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Be Aware of the Large Thyroid
Dear Thyroid,
Wow! All I can say is Wow! For years you were growing, causing me to choke on my spit, breathe shallow and cause me to deny that while you were doubling and tripling in size, you were trying to kill me too! That is now a problem with me!
You were hiding, only showing a portion of yourself in past scans, but, this newest Endocrinologist still said you were the biggest thyroid she has ever scanned! Whatever, I said… Impossible! The surgeon, 6 1/2 hours later released you from my neck, it was supposed to be three hours. You caused me to lose a liter of blood and then threw my body into a metabolic crisis for the next five days, IV after IV of potassium, magnesium and calcium! You were 10x the size you should have been, compressing my arteries, throat, parathyroids and nerves, hidden away behind my clavicle bone, but, you were not Cancer, thank you!
I do not write this letter to scare anyone, but, rather, to bring awareness to large thyroids. Past scans were only revealing the top portion of my thyroid, and 3/4 of it was hidden behind my clavicle bone. Maybe an MRI would have revealed how big my thyroid truly was becoming years ago and the removal would have been less traumatic for me.
Most of all, I was in denial. I did not want surgery. I stubbornly dealt with a large thyroid, unaware of the ramifications of compressed arteries, damaging of the nerves, and crippling of the parathyroids, but, today, I want to tell you, this is serious! I hope sharing my experience of dealing with my large thyroid helps. My thyroid was obvious only because it was pushing out of my neck, I knew it was big, I just didn’t know it was as big as it was. Some of my symptoms were choking on my food and spit, among others. Dealing with a large thyroid, it had to go. I found a surgeon with a lot of experience!
I am a survivor! I have released you, my dear thyroid, from my body, and you will never cause me havoc again! Sure, I will have to find my balance synthetically now, but, you are gone forever! You did
not kill me like you intended to do, and I will continue my advocacy until every doctor understands the severity of thyroid disease and treats it as something Real; bigger than a fat persons problem, a little fatigue, and cold hands….we deserve better, we deserve to live life to our fullest!
Let’s keep this fight going! We will Win this battle
– Katie
Tags: crippling parathyroids, damaging nerves, Dear Thyroid Letters, large thyroids, ramifications of large thyroids, Thyroidectomies
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7 Responses to “Be Aware of the Large Thyroid”
Leave a Reply to Tamaira bailey
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The Twist: the small side of my thyroid, the presumed good side –>
Papillary Carcinoma
Now I sit and wait as the surgeon did not know, so the necessary extraction of a few lymph nodes did not happen.
There’s always a twist!
But I Believe!
– Katie
There is always Hope! Share my story! I have lived with Hashimotos Thyroiditis for almost 20 years, 10 undiagnosed! My blood levels were always within the norm, even though I felt like crap a lot! I took my synthroid on my terms as through the years I learned which level I felt best at. The doctors many times hesitantly gave me what I asked for! I thought I was in control of this disease and then the time came where my newest Endocrinologist gave me the scare of my thyroid being the biggest she has ever seen! I was at peace with my Surgeon and he did amazing considering my thyroid was the 2nd biggest thyroid he has ever seen, the first was while he was in Residency!
Trust your Gut! Large thyroids are dangerous! Our necks are only so big with very important stuff happening within it!
I don’t know what will come next for me, time will tell as surgery is still pretty fresh, but I am now on a mission….everything about this disease is just so wrong! It is time to stand up and fight with all my might!
It’s good to see there maybe hope for me
Katie, so sorry you have this added twist! I hope your surgeon has a plan for you to move forward…I know the sitting and waiting part is tough. We’re here for you!
I could not have read this at a more appropriate time! Is there any way I can contact you? Mine is enlarged and I’m having issues with nerves and everything. Would love to compare symptoms and learn more.
Sarah,
Shoot me an email.
kathyareder@aol.com
I am still voiceless, but I will save my voice for a chat with you!
Please check out our website http://www.thyroidcancer.com. The size of the thyroid gland can have a huge impact on your quality of life…ie..ability to breathe and swallow without choking. Even a little enlargement of the gland can put pressure on various structures within the neck. An experienced thyroid surgeon can often minimize possible complications.
There are multiple photographs and different case studies.