subrosaDom
Posts: 724
Joined: 2/16/2014 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady Just five days from today, I will go to the hospital so they can slit my throat and remove my malfunctioning thyroid and at least one malfunctioning parathyroid. As some of you know, I made this decision after gathering a lot of information and I still believe thyroidectomy is the best way to go. I have visited endless websites (there is actually a site called parathyroid.com!) So I'm confident I have learned all I can handle learning about these two insidious organs at the moment. I've spoken to the doctor and the nurse regarding my anxiety issues, and steps that can be taken to help them stay manageable (including a note from my psychiatrist, who basically tells them to just pump me full of Xanax while in the hospital, lol). I even had the occasion to meet the nice young ladies who will likely be my nurses while I'm hospitalized (good friend was in that ward), which adds to easing my anxiety The doctor told me I can administer my own medications (mainly insulin) as opposed to having some hospitalist mess with the dosing schedule my endo and I have set up. This is because I've read that when diabetics on insulin go in the hospital, the staff doctor (my endo is not doing the surgery) tend to ignore what protocols are in place in favor of what they want to do. My insulin schedule is a combination of advanced carb counting and flex schedule, so other than my endo and I, no one knows how it works. Besides hospitalists aren't diabetes specialists. So anyway, 5 short days before I go in for this procedure and I've "armed" myself with every bit of information I can to keep from it sending me into a very bad anxiety attack. Still, the anxiety is starting to climb already. I keep thinking of what I have to pack for the hospital, deal with my transportation (which might get complicated), what to bring to entertain myself ( I know I won't be able to access this site). Then I worry about the things out of my control. How bad will my voice be after, and how long with that last, what kind of food will I be allowed to eat? Will they accidentally paralyze my vocal chords or damage the remaining parathyroids so I will have calcium issues for the rest of my life? While we regulate the new thyroid medicine will those damned hot flashes come back (that could make me homicidal). Yes, I'm worrying about things I shouldn't be, and I'm trying not to, but I just can't seem to stop myself. Any suggestions for keeping my head from exploding? Sort of. The most important variable here is your surgeon. There aren't that many thyroidectomies performed per year per surgeon (80K-100K or so, depending on where you look), so the average general surgeon does 3 or 4 a year. The average otolaryngologist does maybe 3 every 7 or 8 years! Now, this doesn't speak for your particular case. What is most important here -- and, really, this is incredibly important -- it's not just this surgery but heart bypass, etc. You don't want a tyro messing with you. So do you know precisely who is performing the surgery? Do you know how many thyroidectomies s/he has performed in his/her career? How about every year? If you have an ENT who has done 4 a year for 10 years, that's whom you want. If you have a general surgeon who's done 3 in 10 years, sorry, no. It is worth having -- or postponing your surgery -- based on this. While no one can predict individual performance, the statistical correlation between experience and the most successful outcomes is strong. Look, even famed orthopaedic surgeon James Andrews had to start somewhere. But it needn't be with you. So if you don't know this information, get it. You have every right to it. Make your decision based on that. Good luck.
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The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. - Nietzsche
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