RAI Last Day in Isolation

Today is my last full day in isolation and tonight is the last night.  I'm pretty bored.  I started cleaning up today.  When I saw the nuclear tech at the hospital yesterday she told me after I left she went back to my room to scan the radiation levels and clean the room.  What surprised her is I barely left a trace of ANY thing in the room.  She said it was the absolute cleanest ever, she was so impressed.  I guess that means I'm not a messy person? Generally I'm not but now I have proof I guess lol

So I started cleaning up today here a little altho there is very little to clean up.  I'm looking forward to jumping into my crazy schedule the next few days, playing with my dog who I haven't seen in a week and general human contact.  I stayed away from my dog and cat because they are both young and I read that they are similar to young children.  Similar in that their immune system is not built like an adult human to withstand even short periods of being in the same room as someone emitting radioactive rays and I didn't want to take any chances.  If my illness and treatment did anything to cause harm to my fur-kids (or anyone else's for that matter) I could never forgive myself.  My fur-kids are my world.

I feel fine today except for a minor headache when I woke up and I'm tired because I tossed and turned all night.  Reeaaaallllyyyy looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again with my giant snuggle bear of a dog next to me.

Honey has been preparing all my meals too so I am actually looking forward to being able to prepare food again, which is a strange thing because I never particularly cared for being the cook but have come to enjoy it more and more in the last year or two.

Basically I can't wait to rejoin everyday life...and see what craziness comes next!

~Sally

RAI Isolation at Home

So I've been home since Friday.  It is now Monday afternoon and I have 2 nights left in isolation.  MAN am I bored! LOL!!!

Today I built a wooden replica of the Seattle Space Needle for crying out loud.... hahahahahahha. The last two days I did movie marathons. I also spent most of my day today catching up on some work related emails, phone calls, etc. 

Today's bonus was I got to leave isolation and go back to the hospital for my full body scan.  Here's how it works:

They gave me a glass of water to drink down.  Then I laid on a skinny little table thing (looked like an ironing board) and attached little sides so my arms would have a place to lay.  Then they took 6 individual photos of my body, starting at my head and going all the way down to my knees.  Each photo took 10 minutes to complete so I had to stay perfectly still for 10 minute increments - no easy feat! But I did it and they didn't have to repeat any of them. 

The full body scan will show them where the radioactive iodine went in my body and also if there is any remaining thyroid tissue left in me.  I will get the results went I see my endocrinologist in 2.5 weeks.

Honey has been amazing and bringing me meals and snacks.  He pops in to visit alot and my parents have popped in alot too. 

I am REALLY looking forward to this being over and if you could see my calendar for Wednesday and Thursday this week you would appreciate how busy I'm going to be.  Basically I will be flat out for the next few weeks between work and moving.  Thank goodness we hired movers!

I'm feeling totally fine today.  I had a headache mid afternoon but Tylenol licked that pretty fast.  My throat is still a tiny bit sore to touch but nothing that is really bothering me or anything.  I'm still a little cold all the time but definitely not freezing like I've been in the past 3 weeks. I think being on the Cytomel 12.5mcg 2x a day PLUS Levothyroxine 150mcg 1x a day is really rebooting my system faster than just being on one or the other.  6 weeks like this then just the Levothyroxine after that (forever).

Thank you to everyone who has been following my blog.  I plan on continuing with the trials and tribulations of day to day and will update on my health as it comes up.  I hope I was able to give someone out there some insight on what the experience is like or could be like and for everyone else (friends and family) I'm glad I was able to keep you all informed.

~Sally

RAI and Me - My Experience

Hello again! I am back from hospital, in fact was back yesterday around noon but slept most of the day so I didn't get to blog.

I survived! I am also now radioactive! Let me tell you this whole thing has been VERY sci-fi.  We are talking next level, stuff I thought was only in movies, sci-fi crazy.

First let's talk about what happened when I went in.  I met with a very nice Dr who went over the procedure and all the ins, outs, ups, downs and maybes of receiving this treatment.  Extremely thorough and informative.

Then I went to the floor I was supposed to be on and literally "checked in" to my hospital room like it was a hotel reservation.  Strange but okay.  I was informed that it has been quite some time since they have had an IN patient receiving this treatment and that I could consider myself one of the most very special patients in the hospital this week.

My nurse showed me to my private one-bed room with private bathroom.  She checked my pulse, temp and BP 128/89...a little higher than normal but I was nervous. Then I waited for a few hours.  I basically hung out in my room and napped.

At 2pm the nuclear tech showed up and explained everything all over again in full detail.  They are not messing around.  She and her observing resident then prepared my room by removing my garbage can and taping what I call doggie training pads all over the bathroom floor (to minimize contamination) and give me a billion instructions on everything from always wearing socks or slippers to how to cut my food up, etc.  They also literally plastered the outside of my room door with large BioHazard signs and warnings and charts.

Here we go.  I am given instructions and they go stand outside my wide open door on the opposite side of the hall.  I am by the window farthest into the room.  I open a large black lead shoebox sized box that has a giant BioHazard symbol on top.  There is a square lead lid with a handle, I remove that.  Inside is thermos sized lead container with a hockey puck sized lid that weighs 10-15lbs.  I lift that off.  Inside THAT is a small clear plastic container (similar to the size of a pill bottle) with no lid but a semi large red and white capsule with...you guessed it...BioHazard symbols. I pick up the container and pop the pill into my mouth and down a glass of water. 

The nuclear tech comes in and stands on her mark she has taped to the floor while I stand on mine and she picks up what LITERALLY is a geiger counter but looks like it is an original from the 50s.  It is a smallish brown metal box with a dial and a needle that moves back and forth.  There is a 1 meter long black cord coming out of it leading to a silver microphone shaped thing she points at me.

I am now radioactive.

They leave, locking the door and me in.  They have placed a table by my door allowing the meal guy to open the door and slide my food tray onto the table without entering. I'm not allowed to eat until dinner and I'm hungry so I sleep.

