Flu-like symptoms after thyroidectomy -- is this normal?

May 23, 2012 5:36 PM

Flu-like symptoms after thyroidectomy, and my brain is too fogged to sort them out...

I had a subtotal thyroidectomy 3 weeks ago (right side is gone, left side is still there). My goiter is gone, and my levels are "within normal range" but why do I feel so awful still? My symptoms:

- constant nausea, as bad as my hyperemetic pregnancies
- heaviness in limbs
- brain fog & problems processing, but what else is new?
- extreme fatigue
- general flu feelings -- sort of a hollow, buzzing feeling everywhere
- severely depressed appetite, although it's a bit better this week

After spending much of last week curled up in a ball and nauseated, I ended up in the ER last weekend getting fluids, which made me feel better for about a day. Blood tests all came back normal. Now I'm back to feeling bad again -- like I have the flu. Googling is just confusing me -- is this within normal recovery after losing half your thyroid?

posted by mdiskin to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

What does your doctor say?
posted by Orinda at 5:39 PM on May 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

No, it is not. You probably have the flu. You should talk to your surgeon to be on the safe side.
posted by karlos at 5:51 PM on May 23, 2012

Response by poster: Sorry, I should have spelled this out before: ER doc talked to my endocrinologist when I was in the ER on Saturday, but they didn't come up with anything. An EKG was normal.

Surgeon says he has no idea what's causing the fatigue.
posted by mdiskin at 6:26 PM on May 23, 2012

I had a total thyroidectomy and experienced nothing like this at all. After 3 weeks I was just about normal.

See the doc.
posted by bunderful at 6:26 PM on May 23, 2012

Well, I had a total thyroidectomy and felt exactly like this for a full two months, and my doctor was not surprised. I don't know if it's supposed to be significantly different for subtotal, but I do know that thyroids are tricky things that don't always follow the rules, and often it takes a lot of trial and error to get the meds right (I assume you're on replacement?).
posted by HotToddy at 6:59 PM on May 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hi! My partner had the same surgery about 6 weeks ago. He's had some bouts of fatigue, feeling chilly when it's 80 degrees in the room, and getting grumpy for no reason at all.

But nothing he's experienced sounds as extreme as what you've described.

His surgeon says that, after a 6-month adjustment period, there is a good chance the other half could take over hormone production (or a chance it dies out, but we'll see). He said things might be a little up and down - feeling tired, gaining or losing a little bit of weight, feeling moody - but that if anything seemed extreme, was interfering with his life functioning, or (in his word) "made him feel like absolute shit," he should schedule a follow-up visit so they can run some tests.

So, there you go: follow-up visit. Go. Either it's the flu (or another bug), or it's something related to the surgery. But since this is happening so early in your recovery process, it might be something your doctors would be interested in following up on.
posted by vivid postcard at 8:13 PM on May 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

What were your thyroid levels before surgery? Just because they are in the lab definition of "normal range" doesn't mean its normal for your body. If they have dropped you may be having trouble adjusting. A tiny bit of meds may be what you need to get things right again. Thyroids are tricky like that.

IANAD so have this Convo with them.
posted by MultiFaceted at 10:08 PM on May 23, 2012

Response by poster: I have a great doc, but it's hard to see him at the drop of a hat. Checked my ER test results and I'm within normal ranges for everything, although my TSH results weren't in yet. (In other words, calcium checks out, etc).

I've been like this for 2 weeks now, and with 3 little kids (whose last day of school is today!) I'm desperate to feel better as soon as possible.
posted by mdiskin at 7:34 AM on May 24, 2012