LGreg34 0 #1 April 17, 2004 I have to have Thyroid Surgery this coming Wednesday. Definite removal of the right lower lobe and possibly total removal of the thyroid depending on the biopsy that will be ran while I'm still on the table. I ran across a post here about giving blood and skydiving and within that post there was a long excerpt from a Brittish (I believe) manual talking about people with Thyroid problems being unfit for sky diving. Do any medical people here know why? I put in a call to my Specialist's office, they called me back saying they knew nothing of why it would affect me sky diving (which disconcerted me somewhat). I told them that this wasn't heresay, it was actually in some sort of manual, but didn't explain why. I take it that it has to do with altitude..........does anyone know? I am a very low time jumper and feel the need to be as safe as possible. My Specialist told me that I should be able to jump aprox 2 weeks after this surgery, but I surely don't want to go up if there is the slightest chance of passing out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
docjohn 0 #2 April 17, 2004 After surgical removal of part of your thyroid gland, you could develop hypothyroidism (depending on how much is removed). Your surgeon will probably have thyroid function testing on you in 1 to 3 months. The symptoms develop slowly and passing out is not a common feature of hypothyroidism. It can cause fatigue and edema (swelling) if uncontrolled but not loss of conciousness. If you do develop hypothyroidism, your doctor will prescribe a daily dose of thyroid hormone which you will take forever. The bottom line is, its easy to control, you should be able to do anything you did before surgery. So my advice is, wait the 2 weeks to recover from surgery and get back in the air. Be sure to have thyroid function tests every few months. Now, to make my lawyer happy, here's my "for the record" advice: no, don't skydive. Even if you have a normal thyroid gland, don't skydive. It's too dangerous and you will die. I would never recommend that anyone skydive, ever. So there. John Musgrave MD D-13182 Doc http://www.manifestmaster.com/video Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LGreg34 0 #3 April 17, 2004 Lol..........Thank you for the information and I understand about making your lawyer happy! Okay, I have now had replies by a Med Student and a Doctor, so I will not be paranoid about this. Thank You!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SlyFox 0 #4 April 20, 2004 Good luck on your upcoming surgery. *****Why would anyone jump from a perfectly good airplane? Because it isn't much fun if it's broke.**** Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LGreg34 0 #5 April 20, 2004 Thank You Bob, I've been a little out of sorts over this so I've been kind of quiet. Thanks again for downsizing my picture for me. I appreciate it. I'll get in touch at the end of the week or over the weekend to let you know that everything is alright. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rdy2skydive 0 #6 April 20, 2004 I've had thyroid cancer twice and had a total thyroidectomy 13 years ago plus another surgery 4 years ago when it returned. I have no thryoid and take medication everyday. I just celebrated my 100th jump on Saturday. All of my doctors think I'm crazy for wanting to jump out of an airplane but see no reason why I can't. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I will be more than happy to talk to you if you want. Good luck with your surgery. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
