Thyroidectomy post op

So my name is Mike and I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer at age 31. I've been a firefighter for about 11 years. I had my surgery done August 28th 2024 at Columbia in NYC. Everybody was professional and my surgeon said it went well. I had a total thyroid removal. My surgeon recommended this so I didn't have a possibility of a 2nd surgery.

Now what to expect post op. Everyone is different. I woke up and I was like wow I feel like I have a sore throat. The RN I had was really cool and said he had his thyroid taken out also. My incision was bigger than anticipated and i had hospital glue and a stitch that was taken out after the procedure.I had to wait 3 to 4 hours in the recovery room in case my calcium dropped. Warning signs would be a tingling feeling. My voice was slightly hoarse but I could talk normally. Was told it will eventually go away. They gave me extra strength tylenol and some fentanyl which helped a bit. Then I was discharged.

When I got home I had spaghetti it went down smooth. Ice water is great and so is cepracol to suck on. Biggest problem I had was the back of my neck was killing me not the front where I had my incision. Could be different for others I don't know. And finding a position to sleep might be difficult. I sleep on 2 pillows I went down to 1. Surgeon said I can sleep on my side just not on my stomach if I can help it. Hope some of this helps. Swallowing does still hurt dont know when that will get better. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Stay strong everyone.