Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Recovery

Sorry, I'm not going to send any pictures with this one because I look terrible! However, I'm feeling pretty good under the circumstances. The surgery went off without a hitch last Thursday and I came home on Friday afternoon. The doctor did give me the option of going home Thursday night, but I decided not to take it when I couldn't quite wake up in the recovery room. I mean, I was conscious, but I was still so out of it I could barely keep my eyes open. That anesthesia is powerful stuff! Thank goodness for it though, I haven't felt too much pain.

Well, my mom told me in the recovery room that the nodule was benign and that was confirmed again yesterday by the official report from pathology. I'm so relieved. Although thyroid cancer is 100% treatable, if I don't have to go through any more treatment then I don't want to! I started thyroid replacement medication today though and will likely be on it for the rest of my life. If that's the only price I have to pay, I'll count my blessings!

Recovery is a lot harder than I thought it would be though. I've been feeling pretty loopy and not-quite-all-there for the last few days because of the pain medication. I'm extremely fatigued and it's about all I can do to lay on the couch and watch movies--I honestly don't have the energy for much more. At least I can type today! I was trying to type an email yesterday and it just about wore me out! Oh well, the thyroid medication should kick in in the next few days and I should start getting some energy and concentration powers back. It's truly amazing how much your thyroid controls: your metabolism (and thus your energy levels and weight), your calcium levels, your concentration, your hair growth, your body temperature, your digestive system--yeah, pretty much everything! Now I know why they tell you that you need a whole week to recover.

On Thursday I'm supposed to soak the sterustrips covering my scar until I can peel them off. I'm not too excited for that. Maybe I'll have to send pictures of it then and hold a contest. You can all judge how much I look like Frankenstein! If I don't try to find any humor in it, I might doom myself to wearing turtlenecks for the rest of my life. Maybe I'll just have to learn how to be fashionable with scarves . . . :)

2 comments:

Katie said...

Bless your heart, Meredith. I'm so thankful it was benign. It's amazing the things they can do with technology and medicine these days! I hope you start feeling better soon, and I'm sure the scar will not even be noticeable (didn't they tell you that they can make it pretty discreet?). Love you!

Kendra said...

Mer! Like Katie, I'm so glad it was benign! I've been wanting to call you, but I don't know how easy it is to talk, and it's been a little crazy with my parents around. They left this morning though, so I'll try and call you a little later today... Anyway, I'm glad you're doing well and it's good to hear from you.