Rushed to hospital with urinary retention on 26th May, and they documented I was under investigation for peripheral neuropathy.

They drained 500ml of urine out of me that I couldn’t dribble out, they then referred me to RBWH for continuity of care with the neurology Dept. I had to have the cathether stay in me after I was sent home from hospital, to wait for an appointment with urology dept at RBWH.

They made a comment on discharge letter, saying I had to be taught to self-cath. Plus I had to leave cathther in until I had appt with urology at RBWH.

I cried and cried for days, having to keep this horrible cathether bag in me.

I was completely healthy, happy, bubbly, funny, excited about life, fun personality. I have a loving partner and I am a Mum of two wonderful sons, and also having a loving daughter in law and a gorgeous grandson.

I loved being a Manager of a major retail store, couldnt wait to get to work, i had a routine and my life was good, great people I was working with, my family were happy too and so grateful for my wonderful family.

AND THEN had surgery in April 2018 and ending up constantly coughing, choking feeling in throat. Having to sit up to sleep for 4 months, numerous dollars paid to doctors as i was so sick. To also unable to eat solid food as it gets stuck and then vomiting it up, and then needing a cathether left in for 4 weeks waiting to see a urologist, to be rushed into hospital with acute infection. And now having to self cathether because i now have atonic bladder and my bladder doesnt contract to let my wee out.

Well that’s what happened all in a space of 20 months and it’s still happening. Ever since I had thyroid surgery in April 2018 by Dr KS. My whole life has changed and my family have had to see this daily, and the surgeon has no duty of care and is not interested…….

If only she had taken an interest in all of my symptoms, but her ego got in the way!!!!

#whathappensinvagus

Well it’s the 1st May, back in Stanthorpe Hospital!!!!

I was experiencing short of breath and sharp pains in middle of chest, they kept me in hospital for 6 hours before releasing me. but I don’t feel right. Thankfully my heart was okay. Just short of breath.

Today or should I say tonight is the 6th May, and as usual my throat feels so bad. My bladder, well I need to put a cathether in cause I am just dribbling. I just feel sorry for myself at the moment, so unfair, I am hoping that the website that I am creating with my journalist will help others, before they Decided to get there throat cut.

7th May, 2020, Thursday – had a phone consultation with Dr H. We spoke about organising another psychologist, as previous one MW, saw me twice, then she became unavailable. I asked her on one of my appointments “I know you can’t fix my throat, so what’s the plan for trying to help me?” She said we will discuss that next session, but next session never came.

So Dr H will find me a different phychologist. We also spoke about my hospital visit, and he wants me to have a chest x-ray just to check.

I asked him for a long face to face appointment, so Monday 11th May it is.

Today though is the Friday 8th May, my throat just kept spasming. I tried to drive to town today to get my chest x-ray, which is only 10 minutes from home. If I sit upright for that long, my throat spasms and presses more, so much so, my eyes water.

I just came back home again…..so annoying, so distressing…..

It’s Saturday night, 9th May 2020 and I tried to have mashed potato, I should learn really, cause I have tried mashed potato before and it just stays in my throat. Should have had my soup instead. It’s been stuck now for 50mins so far.

11th May, long consultation with Dr H, I had a list of things to talk about, he mentioned that my lack of nutrition needs a dietician to look at me also, so he will organise that too.

He also made the comment that if my surgeon that did the thyroid surgery back in April 2018. My Doctor commented that if she had just followed up the care on me after, I wouldn’t have had to suffer for over 2yrs now as a solution may have been worked out for me. You know, if only she had done the right thing!!!! “Duty of Care”!!!! That’s all I needed back then, instead of my whole life being changed and me being ruined.

My eyes keep weeping, just moisture and tears, all to do with parasympathetic system, of course all relevant to vagus nerve. The more pressure in my throat, the more my eyes water.

Mashed potato still stuck, some has gone down 1hr 10 mins later after I had some hot water. OMG

My throat is spasming so bad, I am coughing and chokee. Its feeling short of breath that upsets me too.

I gave up smoking over 2yrs ago now, but with everything that’s been going on since my thyroid surgery, I don’t feel any benefit from giving up.

Having more pushee and chokee feelings in my throat, and again my eyes are watering from the choke feeling. It’s so bad, the tears roll down my cheek and I am not crying. Just chokes so much My eyes water. Today is Friday 15th May 2020.

I am going to lay on my side of right now to take the pressure off something so I don’t feel like this. OMG!!!!

“Insert an article on the parasympathetic nerve system and how what’s happening related to vagus nerve”

Saturday night, 16th May, right where the clip is, it’s a pinching feeling. Please this is torture. I had soup tonight, and I cam feel it still trying to go down after an hour.

I received the letter from my doctor, so i can show whomever needs to see it.

My condition seems to be permanent!!!!! And it’s all because of the surgery I had in April 2018.

