Thyroidectomy (hurtle cell neoplasm)

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I would love to hear from anyone else who had total thyroidectomy rather than go through regular surveillance checks for thyroid cancer. I was 52yo at the time and also going through menopause as well. The sudden appearance of lump on my throat was a goitre that was impacting airways. Biopsy showed 'nasty' hurtle cells and surgeon recommended thyroidectomy.

That was 16months ago now and I am still trying to make sense of my body when TSH levels have normalised or fluctuating.During that process I found a healthboard site that helped with all the emotional turmoil and read 'Living well with hypothyroidism' Mary J. Shomon and found that my doctor treats thyroid problems according to blood levels instead of symptoms.

I have steadily gained weight before I had a thyroid and now it seems without a thyroid. I just wanted to put this out there in case someone else is struggling . . .

Replies

  • fall216
    fall216 Posts: 10 Member
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    I had a tt 7 months ago due to Hurthle cells, 33 yrs old and I have hashis. I've never heard from anyone else that had hurtle cells, we are rare lol! My weight has not been a problem but I'm so tired and achy when my levels are bad and also suffer from anxiety. I have to force myself to workout sometimes, even though I enjoy it, due to the fatigue. Things are starting to get better and my Dr is great! She takes into account my symptoms not just my numbers. I take Synthroid and Cytomel, in addition to magnesium, selenium, zinc and b12 supplements. My Dr will prescribe Naturethroid but wanted to try synthetic first. So far so good, maybe I will be one of the few that will be ok on it! I get labs done every 6 weeks.
  • niueliz
    niueliz Posts: 5
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    I am so glad you have a great doctor that listens to you and pays attention to your symptoms. Until the goitre showed up I really did not give much thought to hot flushes, aching elbows, aching leg calves, cold hands, feet and bum, stinging eyes, itchy ears . . . I thought it was all related to getting older, menopause and shift-work. And I am a nurse! I am 168cm (5'6") and was 87kgs forever and would rather go for long 5km walks than workout in gyms. I have started to include interval jogging and enjoy the change

    I had complication from TT (Dec 2011) with laryngeal nerve damage and have just completed 12 months of speech therapy. Six months after TT and winter I gained 5kg and blood levels went up for cholesterol, glucose and TSH. My doctor increased my thyroxine and I have noticed stinging eyes and aching leg have gone. But now I have this annoying itch arms, legs, trunk and armpit region that flares-up mostly at night. It will be interesting to see what my next blood test will be . . .

    Thanks for your post. Hope you find the right combination to improve your energy levels soon . . .
  • lou_murphy
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    Hi: They found hurthle cells on my thyroid and about 30+ nodules when I was 15...I'm 47 now and had a TT 8 years ago. I've had about 17 biopsies through the years. Finally, one of the nodules grew so large that it caused me problems. It hurt when I swallowed, etc.

    The TT was great but I didn't feel well until I got on natural thyroid. That was 7 months ago and I've never felt better.