Total Thyroidectomy: Making the Decision to Have Your Thyroid Removed

Having a total thyroidectomy done to remove your thyroid can sound very scary, and rightly so. It is a big decision that will affect your health for the rest of your life, but one that is often necessary and beneficial. Certain thyroid conditions or diseases, such as thyroid cancer, painful thyroiditis, goiter, hyperthyroidism caused by a nodule, or others, are sometimes best treated by removing your thyroid and then taking thyroid hormone replacement medication for the rest of your life.

Why I Decided to Have My Thyroid Removed. In my case, the decision to have a total thyroidectomy done was not made quickly or lightly, but became one of necessity. I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and had been very sick for four and a half years before it was recommended that I have my thyroid removed. My Hashimoto's had not taken a normal course of just leading to hypothyroidism, but instead took a horrific course of swinging back and forth between hypothyroid, euthyroid, and hyperthyroid. I've had severe phases of hyperthyroidism, called Hashitoxicosis, that has put me in the hospital twice. With the second phase, I even developed Graves Disease antibodies, which technically means I had both Hashimoto's and Graves for a while, though it was not really true Graves Disease because the Graves antibodies went away.

After the second phase of Hashitoxicosis, it was decided that it would be best to kill off my thyroid with Radioactive Iodine Treatment as soon as my body went hyperthyroid again. We thought this would happen quickly, but six months passed and my body was staying borderline hypothyroid to euthyroid and I was staying sick. That's when my regular doctor said she didn't think we should wait any longer, but should move forward with a thyroidectomy instead. I agreed and talked to my endocrinologist about it.

My endocrinologist also agreed and wanted to take it one step further to also doing thyroid ablation (a different form of Radioactive Iodine Treatment) on the small amount of thyroid tissue that would be left to protect my parathyroids after my thyroid was removed. The ablation would be done to make sure there was no chance of me having another phase of Hashitoxicosis, causing severe hyperthyroidism again. I agreed with the treatment plan that my endocrinologist wanted to go with and made a consultation appointment with a surgeon experienced in doing thyroidectomies.

I was comfortable with the surgeon and chose to go forward with having a thyroidectomy done. I am currently in the post-op recovery stage and am very hopeful that after recovery, ablation, and the thyroid hormone replacement medication adjustment phase, my health, and life, will be much better.

My Total Thyroidectomy Recommendation. The decision to have a total thyroidectomy done is a big one that should not be taken lightly, but may very well be the best treatment for your thyroid disease or condition. If you have decided to have your thyroid removed, I highly recommend that you find a great thyroid surgeon. I truly believe that having a great surgeon is one of the most important factors involved in the thyroidectomy and your recovery going well. For tips on finding a great thyroid surgeon, you can read my article Thyroidectomy - Choosing a Thyroid Surgeon.

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