BLOG » years ago….. (part 2):
(continued from the LAST post)
so, the first surgery had determined- I had papillary thyroid cancer. The second surgery was easier. It was as though my body was a seasoned pro. I was still in a ton of pain when I came to, but I was eating more quickly than I had after the first operation. And according to everyone around me: nurses, my mom, my bf, and my friend skip- I wasn’t as pale. No dad visit again. OK. He would have made it harder. He would have annoyed me, rattled me, made me anxious due to him being so rude and antagonistic. He probably would have cringed seeing me because he doesn’t know how to handle situations that call for tenderness, calm, or unconditional love.
At least I had my boyfriend. Or at least that’s how I felt before he visited me at the hospital one day, while I was recovering, got into bed with me reeking of booze and told me he drank a bottle of cooking wine and might need to go to aa. I’m so glad he didn’t make it all about him. Phew! him in bed with me, crammed into a bed smaller than a twin size, tugged at the iv in my arm. This was not comfortable. Sometimes you get sick because it’s your body’s way of making you slow down and get quiet- so you can look at life, look at YOUR life, and realize what’s important, what isn’t, what you want and what you do not want, realize what you’re grateful and thankful for.
Now I had no thyroid and they had removed some lymph nodes/scraping the inside of my neck. I did radiation and my head swelled up like I was a 400 pound woman, and yet my body remained the same. embarrassing! riiight! I can’t remember the order of all the procedures. Maybe they found residual stuff in my lymph nodes after the second surgery and then did the radiation? Then a second radiation because it wasn’t taking? either or.
It seemed like everything was finally OK. although, the radiation fucked with my salivary glands a bit- more specifically, my parotid glands. So for a while, and even to this day- if I eat something too crazy sour or salty, I might feel like the area between my earlobes and jawline is swelling. is it a real swelling or a phantom swelling? It’s always different. Drinking water makes it calm down and go back to normal. Nobody notices but me, it’s so subtle. but I notice.
in the four years that followed, each and EVERY year- I had to go on what’s called a ‘low iodine diet’ to prepare for a full body scan to make sure the cancer hadn’t come back. And for the past four years, each scan has been clear of any residual cancer. Yay! But my doctor started to worry me. She’s on a few too many reality shows! I felt her office was a bit jumbled and I didn’t like the front office’s attitude or organization. So I decided to mix it up. i asked around, to potentially see a new endocrinologist. well, he doesn’t look like house, but i found one! (to be continued)
Well I’m glad you’re okay
how do you remain skinny with no thyroid?
i have to take a thyroid replacement pill enery single day. it doesn’t make me skinny, it just acts as if i have a thyroid and keeps my hormones balanced.
So what happened with the boyfriend? Did he pull the iv out? Did you leave him?
I love you and your blog. Thank you so much for writing about something so raw and intimate. Your blog is so inspiring and genuine. LIKE OMG WTF? You keep us girlies in check and boys, if they visit.
OH, and one more thing, thank you for being HUMAN!
i’ve had my fair share of thyroid conditons/symptoms for the past 10 years (radiation, hyper to hypo, depression, weight gain, ect…) finally with a major diet change, exercise, meditation, yada yada yada, i feel like a completely different person. Mary Shomon (thyroid patient/advocate) and Marc Hyman (fuctional medicine dr) have been my go to source for all things thyroid related. i really dig your blog and hope you find a rad endocrinologist.
my mom went through this exact thing a couple of years ago. she takes those pills every day too and has a big ol’ scar across her neck. most people dont realize that the thyroid is HUGE and pretty much controls everything in your body. im glad youre ok alexi!
“Sometimes you get sick because it’s your body’s way of making you slow down and get quiet- so you can look at life, look at YOUR life, and realize what’s important, what isn’t, what you want and what you do not want, realize what you’re grateful and thankful for.”
This is exactly what I needed to hear.
if you ever want to come to an alanon meeting, ill have a seat for you
You have a great heart and deserve someone special. <3
Im glad your okay!! Yet again, you leave us in a cliffhanger haha.I cant wait to read the rest. Your a beautiful person!
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Suzzy ♥
lol.
Wow, what an experience! Modern medicine is really a miracle when you think about it. Glad you’re ok. I don’t know what this means since I don’t watch reality shows: “She’s on a few too many reality shows!”
It’s weird how until something potentially life threatening happens you truly believe there are things more important than your health. Stay strong sister.
WOW! What an experience. I can’t imagine so much pain.
You are amazing.. You still rocks and you better keep on maintaining your health Lexi!
I’ll pray for you
hi alexi– so glad you recovered– my mom had thyroid cancer last year, and had to have her thyroid removed. she is doing fine now too. has to take those pills everyday. cancer is such scary business.
this was weird for me. I’m only 16 and had a cancer (not thyroid, but somewhere neckish) removed this year. This was a fucking shit year for me. An’ I’m glad I started reading your rants ’cause, really you should be a motivational speaker. I totally mean it. I like all your tips. And cause of a whole bunch of other problems I got really fat really quickly recently, which made me even more depressed/psycho. The whole “your fat bitches/don’t pick your face bitches” I really dig. Constructive criticism yeah? Anywazies (see look your Alexi-isims are catching) thanks a whole bunch babe.
PS: Post op is shit isn’t it. Least you weren’t allergic to the morphine. Made me a REALLY cranky bitch.
0o0o0o0o, intense…