I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: MattyBoy100 on December 15, 2007, 09:42:09 AM
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I know there is a section in this in Dialysis Questions but as I have just had the op, I thought it was relevant to put this here and the mods can move it if it is in the wrong place but this is quite an important subject and I hope they don't.
I had my parathyroid glands removed on the 6th December. It was done under anaesthetic and I didn't know anything about it until they woke me up after the procedure. I admit, I was a little spaced out by it all and things were fuzzy. What I do remember is that swallowing was sore and my throat felt very tight. I avoided the natural process of swallowing until I absolutely had to. When I did swallow, it usually came after a cough to remove plegm from my throat.
I had dissolvable stitches in my throat, and one long stitch along my neck which could be removed quickly for emergency access should any emergencies arise such as swelling of my neck etc.
I was given a syringe of calcium gluconate through a line in my hand which was supplemented by various other calcium alternatives which I could swallow in liquid form.
It entailed a week's stay in a "surgical high dependancy unit" at the hospital.
One of the glads (or a bit of one) was implanted in my left thigh which is held together by staples. I had 8 staples in total in my leg (I am aware that there are alternative places for the implant on the body ie, arm, underarm etc). The reason the gland is implanted elsewhere is that the thyroid itself can grow over the area where the parathyroids have been removed from thus making it hard to find and awkward to remove should this be necessary later on.
I had the stitch in my neck removed yesterday which was painless - I had to ask the nurse to slow down as she was pulling it out due to the friction it was causing.
I also had four staples removed from my leg. The staples only went 1 or 2 millimeters deep which suprised me as I thought they were in deeper than that. The nurse used a pair of tweezers to squeeze then pull the staples out. I won't lie and say it didn't hurt but it stung a little bit. The remaining four staples get removed on Monday.
I am able to walk about and drive a car with manual gears. I don't go long distances but I am still independant.
I have been signed off work for another month but if my leg heals quickly, I expect it to be only 2 weeks.
I feel ok and am bored at home twiddling my thumbs and miss my workmates.
I know everyone is different and people on here always seem to forget if there was any pain involved etc and don't write things in detail when they have had things done to them. I remember people on this site as well as people in my unit saying that their fistula op didn't hurt! What a laugh, coz mine did. My arm was painful afterwards for about a week.
I want to tell people the reality of things. My throat hurt for 2 days then, it was uncomfortable for another 2 then, within 5 days it had eased off, within 3 days of the op, I could eat a dinner, taking small bites and a lot of chewing before swallowing. I was able to get up and walk a short distance to the bathroom and back within 3 days of the op.
Now, I am at home and waiting for my leg to fully heal before going back to work.
NB: In the UK it is spelled PARATHRYOIDECTOMY not PARATHYROIDECT(i)MY
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Thanks for sharing your experience Matty, I'm glad you are doing well and I'm glad you posted this so that others have a reference point.
:beer1;
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thanks for sharing that Matty, Hope things continue to improve :2thumbsup;
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Good to hear from you MattyBoy, hope your recovery continues to go well ;) :) :waving;
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That's good to know, what to expect, and,I am glad it is over barring the recovery period of course!
That's the boring part, being well enough to do something, but not clearned to do it!
I'm excited because I get to go back to work Monday, part time, but still!!!
Congrats, Matty, I'm glad you're doing so well now!
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You're right, Matty, everywhere it is properly spelled 'parathyroidectomy,' since it comes from the Ancient Greek "-omy," which means "cut," as in "lobotomy."
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Good post Matty, very informative for anyone facing that surgery.
Glad your doing well & feeling better.
Ectomy would be right because the word ectomy means to take out or remove.
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Good post, Matty. Glad you're back and healing. Don't be too eager to go back to work; enjoy some time off.
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That was a good post and very informative. Thanks for sharing it with us. These kinds of sharing are very helpful. That is one of the strong points of this site.
I wish you good recovery. My caring thoughts and prayers are with you.
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:2thumbsup;
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Thanks for sharing yoru experience.
Im glad your feeling Okay.
Amanda
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Hopefully the sensipar they put me on will prevent this operation, but thanks for sharing your experience should it come to an operation :thumbup;
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Thanks for posting about this in detail-
and very glad it is over for you, and all
went well :thumbup;
Anne
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:waving; Matt,
Glad to hear you got along pretty good. Will be praying for a speedy recovery for you.
Lori/Indiana
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Thanks for that very detailed report. I hope things are going well and you are starting to feel a lot better. Your experience was very different from mine -- I was only in hospital one day, and didn't have a sore throat. But I only had one parathyroid removed. You've made me realize that my operation might be very different from what most people here go through, so I shouldn't be so fast to reassure others that's it's comparatively easy. Thanks for that.
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So glad for the news of you being done and over with that now. :cuddle;
When you told your story it kind of reminded of me mine, but obviously mine was different. However the pain and uncomfortableness of it was the same.
I hope you have a quick recovery and are back to work soon! :grouphug;
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Ectomy would be right because the word ectomy means to take out or remove.
I kinda like parathyroid-dreck-tomy myself. Sounds lke your surgery was pretty dreck-ful. ???
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hey I just got mine done..Im sorry it was so tough on you mine was a bit easier on me, maybe it differs with the surgeon, I only spent one night in the hospital and it was just done thursday and i feel almost totally back to normal.. I hope you feel better for the holiday man..Good Luck!!
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MattyBoy,
Hope you continue to heal quickly. :grouphug;