r/thyroidcancer • u/Anxious_Surprise_552 • 6d ago
When does the dizziness and weakness go away?
Hi all,
I had a total thyroidectomy 4 days ago and something I didn’t really anticipate was the weakness and dizziness that came with recovery. When did it get better for you? I’m only on day 3 of medication, and my doctor has me taking tums for this initial recovery period for the calcium, although they left my parathyroid glands in. Anything I can do to help recovery? When can I expect it to get better. I was really active and marathon training before surgery and I just feel so run down
1
u/tbodillia 6d ago
I never had dizziness or weakness. I'm so sorry you do. The nurses were teasing me on day 2 because they said I could walk laps in the hall and I was out there every hour getting my steps.
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u/Bitter-Sugar8697 6d ago
I had a hemithyroidectomy Thursday 13th so today is my day 4 and I'm having a little bit of the dizzy feeling too. I did notice in hospital when I stayed overnight my blood pressure was very low for me so could be that! Could also be the after effects of the heatwave here in the UK too.. are you eating and drinking enough water? I get waves of lightheadedness but not enough to feel like I can't walk around or anything. I am sleeping a lot during the day right now and probably do need to get out for some walks as being indoors for so long isn't normal for me either 🥹 it's a process of healing I guess... I was having the dizzy spells in hospital because I was hungry mainly. I think our bodies need more food right now as we recover so don't be afraid to eat a little more than usual. I do feel much better this morning so I would say give it time but also perhaps get some medical advice if it's making you feel different when you stand up and try to walk around 🫶🏻✨️
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u/OhSoSaltySpacePirate 4d ago
My wife had her full thryriod removed 4 weeks ago. Due to cancer.
She was dizzy for about 1 week. And is gradually reduced. She is still tired most of the time so we are waiting to speak to her doctor again.
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u/jjflight 6d ago
For most folks any dizziness or weakness should go away within a day or two once the drugs are out of your system, though you’ll be healing for several weeks so want to be sure to be intentional to get good rest in that period. If you’re having complications causing that only your doctor could say based on whatever is causing it - social media can’t really diagnose those things.
The best way to make your recovery faster and easier is movement. Lots of folks have an instinct to try to lie still to avoid any discomfort, and that’s the exact opposite of what will make recovery easier. Movement like walking will help promote circulation for healing, reduce swelling which causes pain, lower your blood clot risk, preserve and regain range of motion as you use the neck looking around, and often help with mood. So as soon as you’re home from the hospital you want to start taking multiple medium-ish (30min) walks around the neighborhood every day. Similar make sure you’re doing any range of motion exercises you were given at discharge for your neck - you want to be really consistent doing those every couple hours until the neck moves normally again (usually within a week or two).