I want to create a website so none of this happens to anyone else and if you need surgery on your throat, choose the right surgeon who has emotional intelligence and duty of care, cause mine clearly doesn’t.

Today is the 30th May 2020, and while trying to have a pureed vegetable soup, my throat started feeling compressed even more and i ended up in a coughing episode, over and over, I felt like I was choking.

My voice is now husky and I am crying.

Last day of may and this is one of my cathethers I filled up last night

19th March 2018 had an ultrasound with surgical procedure (FNA -FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATION) BIOPSY OF LUMP ON RIGHT THYROID.

16th May 2018

Rushed to Emergency Centre, unable to breathe properly, choking feeling, pressure feeling in throat/neck. Can’t stop coughing and coughing. I was at the Brisbane North side Emergency Centre, then they admitted me into Holy Spirit Private Hospital.

I kept saying something is wrong in my throat, “help me”. I can’t take deep breaths in, I am struggling to take in deep breaths. I can breathe in but not out properly.

I was in hospital for 3 days, had different doctors come and see me, gave me large doses of cortisone. I said it’s not my Asthma, it’s a different feeling, I am not responding to the cortisone, so that proves it’s not my Asthma.

They released me after 3 days, but I was still I’ll, just kept coughing and choking at home, slept upright, felt so weak.

Sunday 20th May 2018

Its Sunday 20th of the May 2018 and its been 4 weeks since my thyroid surgery & my neck area feels so chokee and my throat is so sore and my swallowing is tight.

The scar area incision is causing me pain and sharp jabs and tightness. A choker hold on my neck.

I got out of hospital on Friday recently because I spent 3 days in hospital not being able to breathe. Cannula injections of cortisone whilst in hospital I am a also having 3 to 4 hrly salbutomol mask inhalation nebulizer. Feeling very weak and fragile.

My chin is numb in parts and also my lips in parts. Feeling and looking so sick. My neck feels like someone is pushing fingers into my neck pressure and choking feeling.

Tightening feeling likes spasms, constant press then it releases over and over again this spasm feeling.

Prickly feeling behind scar area. When I swallow I am feeling the tightness, even spit feels tight to swallow.

When I feel my face, my left cheek is numb.

This is how I am feeling daily and it May 2018, waiting for these feelings to stop.

It’s Tuesday 21st May and something is h a opening in my thro say it’s all in my th throat neck area. Swallowing is tight Dr L is coming for a home visit to give me a referral, I have a terrible Barkey cough all the time.

Wednesday 23rd May 2018, it’s 1.25am and I am feeling emotional and fragile and the pressing feeling in my neck is so bad. I washed my hair and parts of my chin and face still feel numb.

Very tired, OMG so tired and my throat just strangled me. The spasms are so bad.

Thursday 24th May, my coughing is still very barking and my breathing is space and breathy.

It’s early hours Thursday night, woke suddenly, throat closing off, not able to breathe and I just keep coughing and coughing.

That of course was over 1 year ago, so i am writing this blog month by month since then cause it August 2019 and i am still suffering since thyroid surgery in April 2018.

So stay tuned the rest of my blogging will come, as I believe the nerve damage that was done during surgery has effected my life in so many ways, so be careful who you get to cut your throat.

In fact, if I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have had this surgery. They took my right thyroid because of two tumours.

All was benign, I should have just been monitored every month and maybe they wouldn’t have grown or maybe they would have got smaller.

I just wish my doctor or my specialist suggested this, cause I don’t believe I needed surgery. Not at that point, not so quick but surgeons are always keen to cut and look at it from a dollarview instead of a patient’s needs case by case.

I should have not been rushed by surgeon to have surgery and talked into having my throat cut. But hind sight is priceless..and we put our faith and trust into the medical system.

I feel I have been let down. My surgeons comment back in July 2018, after I sent her numerous emails and went to her office twice crying and trying to explain how I am feeling was “I have done thousands of these surgeries and I don’t know what is wrong with you”. She could have said let’s see what’s wrong and work it out, but she decided to ignore me, and I heard no more from her. In fact, she doesn’t want to know at all, she is not interested in my suffering.

So here I am, 16 months later and still suffering with tightness in neck, my upper esophageal spincther spasms on and off and I feel like I am being choked. If I eat solid food, it stays in my throat at top of my eosophagus for 45 mins to 3 hrs then I throw up. Vomit it all up, doesn’t reach my stomach.

I will list all of my symptoms later on in my posts, but since thyroid surgery, I haven’t been the same. I have dysphagia which is a swallowing problem and tightness and choking feeling in neck. I can still swallow liquids just food gets stuck. I am unable to eat solid food, have to have pureed food, or food soaked in mayonaise.

I also have dysphonia as my voice gets hoarse and changes tone on and off all day and tires easily.

So my life is very different now and I am still unable to get answers so that I can be fixed.

