The FastDay Forum

@tracieknits what did yr treatment involve,and how do you feel after it?x

[Tracieknits]

Well @CandiceMarie, I just had my treatment last week. It involved eating radioactive iodine The iodine gets absorbed by the thyroid and the radiation then attacks it. Over the next six months, my thryoid is expected to freak out, go hyper for a little while, and then slowly die. We won't know for sure if the treatment was effective for about six months, and we won't know where my thyroid ends up - it could end up normal. It could end up normal for ten years and then go hypo (too slow). It could just go to hypo and it could just die completely and be utterly non-functional. Or there's even a small chance that the radiation won't fix it enough and I'll have to get irradiated again next year. There were no real side effects, just sore throat and swollen salivary glands. The worst part was that I had to stay six feet away from family members for 24 hours, then three feet away until 72 hours had passed

Fingers crossed that the radiation damages my thyroid just enough to make it normal

Yes here's wishing for a normal thyroid for you Tracie!
My gosh,eating radioactive iodine, then those tricky 72 hrs afterwards!
Fingers crossed for the best possible outcome! XX

[Tracieknits]

Thanks so much @CandiceMarie!!! Yeah, it was weird, especially with the doctor standing a safe six feet away and basically telling me to help myself to the pill from its lead-lined container but I only had 15 millicuries, which I gather is about 10% of what a cancer patient can be given. So a fairly low dose.

I had a kidney function test years ago where they gave me something radioactive to drink and then watched it flow through my system. This was a much lower dose than they are giving @Tracieknits for her overactive thyroid. But it was enough that they told me NOT to fly anywhere for a couple days, as I'd set off the TSA's detectors.

[Tracieknits]

I had a kidney function test years ago where they gave me something radioactive to drink and then watched it flow through my system. This was a much lower dose than they are giving @Tracieknits for her overactive thyroid. But it was enough that they told me NOT to fly anywhere for a couple days, as I'd set off the TSA's detectors.

I had the diagnostics on Tuesday - that's a different isotope, Iodine-123 and it's used for tests because while it shows up really well in imaging, it doesn't actually harm any of the body's tissues.

The one I had on Thursday was Iodine-131, which is a byproduct of the nuclear energy industry (radioactive waste!) and does actually harm tissues. They were a lot more careful with Thursday's pill than they were with Tuesday's! They also told me that there are radiation detectors on highways and trains heading into NYC as well as in the subway system. I had originally said I wanted to do it right before I went to NYC for a knitting convention, but the doctor said no way, I'd be arrested for sure. I guess it's good to know they watch for that stuff!

@Tracieknits I just wanted to pass on that an old school friend of mine had radioactive iodine for an overactive thyroid years ago and as far as i know she has ended up with a normally functioning thyroid. Fingers crossed it works that way for you too.

[Tracieknits]

Thanks a lot @Lil!!

@Wolfie thanks That medicine is for hypo, which is the more common thyroid disorder. If in the future you find it's not working as well, try taking it first thing on an empty stomach. I can certainly see how hypo symptoms could feel like depression!

I'm glad to hear you're doing better!! good luck on losing the last 3 quickly

I wonder, do you think I could loose weight faster (those 17kg have taken some time) if I start to take the Levaxin first thing in the morning on empty stomach?
Wishful thinking or?