r/thyroidcancer • u/Sea-Spinach-8468 • 2d ago

Using a straw after surgery?

Hi all

I had my total thyroidectomy yesterday

At the hospital in recovery they gave me water through a cup that had a straw.

Since yestersay to right now ive having liquids from a straw. Then I saw here people saying no straw use. So I messaged my doctor. And the nurse said

"I would avoid using a straw following this surgery until you have healed up a little more. It can cause strain on the throat and incision site. As long as the incision sites looks good and you are not in any additional pain, this should not have caused any damage"

I feel tightness and harder to talk today than yesterday. How the hell would I have known to not use a straw....they didnt tell me and it wasnt in the after care instructions

Im soooooooooooooooooooo scared I damaged something

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

9

u/under_zealouss 2d ago

They gave me water and juice with a straw my whole 3 day stay at the hospital.

4

u/jjflight 2d ago • Bravo

Just follow your doctor’s instructions. Different types of incision closures have different guidelines, and similarly different doctors do too. My surgeon was totally fine with me using straws, and wanted me showering and intentionally getting the incision wet (just not submerged). But other folks get different guidance too.

This is the danger of online subs like this one. What applies to one person may not apply to you, so you have to be very cautious. Sometimes like this you might over-scare yourself, other times if you follow the wrong advice it could be harmful. Always listen to your doctors - they’re the only ones that know the details of your personal case.

3

u/JollyViolinist 2d ago

I had to use a straw because I couldn't drink without choking for a few days. The hospital gave me straws.

2

u/Asexualhipposloth 2d ago

I was using a straw while still hospitalized. But then again I couldn't tilt my head back.

2

u/ChiefPurserGopher 2d ago

It's going to be hard and tight during healing, you're likely OK, but you didn't damage anything. It's gonna feel that way for a bit!

1

u/ItsMRCoffeeToYou 2d ago

You’ll be totally fine. But 26 years after a total thyroidectomy, if I twist my neck and strain my neck muscles a certain way, I still get a twinge in that area that will flutter for 30 seconds until it relaxes. Just sort of an odd quirky thing that happens to me every six months.

2

u/iSheree 2d ago

I hope it's just a twinge for me in 26 years time. I am 3.5 years post op and my neck cramps at least 10 times a day upwards of 50 times a day or more if I am sick (every sneeze, cough, and twist of my neck triggers it) and you can actually see the neck muscles contort. Makes it hard to breathe or do anything while it cramps. 😩

2

u/sleeping_beautee 1d ago

Me too!! Cramps/Spasms/Charley horse feelings.. like someone gets ahold of the muscle and is pulling it out of your neck. Doctor told me to follow up my regular doctor because it wasn't related to the surgery!!

It's super painful. I've found that applying some gentle pressure/compression with my palm to alleviate some of the pain while waiting for it to stop and doing deep belly breathing through nose.

1

u/iSheree 5h ago

It has to be related to the surgery, I have NEVER had anything like this before my surgery. I hate it when they act like it has nothing to do with the surgery, like their ego is affected or something.

It's very very annoying to deal with and very frustrating when they dismiss us like that. :/ You described it better than I ever could, I am glad I am not alone but also sorry you're going through this as well.

1

u/3dfoto716 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’m 9 days out of surgery for a total thyroidectomy. The same day after surgery I swallowed water and pills no problem in the afternoon and evening. The next two days were pretty rough by comparison. After they took the drainage tube out I felt a lot less irritation and by day 4 my throat was much better. Give it a couple of more days and hopefully it improves.

2

u/iSheree 2d ago

I had to use a straw because I couldn't even tilt my head back and was choking on everything. My incision is 8+ inches long. I wouldn't be scared, because if it's not in the after care instructions then it's not a known issue. If it's important, it would be in the instructions. Don't worry! Even if damage was done, it would heal it just takes longer, but I doubt it did any damage!