I am 10 days post total thyroidectomy. back to work doing manual labor, will i need more calcium than the 2, twice a day i am already taking?

Depends: It depends on whether your calcium level dropped after surgery, how low it went, what the level is at this time and the symptoms you are currently experiencing. Usually hypocalcemia is transient and does not require long term calcium replacement. Check the level through lab testing.

This may be temporar: The parathyroid glands (there's usually 4 of them) are near, or embedded in, the thyroid. After a thyroidectomy, some of the parathyroids may be removed or affected by local swelling. As long as there is a functional parathyroid gland left, it should recover, make parathyroid hormone and properly regulate your calcium, but in the short run, you may need to take some supplemental calcium.