Recovering from surgery is really a lot like playing chess. (Ok, so, to be honest, what in life is NOT a lot like playing chess? lol) You take a look at all the player positions in your situation and try to figure out what you can do to keep ahead of the game. Currently, winning is all about being able to sleep, and I'm happy to say that Thursday night, I finally achieved check mate!
You wouldn't think that simply sleeping would be such a challenge, but, Oho! It is! Here are the issues and how I've resolved them, so far:
Situation Impeding Sleep: Frequent doses of medicine. After seeing that there were 2 additional nodules on my thyroid when it was removed (one on each lobe, as well as one on the isthmus--middle section), to prepare me for a Radioactive Iodine Treatment, the surgeon switched me from the once-a-day Synthroid (replacement T4 thyroid hormones) to Cytomel (replacement T3 thyroid hormones), which needs to be taken twice a day, 12 hours apart. Additionally, he put me on mega doses of calcium, to be taken 3 times a day (please read Little Lentils of Calcium Happiness, below); however, I've been having symptoms of low calcium (pins and needles/numbness in finger and thumb tips and lips), so we added an extra dose of calcium.
Counter Move: Because calcium interferes with the absorption of thyroid hormones, it shouldn't be taken within 4 hours of taking the Cytomel (T3). Foods made with soy may impede thyroid hormone absorption, so should not be eaten within 2 hours of taking T3 or T4. This makes the doses spaced out widely, but we arranged the med schedule so that I can potentially get 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Here is the current schedule:
6am - Cytomel (T3)
8am - 4pm - can have foods/drinks with vitamin supplements (smoothies, etc.) or soy
10am - Calcium (1200 mg)
12pm - Calcium (1200 mg)
6pm - Cytomel (T3)
8pm-4pm - can have foods/drinks with vitamin supplements (smoothies, etc.) or soy
10pm - Calcium (1200 mg)
1am - Calcium (1200 mg)
Situation Impeding Sleep: Nausea
Counter Moves: 1) Mom realized that some of my initial nausea and headaches were probably being caused by the extra minerals in the calcium supplement we originally bought. She then bought me a calcium supplement with as little extra stuff added as possible, and my headaches went away and the nausea was reduced. 2) The Darvocet was also making me nauseous (and very itchy). I finally decided to go completely off it, and was surprised to find that I wasn't in as much pain as I thought. 3) Keeping a reusable gel cold pack on the back of my neck and over the voice box area of my throat really helps--even a cool, damp, lightweight cloth helps. 4) Eating blended frozen drinks with a spoon seems to be the best for instant relief.*
*Peanut butter, heavy dairy-based foods (ice cream, etc.), bananas--anything that leaves a sticky, slimy, or gooey residue--makes the nausea worse.
Situation Impeding Sleep: Pain at the surgery site.
Counter Moves: 1) The hundred pillow prop. (Keeping in an upright or mostly upright position is extremely helpful--it reduces the blood pressure in the chest and throat.) 2) Keeping the pain under control with meds, as needed. 3) Keeping reusable gel cold packs on the incision site, continually. I rotated 2 long ones. The best kind was the one that is blue on one side and clear/white on the other and are used to wrap around an ankle or wrist. I folded it in half, with the white side out, and tucked the rolled side gently into the crook of my neck to help with the nausea. I also used a small "Peas" pack (it has a clear cover and blue and clear gel beads inside) for the back of my neck to help with nausea. 4) Consciously keeping the neck and shoulder muscles relaxed (see Neck and Shoulders Loose like a Noodle, below). 5) Reiki or Healing Touch, as much as possible. 6) I am finding the Young Living essential oil blend, Pan-Away, very helpful. Plus, it smells fantastic! 7) Cooling and healing imagery is also very helpful. I imagine my whole neck and chest area resting in a small, cool pool of fresh spring water.
Little Lentils of Calcium Happiness--Parathyroid glands are these 4 cute, little glands that my surgeon described as lentils, that has to be very gently peeled off the thyroid gland and left in the neck after removing the thyroid (see http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=4773 for a nice visual). Parathyroid glands control the calcium and phosphorus levels in the body. If the glands are damaged or removed, very unpleasant things happen! Even if they aren't damaged, they tend to go into temporary shock from the surgery for a couple weeks, so my surgeon always has his patients take mega doses of calcium after the surgery until it's clear that the little lentils have recovered. A few hours after my thyroidectomy, I felt very strong and distinctive pins-and-needles numbness and tingling in my finger and thumb tips and lips, which are typical symptoms of the parathyroid not working. Within about 15 minutes of taking the calcium, the pins and needles went away. Thank goodness this is such an easy thing to treat!
Neck and Shoulders Loose like a Noodle--the surgeon told me that one of the main causes of pain after a thyroidectomy (or a thyroid biopsy) is a person's instincts to keep the neck area still protected. Holding the neck and shoulder muscles tight and still is exhausting and, although it helps reduce pain from movement of the surgery site, excess/unnecessary muscle tension quickly causes an incredible amount of pain. To prevent this, frequently, consciously relax any muscles that do not need to be tense. It's more challenging than it sounds! Very gently and slowly rotate the shoulder muscles (without raising the arm) and don't move it in any way that causes pain to the incision site. Very gently and slowly rotate your head and neck in different directions to encourage muscle relaxation. Also, consciously allow your shoulders to relax and settle. Breathe slowly and think relaxing thoughts.
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