The rest of day 1 I slept off and on, ate dinner and called honey for a backup of low iodine snacks.  Before I took my pill the meal guy came and gave me a heads up (and two thumbs down) that the LID breakfast was lacking.  It wasn't, but I got honey to bring me a bag of LID Snacks anyways which turned out to be a good thing.  When he brought it, my nurse opened the door enough for him to slip the bag on the table for me and say "hi honey! I'll call you tonight!" before she gave him the boot and locked me in again.

I slept. I ate. I gabbed on the phone- ALOT.  To honey, my parents a bunch and one of my sisters called.  Basically ZERO side effects day 1.

Day 2 I woke up feeling like garbage.  Just groggy and gross and generally crappy.  My mouth was super dry first thing, and my face swelled like a chipmunk.  My saliva glands HURT so much.  By the end of the day, and many sour candies later, they still hurt but not as bad.  But my throat felt sore to touch like someone had punched me in the neck, and slightly swollen.  I called and had the TV service hooked up for day 2 and watched 6 hours of Property Brothers, 2 hours of the Food Network and an hour of misc.  I also talked on the phone ALOT. My best friend here in the city called a couple times to check on me as did my parents and honey. 

The nuclear tech came and checked my levels with her geiger counter again.  My endocrinologist stopped in to see how I was doing.  Said everything I was experiencing was normal. My nurses called me on the phone to check on me.

Day 3 I woke up to my breakfast being dropped off and my best friend from Alberta calling.  My mouth was dry again but my face swelling had gone waaaayyyy down and my saliva glands weren't as sore as before.  My throat still hurt to touch.  I packed up and got dressed and awaited the nuclear tech at 10am.

When she came she measured my levels and I was way down from day 2.  I was under the acceptable levels and could go home! Hooray!!

My dad came and got me and brought me home to my home hideaway for the next 5 nights.  He drove, I sat in the backseat on the opposite side of the car from him.  I got my cellphone back and started catching up everyone by text.  My other 2 sisters called and said they had tried to reach me in hospital but the line was always busy....oops!

I started my meds right away and Honey made me some wonderful food.  Literally everything I have eaten since coming home from hospital has tasted like the best thing I ever ate!!! No more LID!!!

By this morning my saliva glands don't hurt at all anymore and I'm finally not freezing any longer.  I actually got hot during the night last night! My throat still hurts to touch but the swelling has almost all gone away.  I'm mostly just tired today like if I had a cold or a long day.

For those interested, they gave me a dose of 100mcl of radioactive iodine.  The range can be anywhere from 30mcl to 200mcl.  So 100mcl is on the higher end of the scale.

I know my symptoms could have been so much worse than they were and I consider my body as either super tough and durable or my remaining thyroid cells just gobbled up the radioactive iodine and moved on without too much adversity.  Either way I am grateful, so very grateful, my symptoms weren't worse than than were.  I didn't experience any nausea, only the occasional wooziness(is that a word?) when I moved to fast or stood up too quick, and the above described face and throat pain.

I am now in my new "home away from home" temporary setup and had **THE** very best shower of my entire life.  Now it is nap time.

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 14

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
1 LID muffin

Lunch:
same as yesterday Basmati rice with chicken breast and homemade tomato sauce

Dinner:
same as lunch

Snacks:
3 chunky monkey cookies
1 LID muffin
gala apple

ooohhhh!!! I am soooo tired today.  and I typed a great big long blog then got a phone call and it erased everything! Boooo

Well I am queen of the slugs today. Here's how it went down: I got up around 9am and ate a muffin.  Went back to bed.  Answered some work related calls and texts from under 5 blankets.  My sister on the east coast called and we grabbed for an hour.  Got out of bed at noon.

Ate some lunch then crawled back to bed. More blankets.  I slept until 4pm.  By 5pm I was still in bed and crawled to the bathroom and had a shower. Then I packed my bag for the hospital.  Had a short visit with my mom and dad then flung myself over an armchair for awhile with blankets.

My dog has been glued to my side all day.  Best dog ever! <3 He slept by me all day and now he's playing at my feet all evening with his toys. He has had a look of fear and suspicion all day that something is up...especially when I packed my bag for tomorrow.  He's turning 3 in a month but he'll always be my baby.  I baby and spoil him...all 90lbs.  And he protects and looks out for me.  Gonna be a hard few days without him.

He will be happy hanging out with his dad while I'm gone though.  And then I get forward to the excited return where I will get mauled and licked to death lol Lots of snuggles tonight!

I was the epitome of a slug today though.  I ate out of necessity mainly.  Maybe a little out of hunger.  I can't hardly hold my head up and my eyes are so very heavy.  And I'm constantly frozen.  I also had a headache that loomed at varying degrees all day.

Needless to say I'm grateful I only got this tired now and that I didn't have to do this no meds/LID diet for any longer.  Being hypothyroid is bad enough but FORCED extreme hypothyroidism on no meds and strange diet is worse.  I am also grateful that I am only *this* tired now because every person is different and apparently there can be some very extreme side effects.  Maybe my body handled it like a champ or maybe I just didn't allow myself to cave to the exhaustion because I was busy?? Who knows.  Results may vary from person to person.

Tomorrow I go to the Nuclear Medicine dept at the hospital for 10am for admitting and prep.  From what I've read I'll probably have received my RAI pills by noon-ish.  Then I will be isolated from even staff and technicians at the hospital with limited check ins to prevent spreading the radiation.   I can't have visitors and altho I was told I can bring my cell phone, I am not going to.  I use my cell ALOT, as do most people? and I thought it best to minimize exposing it to the radiation while I'm at the highest levels.  I'll be back on it Friday.

So I'll post again Friday with my experience in hospital, how I filled my days of isolation and how I reacted to the RAI treatment.