I just feel something and everything is happening in my throat/neck area right behind scar. I also have a swelling on neck right side, exactly where clip is.

In fact, I never knew a clip was left inside me, surgeon didn’t tell me, I found out from Bupa. So something happened in surgery and something is causing all of my symptoms.

Also prickle sensation sometimes right behind scar, a clip that was left there and I was never told why, (only found out in October 2018, surgeon never told me) i believe is pressing on a nerve and causing me all of my problems.

When I had a swallowing test done in July 2018, the speech pathologist said your vagus nerve may have been compressed in surgery. Apparently that’s to do with tenth cranial nerve, but she also mentioned ninth cranial nerve as well.

So nerve damage may have been done in surgery, (noone will admit that of course).

Also I can’t wee as I retain my wee and it dribbles out then stops. Also because of the parasympathetic nerve structure, I now have to self catheter cause my spincther for my bladder won’t open to let the wee out. I have urinary retention and this has been going on since December 2018.

Some literature says the vagus nerve also is related to the spincter muscle of your bladder, letting it open when ready to wee. As it is a parasympathetic nerve, it’s all related. Some doctors don’t agree and it’s only because they don’t know much about the vagus nerve.

Everything relates back to whatever happened in surgery.

Throughout my story I will enlighten and educate you on the vagus nerve (yes we all have one) – it is so important and yet no normal person out there knows about the vagus nerve.

So let me take you back to February 2018. I was doing my usual beauty regime and I noticed a lump on the right side of my neck. I mentioned it to my doctor when I saw him next and he sent me off for tests.

I had an FNA needle done which resulted in findings of “suspicious cells”, so when I returned to Dr L, he sent me to a surgeon, Dr K. I wish I could turn back time, I would never haven chosen that surgeon because after everything, she mainly specialises in breasts, not thyroid. If only I got more opinions, if only I went to see someone else, if only I wasn’t rushed, if only I was more educated I would have made different decisions. If only…

Before and After Photos Below

Before everything, I was completely healthy, happy, bubbly, funny, excited about life, and with a fun personality. I have a loving partner and I am a Mum of two wonderful sons, and I also having a loving daughter in law and a gorgeous grandson.

I loved being a Manager of a major retail store: I couldn’t wait to get to work. I had a routine and my life was good; I had great people I was working with, my family were happy too. I am so grateful for my wonderful family.

AND THEN AFTER: I had surgery in April 2018. Before I was healthy and happy, and then afterwards ending up constantly coughing, choking feeling in throat, having to sit up to sleep for 4 months, and numerous dollars paid to doctors as I was so sick. To also being unable to eat solid food as it gets stuck and then I vomit it up, as well as needing a catheter left in for 4 weeks waiting to see a urologist, which led to being rushed into hospital with acute infection. And now having to self catheter because I now have atonic bladder and my bladder doesn’t contract to let my wee out.



Well that’s what happened all in a space of 20 months and it’s still happening. Ever since I had thyroid surgery in April 2018 by Dr KS. My whole life has changed and my family have had to see this daily. The surgeon has no duty of care and is not interested…

If only she had taken an interest in all of my symptoms, but her ego got in the way!

#whathappensinvagus

Found a vagus nerve muscular skeletal specialist, he gave me a vagus nerve stumulation session on 7th September 2018, three days later my throat started to feel less chokee. I was able to go to Stanthorpe for 5 days and symptoms in throat area had settled but still there.

I thought I would go back to the vagus nerve specialist, hoping he could fix the damage that the surgery had done.

I had another 9 sessions over the next 3 months, but the specialist was concerned when I told him i had discovered that a titanium clip had been left in me and I only found out in October 2018 after I demanded another c.t scan of my neck.

The vagus nerve specialist said he didn’t want to treat me because the clip maybe compressing the nerve so get more investigations done and come back to him.

The

I should be feeling much better by now but, its now June 2018 and the feeling in my throat right behind my scar feels tight and swallowing is tight and restrictive. I also noticed I have no gag reflex. No appetite, prickly feel in my neck where scar is.

I need a specialist to please fix me.

Surgery was done with apparently no complication and yes my right thyroid was taken.

Results of lump were benign.

I took a long time to wake up and when I did, oh my, my throat and neck felt so bad. Sore, breathless, coughing, choking, pressing feeling, I didn’t feel right.

Her comments to me after I had cried and explained to her my life is not the same, I haven’t recovered from surgery.

My surgeons comment was,

I have done thousands of these surgeries and I don’t know what is wrong with you

I just wanted answers as to why am I feeling like this, every day I felt like my throat was pressing and spasming, I also had a swelling on right side.

Surgeon said go and get physio on your neck, maybe you need to loosen muscles.

So off i go to a specialist neck physio, known by surgeon of course. I will list the details of how i felt after i had my first session with Kerry for Physio.