Life with a Goiter - Part 3

Going into surgery this time was much different. There were more things on my mind and knowing that I have thyroid cancer made the thoughts uncontrollable. I kept thinking about if it had spread. I was just thinking about what else may be wrong. What if things are much worse than they are? How will my life be now? Will the cancer come back? Etc...etc...etc...
So, just as the first surgery, I had limited talking and pretty much followed the same protocol as before. I knew I would be on medication the rest of my life to replace the hormone that my body can no longer produce without a thyroid.

Goiter - Left Side

As you can see in the pictures, there is the goiter and the right thyroid gland. Immediately, I noticed a huge difference in my neck. I can't believe how small it is now. I was told that my recommended medication would be Synthroid.  I mentally prepared myself as it was to be my life-long partner.

After a few weeks, I was place on a low-iodine diet to prepare for my radioactive iodine treatment (RIT).  Having thyroid cancer doesn't mean radiation. But, it was necessary for me to have the RIT. OMG!

Right Side

The low-iodine diet completely drained me. I was teaching my fitness classes and thinking where do I pull the energy to do so.  It was like functioning on a drained internal battery. All I wanted to do was NOTHING!

Figuring out what eat and what not to eat was, actually pretty interesting.  I learned even more about discipline and my cooking skills.  Found myself making my own sausage. When you’re on limited foods and the foods you buy contain things you can’t consume, you find yourself getting very creative and resourceful.