My best friend quoted this to me tonight:
"I wish I was a glow worm cause glow worms are never glum..how can you be gloomy when the sun shines out your bum?!" My new mantra. hahahaha

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 13

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
2 LID Apple cinnamon muffins

Lunch:
same as dinner last night....Rice with chicken and homemade Roma tomato sauce.

Dinner:
same as lunch

Snacks:
a couple chunky monkey cookies
a could LID muffins
green grapes
rice cakes with concord grape jelly

Well. Today was more or less a continuation of yesterday.  I got up at 7am. Went to the hospital early to try and beat the wait at the blood lab.  Got there at 8 something. Only 2 people ahead of me, I was out in 15 minutes.

Except. ***sighhhh*** I got a trainee technician. Now for anyone squeamish about getting bloodwork I'll spare you the descriptive bits. I almost said "nope! no way! no trainee for me" but I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.  She seemed organized like she knew what she was doing.  She didn't.

So she tried my right arm but MISSED. She didn't bruise me or hurt me or anything horrible.  She just missed when she poked me and nothing came out. Thankfully the senior nurse jumped right in, took over, fitted my right arm with a cotton ball and some tape and proceeded to do the correct method on my left arm. 

NO MORE TRAINEES!!! Ugh.

I must have looked like hell because the Sr nurse asked if I was okay.  I told her I was on a forced hypothyroidism for a treatment and was so tired I could sleep right there.  She made me sit for a few minutes before I left.  Don't worry I gave up my driving privilege 2 days ago. Honey drove me today. 

Back home we went and I bundled up in my fuzzy heavy bathrobe and a blanket and slept until noon.

After some lunch honey and I had some work business to see to on the other side of town **more sighing** and I finally got home around 6.  Some supper than pj's and fuzzy bathrobes and socks.  My feet were like ice cubes all day today.  I managed to throw a load of laundry in and spent the night bundled on the couch with my dog.

Last day tomorrow.  I made it.  I cried for pizza and declared that was vicariously eating through others today.  I dreamed of  condiments and dairy products and junk food.  Horrible, I know.  Low iodine diet isn't that horrible.  it's very healthy albeit you feel like crap from no meds so that probably didn't help.  When you feel like crap you want comfort food.  I got bland food.  Or lots and lots of veggies and fruits.  My body feels like it had a major "food detox".  And honey and I agreed I get a small pass for some pizza and chocolate then we keep on being healthy.  I am so down with that.

I even dreamed about cottage cheese in a cantaloupe for a snack because I looovvveee cottage cheese and I miss dairy.

The tomato sauce honey made is delicious.  I will probably repeat that again tomorrow with chicken and rice and maybe a side garden salad.

I'm tired.  I hope my body has agreed with diet and lack of medication so we can do this treatment.  I really thought I would feel much MUCH worse than just being so exhausted.  I haven't lost anymore weight but my belly has shrank alot. 

Prepping for the hospital tomorrow. I'll keep you all posted and thank you to everyone who has read my blog of ramblings.  I'll keep 'em coming.

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 12

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
LID apple cinnamon muffin

Lunch:
the last bowl of delicious chicken stew

Dinner:
Basmati rice with a chicken breast and homemade Roma tomato sauce made by my Honey for me

Snacks:
LID Blueberry muffin
rice cake with natural pb
green grapes
chunky monkey cookie

Today was rough. Real rough.  I woke up at 8am after sleeping 8 hrs with a pounding headache.  I was awake for about an hour before passing out on the couch until noon.

After that Honey and I went to visit my mom and dad and ended up passing out on their couch.  #visitfail

Came back home and lounged around until 4pm.  Finally got some energy mustered and packed a few more boxes of odds n ends in the bedroom.  Then I gave the dog a bath.

After dinner I made a batch of Chunky Monkey Cookies.  they are okay, definitely nice to have a different something to munch on.  Here is the recipe:

3 bananas, mashed
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup natural pb
1/4 cup cocoa
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract

Drop by rounded spoonfuls on a baking sheet. 350°F for 10 mins. 

I did heaping tablespoon fulls and ended up with 15 cookies.  97 cals per cookie (thank you my fitness pal)! Like I said they were ok.  Not exactly turtle pie or anything but they get a pass.

Dinner was delicious! As was lunch.  So food wise today was wonderful.  Energy wise, not so much.  I was literally like a slug most of the day.  Also I was cold all day and frumped around in my heavy fuzzy joggers and my heavy fuzzy bathrobe. 

I created a blanket and pillow nest on my side of the sectional sofa haha and my noon appointment cancelled for tomorrow which I'm totally ok with. 

I do have to go for bloodwork tomorrow - pre RAI bloodwork.  They make sure all my thyroid hormone levels (TSH, T3, T4, Thyroglobulin, etc) are appropriately hypothyroid for the treatment.  They also make sure I'm not pregnant which I'm certain I'm not, but they check anyways because they would not perform the treatment if you were.

2 more days.  I'm getting nervous.  Not so much the treatment, but again - more about the side effects. Nausea, metal taste in your mouth and dried up salvatory glands, burning in your throat.  None of those sound fun, appealing or in the slightest bit okay with me.  For anyone who knows me I loath and detest Nausea.  It's almost the worst thing ever.  Thankfully they can give me gravol for it which is great because one gravol and I'm lights out. 

Deep breaths.  It will be over before I know it.  Until tomorrow....

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 11

in the home stretch! Here's what I ate today (spoiler: it was amazing!!!)

Breakfast:
2 LID Blueberry Muffins
a plain rice cake with my Kraft natural pb and smuckers concord grape jelly

Lunch:
homemade Chicken stew using Mrs Dash beef stew no salt added seasoning pack.  I used 2 5oz chicken breasts (boneless skinless) and added carrots, onion, green bell pepper, mushrooms and white potato (no skins!)

