“Ok. Remember to take your Synthroid (Levothyroxine) by the time you brush your teeth. Oh and remember you can’t eat breakfast until you get to work,” I tell myself every morning.
“Bring your calcium tablets to work. Remember you have to take 2 tablets 3 times a day for a month,” I remind myself before I leave the front door. This has been the hardest, and I’ve only been able to manage to remember taking these twice a day.
Today is my first endocrine appointment post-op. The endocrinologist will be the one who is in charge of monitoring my recovering, managing my hormones now that I don’t have a thyroid, and monitoring for any signs or symptoms of recurrence. Basically, my life is in her hands! Eek!
To prepare for this appointment I had some labs done yesterday. I’m hoping that I will be able to cut the calcium frequency since I technically still have my parathyroid glands (the surgeon was awesome enough to save them so I won’t have to take supplemental calcium for the rest of my life).
When I first meet my doctor, I immediately think she looks like “Joanna” who plays Rachel’s boss on F.R.I.E.N.D.S (one of my favorite shows of all time). She has a serious look that she seems to wear all of the time. Hopefully, she’s good?!
We start to review my labs from yesterday and my TSH levels are already 0.3 m[IU]/L. My TSH level was previously 1.28 about 10 days ago. According to my endocrinologist, we want to maintain a low TSH level of around 0.3 in order to help prevent the recurrence of papillary carcinoma. This means that my I will be slightly hyperthyroid for the rest of my life. Hopefully, this slightly hyperthyroid state means it will help me lose weight! haha.
My calcium level is normal at 9.3! I am excited because my endocrinologist told me I can now take calcium just once a day! Thank goodness! I know what I am taking is very simple, but when you never had to take medicine regularly, taking something 3 times a day is really hard to keep up. However, I KNOW I got it easy in comparison to some of the patients I take care of on a daily basis. Here’s to hoping I won’t need to add more to my regimen.
Now that I have taken out my thyroid, what do I do?
My endocrinologist says that we will watch lab work (specifically a tumor marker specific to papillary carcinoma) every 3-6 months, and obtain an ultrasound every year. Otherwise, the only thing we do is make sure to get the right hormone dose, watch closely, and try to live a healthy life.
The only thing I need to follow-up with now is if I need radiation…
Raechel Zhao: The Bright Orchid Swallow (趙蕙燕) 