way home it kinda felt like a sore throat whenever I swallowed. I was unable to yawn even through I tried several times. And coughing hurt. It was very mild and all that went away a several hours after getting home.
When I got home, I took two aspirin for the headache - it was behind my left ear (the one that previously felt numb). That seemed to help my sore jaw too. Around an hour or so later, I laid down and iced the side of my throat. The throat had a slight burning sensation and when I turned my head I would feel a prickly feeling. None of this was major - just a little discomfort.
This burning and prickling returned around 4 or 5 hours later so I iced it again and took more asprin.
This morning there was a very very mild burning sensation on the side of my neck and a very very mild prickly feeling, so, I took some more aspirin.
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