Dinner:
Repeat of lunch. OMG nomz nomz

Snacks:
2 apple cinnamon LID muffins and 1 blueberry one
microwave mug brownie with mini marshmallows on top

MANNNNNN!!!!! Today was great!  I actually was totally drained of life and flip flopped around on my bed til noon but once I got up and put that stew together - my world changed. 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!! it is sooo good.  compared to the very bland things I've been concocting, this topped it all off.  I was actually so sad to be so full off one bowl cuz I wanted to eat the whole pot. lol I have enough left for lunch tomorrow and I can't wait!!!

ok ok I'm going a little crazy.  but the stew was great.  Honey had a bowl for lunch too and said how good it was! Winnnning!!! ahhhhhh yep I loved the stew lol.

I also had a lightbulb moment tonight and remembered my microwave brownie in a mug recipe is LID friendly so I made one and I was on cloud nine.  Here's the recipe:

2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp cocoa
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp flour

Mix in a mug. Microwave for 60 seconds. BOOM! I threw a handful of mini marshmallows on mine before I nuked it and it was divine! When I used to make this I would throw a scoop of ice cream on top, which is also divine, but LID doesn't allow dairy and marshmallows did the trick! Did I mention I loved the stew?

So I was very tired today. I looked high cuz my eyes were so heavy.  It was ridiculous really.  I looked crappy all day but was too tired to care much.

Honey and I went out to procure some things I needed for my isolation.  Disposable plates and cutlery, toothbrush, slippers for the hospital, etc. OMG....

...so I ended up in Walmart in the aisle that sells bulk packages of undies for woman.  I'm talking Hanes and fruit of the loom - those kind.  Now I'm not by any means saying they are bad underwear or undermining anyone out there who buys them on the regular.  But this chick has a big booty to fill and sadly Hanes and fruity looms 95% cater to you skinnies out there, so most all my under roos come from Addition-elle, Penningtons, Torrid and other such plus size what-have-you stores.

So I decided to buy GRANNIE panties. Like full size, full height, full booty granny's. I decided it was best because I just don't want to keep radioactive drawers around after isolation.  Hanes and Fruit of the loom have a teeny weeny plus size selection.  So I find the briefs but they aren't sized normally.  Okay regular undies there's size S, M, L and XL.  this makes me think the SAME BRAND would then have 1X 2X 3X 4X. nope. the plus undies are sizes 9, 10, 11 and 12. WHAT????!!!

I opened up a package of every size to figure out what size they mean cuz the back of the package says "size 9 = 42" hips" or whatever the measurement was.  Sorry I make it my business to NOT measure my hips orbit on the earth on a regular basis.  So I had no idea.  I'm tearing packages open, checking sizes.  It was ridiculous. Underwear mayhem in aisle 6. Found a package and left a tornado of half opened undies boxes behind.

I also managed to pick up a variety of crafts, soduku books and puzzles to help me pass time.  I might just watch Netflix for 7 days.  but then I might look like a Crack head...so maybe not lol

it was a good day although I was so so very tired.  and my eyes won't stop leaking! WHAT ARE MY EYES DOING? like all day it's like I'm constantly welled up and of course, the constant dabbing at them is making me look like I'd been watching Netflix for 7 days straight. uh oh. lol Maybe I *will* do my crafts lol

At any rate my belly is full, my body is tired and I proudly own 5 pairs of full butt granny panties.  Seriously, these are like scary big undies.

Stayin' classy and dreaming of lunch tomorrow.

~Sally

RAI - What, How and Why??

I said I would talk more about the treatment I'm getting.  It's called "RadioActive Iodine Therapy" or RAI for short.

The basics are I take a radioactive iodine pill and am isolated for 7 days but there is alot more to it.  I took some information off the website of the hospital I'll be treated at and this is what it has to say.

First what is RAI?

Like other forms of radiation therapy, RAI treatment involves the use of radiation to destroy cancerous tissue. In RAI treatment, the purpose is to destroy any remaining thyroid tissue following surgery or to treat residual or recurrent disease. This is a unique treatment for differentiated forms of thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular). Instead of using an external radiation beam, with RAI treatment, the patient ingests a pill containing a prescribed dose of a radioactive form of iodine. The dosage of RAI is determined by your Endocrinologist based on many factors, such as hormone levels, extent of disease, etc.

How does RAI work?

Radioactive iodine emits two types of radiation called "beta particles" and "gamma rays". The beta particles, which travel only a few millimeters in tissue, irradiate and destroy the thyroid or thyroid cancer tissue. The gamma rays travel a much greater distance and can be used to image the distribution of the radioactive iodine within your body.

That's the science behind it all.  The treatment costs thousands of dollars to perform (yes! even in Canada) and although it is covered under my wonderful country's healthcare system, it is not a treatment they hand out to just anyone.

Besides just showing up to the hospital for the treatment I have had to go off my meds for 2 weeks (I'm on day 11) to force my body to go extreme hypothyroid.  I also had to do a low iodine diet (see the many other posts about that) to starve any remaining thyroid cells in my body of iodine, which the thyroid craves.   I also go for bloodwork 2 days prior to treatment to ensure my body responded properly to all the above.

I will then spend 3 days (2 nights) in hospital in isolation in the nuclear medicine department.  They will release after 3 days ONLY if my radioactive levels are below a certain number.  They said almost everyone is released after the 3 days.  Then I will do an additional 5 days in isolation at home.  There is a huge series of guidelines, distance I must maintain from adults children and pets and time limits on visits.  Then I have a checklist of how to clean up behind myself when I'm all done isolation.  All of the precautions is to limit the amount of radiation emitted to others.

2 days after I come home I go back for a full body scan to ensure that all remaining thyroid cells (which may or may not be cancerous) have been iradicated from my body. 

Now WHY did they decide to give me this treatment?

Let me explain.  Firstly, because I had thyroid cancer...which doesn't necessarily mean you need this treatment.  But I had 5 areas of thyroid cancer in one small butterfly shaped gland.  That is a good reason.  If there had of been one small spot I probably wouldn't have needed this.  5 areas means they could have missed a cell or two.  After all cells are microscopic.

