Post TT severe headaches and pain

[alisadoll]

Hello,

I had a TT/mediastinal thyroidectomy May 7. It's been 11 days and I am still in severe pain and on pain pills and frequently nauseated. It is difficult to lie down to sleep. The back of my head, above and below left ear, left side of jaw and my teeth are very painful. My neck and shoulders are sore, upper center of my back is on fire as is the base of my skull up into the middle of the back of my head. Also, it feels like someone is trying to stuff a dull spike through the center of my skull. it's like I had my spinal fusion surgery all over again along with the TT. The pain is enough to make me shake, then I lie down.  Can this much pain actually make me weak?

Could they have dislodged some of my neck hardware?

Also, I am on 150mcg of levothyroxin and I've been feeling very jittery, anxious. I skipped it today and feel much better thank you. Calcium is normal, VIT D is low and I am slightly anemic.

I had a very small, micro papillary cancer in part of my very large thyroid. No RAI for me, and I am so thankful for that. Would it still be necessary to keep my TSH low in this case? I was hyper before and don't want to go back to that state. I have been a nervous, emotional jittery wreck--rather paranoid too.

Appreciate any advice

[alisadoll]

No, I don't have any thyroid levels since the surgery. The only blood test done was calcium.

Blood work before the surgery on April 11:

TSH 0.383
Free T4 1.08

That's all I know for now and I feel horrible. I wonder if I should just take half a pill. My weight is high, but I'm generally sensitive to all medications and maybe my normal dose is lower than the average person's

I am not crazy about my endo but will ask for a lower dose and a different brand. Have you tried Armour? I've heard so much good stuff about it.

Do you know which tests I should ask for as well?

Thank you so much for answering me Barb.

[Barb135]

Pain can certainly make you weak, though I'm not sure that all that pain can be attributed to the TT.  It's very unlikely that they dislodged any "neck hardware", since they would have been working through an incision on the front of your neck.

I think the problem might be that you were started on WAY too high a dose of levo!!  They really started you at 150 mcg?  Wow....It's customary to start at a very low dose, such as 25 mcg and build up as needed/tolerated.. It takes 4-6 weeks for the medication to reach full potential in your system, but some people do begin to feel effects sooner than that.  Because the med builds over time, it also takes time for it leave your body, once you stop taking it, so it's doubtful that your feeling better after skipping only one dose has to do with the high dosage.  

Different manufacturers use different fillers/binders in their medications, and many people are sensitive to those, as well.  

Do you know what your latest thyroid hormone levels were, prior to starting medication?  If you have a copy of the report, please post any results you have and be sure to include reference ranges, since those vary lab to lab and must come from your own report.

You may also want to call your doctor and request both a lower dose and different brand of med.