u/Independent-Will-23

Hi all, I’m looking for perspective. I had a total thyroidectomy for encapsulated thyroid carcinoma (4 cm, full lobe). Pre- and even intra-op, there was uncertainty whether it was cancer and if so, if it was papillary or a follicular variant, which complicated the surgical decision.

Since surgery, I keep thinking: “Maybe a hemi would have been enough, and I wouldn’t feel this anxious.”

Has anyone else experienced regret or anxiety after total thyroidectomy, wondering if hemithyroidectomy could have sufficed? How did you cope with these “what if” thoughts?

I had a 4 cm nodule on my left thyroid lobe and ended up having a total thyroidectomy. My FNA was inconclusive(one was Bethesda 5 and another 3), and papillary thyroid cancer was only confirmed during surgery via frozen section. Final pathology later showed no lymph node involvement or vascular invasion.

Now I’m about 2 weeks post-op and struggling quite a bit with nausea while adjusting to levothyroxine. I’m also starting to wonder whether a partial thyroidectomy/lobectomy might have been enough given the final pathology results.

For anyone who’s been through something similar:
- Did you have nausea or other adjustment symptoms after starting levothyroxine post-TT?
- How long did it take for things to stabilize?
- Did anyone else second-guess having a total thyroidectomy instead of a partial after finding out their pathology was relatively low risk?

Any insight or shared experiences would really help right now:)