possible thyroid gland damage in surgery?

[magpieannie]

Can a thyroid gland be damaged in neck surgery? 4 years ago my mother-n-law had a disc replaced in her upper spine. The surgeon went in through the front of her neck. He damaged the nerves to her vocal cords. Could he have damaged the nerves to her thyroid gland also? Or possibly an artery that gave the thyroid it's blood supply? Her thyroid gland feels very small (doctor examined). Could one of the lobes have been cut off by accident? She has never felt right since this surgery. Many hypo symptoms! ( weight gain, eyebrow and hair thinning, emotional, cries easily, fatigue, muscle and joint aches (diagnosed 2 years ago w/fibromyalga). What do ya'll think?

[magpieannie]

Since last January and health issues w/ my daughter, I really began reading and studying up on thyroid issues for my daughters situation. However, I constantly found myself writing my Mother- n-Laws name in the margins of my books. I'm so glad she finally listened, as I was getting so tired of beating tht steel drum to death! God really can use our "situations" to shed light on others pain and suffering. Knowing this should make us all feel better about having thyroid issues. God truly can use all things for good!

[gimel]

Always great to get feedback, especially when it is good news like that.  Give her our best and let us know as she progresses further.

[magpieannie]

Well, I took my mother -n-law in for blood work and her freet4 is very low 0.8 (0.8-1.8)Freet3 was 289 (230-420). She is now taking 95 mg of compounded dessicated (7 days), and is not hurting any longer! Her brain fog is beginning to lift and her energy is slowly returning! Thanks for your advice! Now she can slowly get off all the unneccesary drugs (Bandaids!) and start treating the REAL underlying cause of all her pain and suffering over these last 4 years! Of course she will need to do this slowly and with the doctors help! Thought you'd like to hear the good news!

[gimel]

Regardless of whether it is possible or not, with those symptoms why not just have her  tested for thyroid problems, starting with FT3 and FT4 along with TSH?  If the FT3 and FT4 are low in their very broad reference ranges, that would be consistent with her symptoms and indicate potential benefit from thyroid medication.