I had mine removed in 2021, along with a massive tumour. I was terrified but, honestly, it was fine. Stayed in hospital one night and recovered at home. I did get a post-surgical seroma so had to be drained but that was easily manageable too, but did involve a trip back to hospital for a few hours.
Don’t underestimate the recovery time. While I did well, I ended up taking six weeks off work when I originally thought I’d be back after two.
Pre and post surgery, your team is likely to do some tests on your vocal cords to check for any damage. This involves a probe going down your throat- not pleasant but doesn’t take long.
After surgery, I struggled to speak for maybe three days, and my voice was quite croaky for maybe a week, but returned to normal after.
Eating and drinking was also difficult for a few days as swallowing was difficult. Soft cool foods like yogurt were best. I also relied on those drinks with the squeezy sports cap- kept them in the fridge so they were nice and soothing on the throat.
You’ll also likely be placed on a high-dose calcium tablet for several days. Again, not a big thing. Getting used to taking l-thyroxine daily can take some time and it’s important to have regular blood tests so that dosage levels can be adjusted, as needed. For the first few weeks, I’d get these episodes where I’d get exceptionally tired and shaky but the went once my l-thyroxine dosage was correct.
My incision was very large (the tumour was almost 800g) but scarring is minimal. I’m feeling much healthier now that I’ve been in l-thyroxine for a few years. I definitely suffer from the cold now though- didn’t use to, but it’s probably the. Biggest side effect I have now.
Happy to answer any specific questions you have. Look, surgery is never pleasant, but if it’s needed, you’re better off getting it out of the way as soon as possible. My biggest tip would be to accept that you might need longer than you’d like to recuperate, but you will.