So I have been a little grouchy here or there but have been dealing with this with the utmost seriousness.  My guidelines only specify that I can eat all fruits and veggies except frozen peas and potato skin.  I went so far as to do further research into fruits and vegetables with high iodine count and have also avoided spinach, strawberries, cranberries, sweet potato and garlic. I want to make the most out of this treatment and not have to repeat it if at all possible. 

I was REALLY tired this morning. In fact I flip flopped around my bed until noon.  When I got up, I showered, took the dog outside, and put my chicken stew on and made more muffins but with apples and cinnamon instead of blueberries.

More energy than I thought I had today! But I'm tired. My body is so tired.  It's definitely feeling the lack of thyroid hormone.  And my allergies were driving me crazy and of course my allergy meds contain lactose so I'm not taking them.  But I feel okay now...just tired.  Drained of energy.

Totally to be expected.  There is actually a long list of things that you could experience going into forced hypothyroidism, none of which sound very pleasant.  Apparently there is some very worse side effects to expect when receiving RAI, namely, horrible nausea, a burning sensation in your throat, and your salvatory glands dry up and you're required to suck on sour candies up to 5 times a day to restore them.  UGH.

My endocrinologist said this treatment "should be the last of it for you".  I sure hope so.  He comes highly recommended as one of the best endocrinologists in the city...so far I like and trust him.  He was straight with me when I had questions and friendly enough.  He also returned my phone call promptly when I had questions I thought of later. 

So because this all a little heavy I had to make light of it somehow to keep my head above water so I decided I will be like Spiderman or Hulk with radioactive blood and all.  I've been humming the Spiderman theme song for a few weeks and it helps me remember this whole ordeal is 3 weeks out of my life verses the alternative of thyroid cancer remaining in my body. I am Spider Chick!!

I got this! Also my stew is almost done and I can NOT wait to tell you about it later!

..."spider chick, spider chick, does whatever a spider chick does"...

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 10

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
Coffee with coconut milk
2 LID Blueberry Muffins
1/2 cup green grapes

Lunch:
No Yolks noodles with pureed no salt added canned tomatoes with Italian seasoning chopped up onion, mushroom and bell pepper
Coffee with coconut milk

Dinner:
leftovers - same as lunch plus
Garden side salad no cheese(from mcdonald's) with homemade vingarette
diet 7up

Snacks:
2 LID Blueberry Muffins

Those muffins made my day.  They are moist and delicious. 

I took my dog for nail day at the dog spa.  He is a giant scaredy cat and cried the whole time.  The two girls at the place I go love all 90lbs of him and how much of a baby he is.  And they do a fantastic job!! When they were done he was like his old self- super happy and excited.  Just hates getting his nails cut.  Big baby.

I had some work errands this afternoon then stopped at the grocery store for fresh chicken breast and a few other things.  Found Mrs. Dash no salt added beef stew seasoning.  I'm ALL over that.  I'm making it tomorrow but with chicken instead of beef.  Chicken stew hah.  with carrots, onion, bell peppers, mushrooms and a little potato (no skins!!) I'm sooooo beyond excited for it.  Thank you Mrs Dash!!!!

I am tired today.  My whole body is tired and exhausted.  I definitely feel "off".  I had the onset of a headache a few times today but it passed eventually.  Some bad dizzy spells in there too (while climbing stairs for example).  Between the odd diet and no meds for 10 days my body is starting to say "hey. um?? excuse me?! what are you doing? where's the thyroid hormone, woman???" or at least that's how I hear it. lol

I long for pizza. And cheese. And condiments. I've put my order in (I know I know I'm pathetic it's ok I've accepted it so you can too) for a ham, pineapple and black olive pizza during my quarantine period...provided my appetite even wants it then. 

I have heartburn constantly! ughhh!!! like right now. it's from all the tomatoes and tomato sauce on noodles I've been eating. Can't catch a break I guess.

It's 8pm, I'm in heavy joggers and a sweatshirt with a heavy blanket on me.  My hands are like ice.  I'm frozen and tired with heartburn.  The decline has been slow, and I am grateful because I was able to do alot of packing this week and finish up alot of work tasks. But the decline becomes a little more each day and I can feel it.

I'm off to lay on the couch for awhile more before bed.

~Sally

Blueberry Muffins on LID

Today I tried my hand at a recipe I found online for blueberry muffins that you can eat while on the low iodine diet. The photo is my muffins fresh from the oven.

Thank you to the lady who posted this recipe but being a professional baker I tweaked it a little to make a nicer product (she had issues with stability and dryness).  BAM!! First try and they turned out great and taste great!!!

Baked goods are something you cannot eat while on LID because most contain milk, eggs, butter and/or salt.  However you can make your own baked good as long as they don't contain those ingredients.  This is one of those recipes. 

I'm stoked at how good they turned out and how delicious they taste!  Also a healthier alternative (or good for someone lactose intolerant) at only 135 cals per muffin.

Enjoy!

Sally's LID Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
5 Tbsp water

Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.  Yields 12 muffins.

Combine brown sugar, oil and egg whites.  (I used Naturegg Simply Egg White, 1/4 cup).
Gently fold in blueberries until combined.
Mix together flour baking powder and soda and add to wet mix.  Batter will seem very dry as you start to combine.  I combined gently using a rubber spatula.  Add water and stir gently until mix looks like a nice wet muffin batter.
Pour into prepared muffin tin.  I used silicon muffin liners.  Fill each cup 2/3 full and if you have any batter remaining just add a spoonful here and there until it's used up between all 12 muffins.

Bake 20 mins at 350°F.  They will be golden brown and a toothpick will come out clean.  Let rest in the pan 10 mins before removing.  

Enjoy!

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 9 (also Day 8 part 2)

I had a long, cranky day yesterday. Busting it for the man, trying to get stuff done.  I ate basically the same combo of foods as Day 7 and 6 because it's all I had and needed to hit the grocery store.

