These support groups are wonderful. They are filled with people that are either seeking help, or people that enjoy helping. You can ask any question you may have and it is likely you'll get a dozen or two responses. I highly encourage anyone going through a Thyroidectomy to seek out one of these groups.
Just a word of caution.
The groups are filled with, as I mentioned, people who are looking for help. They have a problem and they are turning to the group for advice. That means these support groups are going to be filled with people's problems... And some of the problems are very scared.
I became involved with the support groups before my Thyroidectomy surgery was scheduled. I wanted to learn about the surgery and see what problems I could be facing. The more I read, the more I became scared. I started to imagine that all these problems everyone was having would happen to me! While certainly there are risks and something could happen, most of the things I read were never going to happen.
The support groups are an odd phenom sometimes. I don't mean to belittle it or make light of anything anyone is experiencing. But I'll read things like "I have a hang nail. Does anyone else?" And then half a dozen other people will respond "I have a hang nail too... It must be because we had a Thyroidectomy!" There are some interesting correlations that get made sometimes, and they are entertaining to read, but most of the time I am left thinking "guys, come on!"
Then there are some terrible stories. I recently read that a woman has been unable to die her hair - the dies won't take hold of the hair. Her conclusion was that it was due to her Thyroidectomy. Maybe it was. Or maybe it was due to something else (a new shampoo, a vitamin, etc), who knows? When reading something like that it is very easy to be left thinking "Oh my God, I will never be able to die my hair if I get a Thyroidectomy!" Which, as far as I can tell, is not true.
Sometimes things happen to you and it has nothing to do with a Thyroidectomy!
When I read about all the people having problems, I am tempted to draw a conclusion that there must be an epidemic of problems out there! But there isn't. There are far more people who do not participate in support groups than do. There is a huge population of people who had a Thyroidectomy, are doing fine, and have moved on with their lives. That population is not represented in the support group.
Only take medical advice from a doctor. That sounds right, doesn't it? Yet in these support forums, many people dish out medical advice. If you think your Free T4 number is wrong, there will be at least 3 or 4 people to tell you what to do about it. In my experience, I have found the advice to be a mix bag or guesses and great information. But I take the great information back to my doctor to get it verified. Some of the advice is "you need a new doctor". You can weigh that advice and consider getting a second opinion. Just be very careful blindly following medical advice in the forums (or anywhere other than from your doctor).
The online support groups are awesome. The information is incredible and the numbers of people ready to help is breathtaking. I highly encourage participating in one. Just be careful and know what you are getting yourself into!
Why are you on the groups if you jest at what is on them. If you don't like it get off it
ReplyDeleteExplained in the second and last paragraphs
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