surgery scare

number1mommyof5

Hi everyone,
Thank you in advance to any I have talked with on this subject but it has been awhile and my fears are really overcoming me.
I am having a TT and a left neck dissection next Wednesday the 15th. I am scared to death. I have never had surgery before and being the mother of five kids (my youngest 5 months old) I am so afraid I will never see them again.
Please can you share your experiences with me? Thoughts on coping with the fears, getting through the surgery and recovery..
I could really use words from those who "know" right now..
Thanks so much,
Laurie

forme

It's okay
Hi Laurie,
I have had surgery two times for thyroid ca. I really do understand your fears. You will do fine. You may not be able to lift the little ones for a week or so, but they can cuddle in your lap or lie down next to you. I have had many many surgeries and was scared before all of them. I must say that the recovery from the TT was not that difficult. Pain was not bad at all. I think the RAI was much harder to recover from. When I had my first thyroid surgery I also had young children. I had family and friends who helped during the day and my husband was home at night. You will be tired, kind of like after giving birth. Your energy will come back. I really don't think the pain will be to harsh. They will give you pain meds, but you may not need them after a couple of days. Please do ask more questions if your afraid. I know there are lots of us who have gone through this and will be glad to share with you..
Lisha

ibeatcanser

keep a positive outlook
Hi Laurie,
I've had several surgeries and was scared and nervous too. It's important to keep a very positive attitude, believe me, it makes a huge difference, especially for the recovery process.

For me, I honestly had no time to think about the TT; I had never even heard of Thyroid Cancer. Two days after I was diagnosed, I had surgery. My family and friends' support played a vital role. Everyone wondered how come I wasn't scared or nervous. When I got the news about the cancer, well, I was shocked speechless, but I accepted it and that made me mentally relax. I prayed and talked to God a lot and never once asked why.

Recovery was relatively pain free. I never used a single vicodin. I only used Tylenol and that was because my throat was sore. You will be tired and may forget things, but you have to give your body a chance to reset itself. Make sure you exercise to get your body moving again. I walked around the house slowly at first, then gradually moved up to the Wii Fit. For me also, the RAI was more difficult to recover from, that knocked every bit of energy out of me.

For the mental recovery, opening up and letting in your family and friends to help you is integral (something I had to learn the hard way). About a week after the surgery that's when it hit me what I just went through. I cried for 4 hours (this was also because I didn't want to do the RAI). I felt quite guilty having everyone do everything for me, especially my mom and she wasn't well herself. A wise aunt of mine told me that they are happy to be there, let go of the drivers seat and let someone else drive for a change.

Good luck to you and I'll be thinking of you. Take care and stay positive. It definitely makes a difference.

nasher

i have had 4 surgeries this
i have had 4 surgeries this year.

on feb 22 i had right side thyroidectomy
the next week they determinted it was cancerous so was haveing the rest of thyroid removed
on mar 9 they removed the rest of my thyroid

on apr 2 and 18 aug i had other surgeries (ear)

each one of the surgeries i was worried before and its a natural thing

just look at this site you can see many of us have surgery and we are all ok.

you are on the process to beat this and be a survivor

one thing I did was I made plans afterwords. You have many reasons to live and doctors agree that haveing the desire to live majorly improves your recovery time.

honestly within hours of the surgeries i was feeling so much better than i was before.

also when you are recovering in the hospital if they want to keep you.. just make sure every time you feel like it you do a walk around the nursing station. Get up and get moving.

after my 2nd surgery they decided to keep me in the hospital for 2 days... every 15 min (each commercial break) i took a walk it made me feel so much better showing them that I wanted to get out of there and I was takeing my recovery in my own hand.

again you WILL beat this.

good luck on your surgery and i look forward to your return and your posts after the 15th.