Which leads me to today.  Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
oats with raisins brown sugar and cinnamon

Lunch:
nothing. oops

Dinner:
side garden salad from Harvey's with my homemade white wine vingarette

Snacks:
half a cucumber

To be honest I shared the cucumber with my dog lol.  I bought a cantaloupe but didn't cut it up yet.  Heading to the grocery store shortly for evening pickup of provisions for the rest of this diet. 5 more days. Soooo doable.  Just annoying when I ran out of variety around day 6 and didn't have time to get to the store until today.

Packing continues tonight! and into the weekend.  Moving in 18 days. YIKES!!! Accomplished some big wins at work this week which will ease my entire schedule up to basically nadda while I'm getting my RAI treatment.  Winning all the way around!

Honey says we'll go out for proper celebration after we get moved to this Brazilian Steakhouse we've heard about.  Unlimited meats and eats served on spits and brought to your table to be shaved right onto your plate. um YES PLEASE!!!!

Lots happening all at once and today my energy was high! I started out with a headache but 2 Tylenol cured that sucker.  According to the scale I was UP 4 lbs today but my waistline and jeans say the opposite.  I feel SOOOO de bloated. It's kinda crazy. My mother commented on my belly shrinkage as well.

So much win! I totally got this.

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 8 part 1...

I can't even. I'm tired and I have a headache and I just a giant bowl of noodles and sauce with chicken ( see yesterday) so my stomach hurts.

ugh.

I will blog more tomorrow.

Goodnight

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 7

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
2 slices no salt homemade toast with Kraft 100% Natural PB and honey on each slice
Coffee with coconut milk

Lunch:
No Yolks noodles with chicken breast, bell peppers and hunts no salt added tomatoes sauce.  I added oregano and red pepper flakes
Coffee with coconut milk

Dinner:
Repeat of lunch.  it was already cooked. easy.
Can of sprite

Snacks:
1 serving of plain original mini wheats no milk

Today I felt ok.  Weight still the same. That's ok.  Coffee with lunch at 2pm perked me up for the afternoon.

But! man I crashed earlier today that yesterday.  Yesterday I fell asleep watching a movie and felt like I was going to keel over around 10pm. Tonight it was around 7pm. Like so tired I can go to bed now.  It's 9pm now and honey told me he could see me fading around 7.  My voice gets hoarse like I'm overtired and my eyes get heavy.  We're gonna watch some more of the movie we started last night until I can't go anymore.  And for anyone that knows me I basically CAN NOT fall asleep in a movie. Especially if I'm into the story which I love movies so I usually am. So honey said if we watch 20 mins then we will resume again tomorrow. 

So it's day 7.  I'm halfway through the low iodine diet.  It's not horrible.  In fact it's very very healthy.  I do miss condiments ALOT. like yearning for condiments.  which is strange because I thought I would yearn for chocolate or dairy.  Both of which I am a normally heavy consumer of.  Nope. I miss mustard...and salad dressing lol.  And regular pasta sauce.  The hunts no salt added tomato sauce is GREAT to have the option but it's basically a step up from tomato soup and no one wants tomato soup on their noodles.  Well, I don't anyways.  but the spices and chicken and veggies help.  Oh I miss soy sauce too.  Plain rice is plain.  Rice made with 1/3 coconut milk like I've been doing is okay.  But it's still plain. 

And here's the thing...I LIKE plain meals.  Sometimes.   yeah I miss condiments. 

Anyways energy levels were good all day until about 7pm.  When I woke up at 730am I started the day with some dizziness and thought I'd have a nauseous day like a few days ago but it subsided quickly and didn't return.  Nothing else much to report about today.

Beware, it's a verrrrry strange feeling when this fatigue hits you.  Like I felt fine, I drove home from my errands and within 1/2 hr I felt like a zombie.  Sentences sometimes don't want to come out straight, bits of brain fog.  Oh! I'M FREEZING! It's 30° outside and I'm sitting on my couch in heavy joggers and sweatshirt and a blanket over me.   I was freezing yesterday too.  My hands and feet get pins and needles much more frequently now too...possible due to the low calcium intake.

Until tomorrow.

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 6

Here's what I ate yesterday (oops was too tired and fell asleep):

Breakfast:
oats with chopped up banana, cinnamon and brown sugar

Dinner:
6oz chicken breast with Mrs Dash
Basmati rice made with 1/3 coconut milk
sautéed carrots, cauliflower and bell pepper

Snack:
2 bananas worth of just bananas "ice cream" mixed with 1.5 Tbsp cocoa and some natural pb drizzled on top

I was soooo tired all day.  Like just pulled an all nighter and still have to present a proposal with no coffee kinda tired. I started off good in the morning but by dinner I looked like hell and the bags under my eyes were hollering at me to sleep.

I was busy from 11am-4 with work so I kind of missed lunch but that's ok. I still downed 1100 cals thru the rest of my food. I came home, made dinner and ate.  Then honey and I took the dog out in the yard for a big run and a play.

Had some fam jam visiting yesterday so I played with my 2 yr old nephew for a bit and then packed some more boxes. I'd say I'm like 70% packed overall.  maybe 75%.  RAI in 8 days.  Moving in 3 weeks.

I can totally handle this. I was down a 1/2 lb today.  And did not feel sick or dizzy today, just exhausted. By bedtime I was going to blog and totally passed out. To be expected.

New day today.  I feel very good so far, except very tired even though I slept 8 hours and I'm freezing even though it's hot outside.

Let's get the coffee rolling and start the day!

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 5

Before I say anything,  here's what I ate so far:

Breakfast:
3 egg white omelette with black pepper and bell peppers with a side of fresh tomato
Coffee with coconut milk

Lunch:
1 slice of no salt homemade toast with Kraft 100% Natural PB, half a banana and honey

Dinner:
(leftovers) No Yolks noodles with No salt added tomato sauce full of spices, bell peppers, shredded carrot and some chicken

Snack:
2 thin slices of no salt homemade bread with Kraft 100% Natural PB and smuckers salt free concord grape jelly

Today was the turning point.  My meds are all worn off and my body is starting to notice. I was so so very tired today and felt horrible dizziness throughout most of the day.  Around dinner time I had the worst kind of a migraine I've ever experienced in my life.  I almost was blackout stupid.  I laid down and honey covered me in blankets and a cool cloth on my forehead and my dog slept by me while I napped.  I took 2 XSTRENGTH Acetaminophen.  About an hour later I was a new woman. But I still feel dizzy and gross.  And starving all day.

I do not like feeling like this.  And I'm hungry. I salvated driving through koreatown tonight at all the delicious restaurants. 9 more days. Nine more days....I can do this.  My body is slowing giving in to no meds and low iodine.  No weight change again but my belly has shrunk probably due to diet, all the water I've been drinking and only plain healthy salt free food options.

New day tomorrow. Man I don't feel good.

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 4

Ok! Tough day...here we go! Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
3 egg white omelette cooked in coconut oil with bell peppers and fresh tomato on the side
Coffee with coconut milk

Lunch:
(leftovers) the last of the veggie stir fry with Basmati rice

Dinner:
No Yolks Pasta with Hunts No Salt Added Tomato Sauce.  I added bell peppers and shredded carrot, sage, basil, oregano, pepper and red pepper flakes
4 oz chicken breast seasoned with Mrs Dash

Snacks:
Tbsp of Kraft 100% Natural PB on a spoon (yup I'm one of THOSE people)
just bananas banana "ice cream" with a Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa

4 glasses water
2 glasses diet 7up

Oh Man! Today was tough!  First I woke up at 445 AM and couldn't go back to sleep.  So up I get.  I balanced the budget, did some checklists and started organizing my calender for the week.  I didn't have my breakfast til 10 or so.

Started packing. I was so exhausted today.  Well not SOOOOO exhausted but I was more tired than yesterday. 

Half way thru the day I got a call from my mom who was putting together 4 dozen cupcakes for a party she's going to tomorrow evening but ran into some troubles so I went up to assist, seeing as I am a baker and all. 

We iced all the cupcakes and put sprinkles on, they looked great.  And I was SOOOOO tempted to lick the icing spoon but I gathered all my strength and persevered.  My health is much more important than a lick of icing.  ohhhhh mann did I ever want it!

Did I mention I'm having a strange withdrawal from condiments? And then caught myself absolutely lost in a gaze upon a dill pickle my honey was cutting up for himself.  I read the label - salt -NOPE. growl....

It's still early but I'm going to make some just bananas fake "ice cream" later and add cocoa to make it chocolatey.  I might melt some of that natural pb to drizzle over it...hmmm...we shall see.

No weight lost today but none gained either so still down 4lbs.  It's 730pm though and I'm ready to nap. or sleep. but I'll probably push through til bedtime.  I'm sure getting up at 445am isn't helping either. 

Tomorrow is a new day.  I shall endure!

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 3

Day 3 and still chugging along strong.  Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast:
Oats with a chopped up banana, cinnamon and brown sugar
Coffee with coconut milk

Lunch:
Kraft 100% Natural Peanut Butter with a sliced up banana and honey between two slices of homemade salt free bread

Dinner:
(leftovers) veggie stir fry with Basmati rice from last night. no chicken
Diet 7Up

Snacks:
an apple
a plain rice cake with above said natural peanut butter

HOLY MARSHMALLOWS BATMAN! I was never so thrilled to buy peanut butter today.  My life is saved lol. Best peanut butter honey and banana sandwich ever for lunch!! Mmmhmmm.  Now! don't be fooled.  There are a few different types of all natural peanut butters out there but guess what?!? They all list peanuts and SALT. President's Choice "just nuts" is on my list from Thyroid Cancer Canada as a recommended item for low iodine diet but I also found Kraft 100% Natural PB and it's JUST peanuts. and It's delicious.

I lost 3.5 lbs today making a total of 4lbs lost. And funny thing happened...my blood pressure has always been excellent.  I'm talking 118/70.  I did my BP in the drug store out of curiosity from articles I've read saying how low iodine diet tends to cause low BP. instead my BP was 133/90!!! Whattt?!?! It's never ever been that high.  So I made a note of it and I'll check again next week.

I was up and hit the ground running at 7am this morning and finally stopped around 9pm. I found out yesterday that we are moving and it will be asap.  As in end of this month.  Holy hell!!  I booked movers and started packing immediately.  I am a super amazing organized packer...not to toot my own horn... But I kinda have no thyroid hormone going on, no meds, low iodine man-i-miss-condiments-already diet, and I'm about to do a 7 day quarantine in 11 days.  *ensue minor panic*

Nah, I've got this.  Totally! Energy was good all day but I'm really exhausted tonight but it could be the 6.5 hours sleep I barely got last night plus the heat.  It's still so hot outside!  We even had a heat wave this week.  it's September!!

Anyways, onward ho!

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 2

Day 2 in the bag!!! Let's get creative!!! Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
oats with a chopped up apple and some cinnamon and brown sugar sprinkled on top
coffee with coconut milk

Lunch:
Harvest Blueberry Mini Wheats, dry
a banana

Dinner:
vegetable stir fry consisting of carrot, zucchini, onion, sweet bell peppers and fresh chopped garlic sautéed in sesame oil.  
Basmati rice cooked using 1/3 coconut milk for water
4 oz chicken breast baked with Mrs Dash

Snacks:
Salt free homemade toast with salt free concord grape jelly
Salt free homemade toast with honey
Raisins

It was a great day!! I drank 7 glasses of water and feel super de-bloated!! I also had alot of energy but again paced myself not to over exert (I still don't know if that's a thing) but it was HOT today.  The humidity was over 40° and man! did I sweat! Gross right?  But I did cuz it was sickly humid.

Another day in the bag, 12 days til treatment.  My best friend keeps telling me "You got this!"...I love her enthusiasm and support!  I was down 1/2 lb this morning also.  Probably water bloat coming off but any loss is good loss!  I'm ready for tomorrow!

~Sally

Low Iodine Diet - Day 1

Day 1. So far so good.  Here is what my food consisted of today:

Breakfast:
brewed coffee with coconut milk
oats with raisins and brown sugar

Lunch: Harvest Blueberry Mini Wheats, plain no milk

Dinner:
Chicken breast seasoned with Mrs Dash
Romaine lettuce, tomato and cucumber with homemade dressing (oil & white wine vinegar)
Basmati rice

I also drank about 5 glasses of water today so far.  I've been tracking all this in My Fitness Pal to keep an eye on things and like I said before....so far so good.

Today I learned that coconut milk in coffee makes my coffee tastes MUCH different than with cow milk.  Not gross, but different.  I can definitely live with it.  I also learned that most bottled water has mineral salt and I can't drink that, so tap water it is! I drank one bottle this morning before I thought to check but it's day 1 so errors were bound to be made.  I also discovered that balsalmic vinegar is okay as long as their is no caramel coloring....GROWL. All mine has caramel coloring, so I made salad dressing with white wine vinegar and oil instead.  It tasted good.

I plan on ripping up some frozen bananas in my food processor later for "just bananas" banana ice cream.  it's literally JUST frozen banana, cut into pieces, and you food process the hell out of it and it becomes the consistency of creamy ice cream.  PERFECT!!! You can also add a Tbsp of cocoa for chocolate banana "ice cream".  Which is also perfectly acceptable to consume on a low iodine diet.  (side note: I prepped and froze my bananas in advance for this very diet).  I've tried it weeks ago and it's delicious!!

I had quite a bit of energy today but paced myself throughout the day since my subconscious figured that if I expelled energy fast I might run down the remaining thyroid hormone in my body faster.  (???) I don't know if that's the case but I paced myself regardless. 

Day 1 is winding down  and I am currently optimistic!  let's hope this keeps up.

~Sally

One Last Hurrah...

So tomorrow I start this low iodine diet.  And cease my meds for 2 weeks....this is me completely unimpressed.  But it is necessary. So I will do it to a 110% success rate.

What is involved in a low iodine diet you may be wondering? Here is a short list of things I CAN NOT eat:

Salt, Sea salt, ALL dairy including but not limited to milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream and cheese, soy, whey, casein, anything6t with red dye #3, fish and seafood, carrageen, all cured meat such as ham, bacon, corned beef, lox, weiners and lunchmeats, tofu, egg yolks, frozen peas, mayo, ALL CHOCOLATE, and potato skin.

Let's put it this way, my honey and I went to the grocery store tonight and you wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of food and isles you skip when you can't have ANY of the above listed.  I can't even eat flash frozen chicken breasts because they are soaked in soy and salt before the flash freeze(which sounds even grosser typed out and as a rule we always buy fresh....just throwin that out there ) And almost EVERY product has salt and/or milk products.  As does every single condiment, salad dressing and dip.  Yea I even have to make my own salad dressing from oil and vinegar.

So I bought plain rice cakes (because all the flavored ones have....you guessed it - salt), mini wheats (which are just wheat and icing sugar....strange but acurate) and a myriad of fruits, vegetables and fresh chicken breast.

It's not as bad as it seems and I think it's going to turn out to be quite a health journey because we skipped over basically every Isle in the grocery store.
But in the spirit of change honey and I decided to use this as an opportunity to get back on the healthy train.  We also bought McDonalds and sugary soda. Does that count as life balance??

Tomorrow I begin life without thyroid hormones for 2 weeks and a strange diet which is basically like strict vegan plus chicken.  Bring on the carrot sticks!!  I got this!!!

~Sally

When Life Throws You a Curveball...

Hello Internet! It has been awhile.  Here's a quick update and we'll be off and running with a series of blogs. 

So I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in February of this year.   They caught it early.  I had my thyroid removed over the course of the spring and I've been on synthroid since.  Everything is going well! 

However being the giant Google researcher than I am I was annoyed that I couldn't find hardly anyone's story detailing a treatment I'm going in for in a few weeks.  So I decided to document my experience and hopefully help out someone else down the road.

Here's where we begin: they switched me over to a different thyroid replacement medication called Cytomel for 5 weeks to prepare me for Radioactive Iodine Therapy(RAI).  Basically I go in and they have me swallow a pill and then I'm radioactive for a week. I say basically but its actually much more.  I'll get to that later.

Tomorrow I begin a Low Iodine Diet (LID) AND go off my Cytomel completely for TWO WEEKS. 

Now for those of you who have no idea what I'm in for I'll give you a brief analogy.  Imagine you are driving around in a car with a full tank of gas.  You get home and park your car for the night and the tank is still full.  When you wake up in the morning to leave for work you find that your gas line has sprung a leak and through the course of the next day or two your tank drains to empty.  Now you're stuck on the expressway with an empty fuel tank. 

This is how I have perceived going off my medication will be.  Your thyroid produces a hormone that fuels all your organs and gives you energy.  It controls metabolism, energy levels and mental clarity.  So you can imagine how thrilled I am to be stopping my meds completely.  My endocrinologist told me to prepare for the worst exhaustion, fatigue and sluggishness (is that a word??) possible.  I am grateful he did not sugar coat it.  I am hoping that I will just feel very tired all the time but my infinite googling has told me it will probably be worse. 

I read somewhere that it is similar to having the worst flu you've ever had.  That horrible brain fog and fatigue that drains you to the point of reaching for the kleenex box exhausts you.  I hope it isn't that bad.  I might be trying to fool myself.

So starting tomorrow no meds AND the low iodine diet.  which in itself is challenging.  I'll blog about the whole experience as I go.  14 days until my RAI.

Oh did I mention I have to continue working until then?  Thankfully my employment provides me with a verrrrry flexible schedule so it should be okay. I hope. Cross your fingers for me.

~Sally