I don't even remember where I left off. It's been a crazy past few weeks. 3 weeks ago, I started my Low Iodine Diet (LID). There are basic restrictions but it is far deeper than the basics. Basics: No dairy, No egg yolks, No sea products, No soy proteins, No Iodized salt, no commercially baked breads. Seems simple enough, but here is the issue, there are things to know. Carageen(sp?) is a sea product used to thicken things, it's in a lot of food, whey is used to increase protein in a lot of foods, and it is a dairy product. The reason for the bread is that there are dough conditioners that have iodine, if it doesn't have those, it might be okay... as long as there is no soy, dairy, eggs, or salt. Salt is okay, as long as it isn't iodized, the only way to know this is to contact the company and ask. The nice thing is that I found a Facebook group that helps you prepare for LID and RAI. They also have a website that allows you to search for foods and see if they are safe. They have contacted all of those companies to find out who uses iodized salt and who doesn't. LID Life Community has been a huge blessing.
Last week, I drove 1.5-2 hours (each way) to DC. I did this 4 times last week and 3 times this week (one of them staying overnight this week, so I was IN DC for 4 days this week, too. My husband came with me most of the time and I had a couple of friends that also joined me. I had others offer to come with me at various times, as well. I felt very supported. Last week, I got blood work (3 days), 2 shots, a low dose radiation pill, and a 2.5 hour body scan. This week, I got blood work (1 time), 2 shots, and my treatment strength dose of Radioactive Iodine (RAI) which required me to spend the night in an isolation room in the hospital. It was all very crazy. Every flat surface was covered with blue hospital paper sheets. Every door knob and handle (sink, toilet) were covered with latex gloves, the remote and phone were both in plastic bags, and the light switches were covered with blue tape. It was funny. My meals were brought in and put on a table near the door and then I would go get them after they shut the door. I was given 4 towels, 4 washcloths, and 5 hospital gowns. I was to put on a hospital gown and stash all of my other clothes in the closet and not touch it again until I got dressed to leave. I was then instructed to shower at least 3 times while I was there, if not 4. I was also instructed to suck on sour candies as much as possible after the first 2 hours. There is some debate out there as to whether or not this is helpful or harmful. My doctors believe it to be helpful (obviously) and so I did it... sort of. I brought a mild sour candy and did not do it constantly. This was to keep me salivating at a normal amount, but not excessively. I felt like this was a good compromise. I was also instructed to drink and drink and drink. I did this. I was as diligent as I could have been with this... but still didn't drink nearly as much as they wanted me to, but since the goal was to flush my system and I was using the restroom every 30-60 minutes, I think I was fine. I had over a gallon of liquids.
Taking the pill: First, my nurse brought me an anti-nausea pill. Then she left and I had to sign forms stating that I knew what I was doing. There were 3 people who came in to my room before taking the pill and to watch the administration of the pill... the Nuclear Medicine doctor, the head of the radiation safety team, and they guy that came to give me the pill - he was some kind of specialty pharmacist or something, but he told me that he dealt with the radiation and radioactive substances all day. He brought in a cart with a metal box. The pill was in that box. After all of the forms were signed, I was given the pill in a small portion cup. I took it and the guy left, my doctor left, and the radiation safety specialist told me to lay back and that he was going to be just outside the door. About 15 minutes later he came in and gave me a reading with the Gieger Counter and then he had me stand up and move towards the door. He gave me the end of a tape measure (covered with a latex glove, for safety) and then he walked back 3 feet. He took a reading there... 13 something. I then stood at the door talking to an Endocrinologist for about 3 minutes or so, we stayed about 4 feet apart. I then closed my door and didn't hear from anyone for about 2 hours when my dinner came.
I had a fairly uneventful night, as far as my body goes. No nausea, no diarrhea (which I was told was very common), and really nothing else. I did start to smell a weird chemical smell as the radiation started to settle in my nasal cavity. I had to pee a lot... a lot... which was good. I couldn't sleep very well, but I was tired and fell asleep about 7:30 and woke up about 9. At 9:30, I flushed my toilet and it never stopped flushing. It was a loud, powerful, industrial toilet, so having it run nonstop for the next 30 minutes was quite an issue. It was spitting water out the back pipes, so my whole bathroom floor became soaked. When it first happened. I called my nurse and she couldn't hear what I was saying very well with the plastic over the microphone. I kept repeating, "My toilet is going crazy. It's my toilet! It's going crazy!" When she came into my room and saw what was happening, she said, "O-M-G! I have never seen anything like that! Oh, boy, who do we even call to fix it?" She came back about 5 minutes later and said, "I've called maintenance." At 10pm, the water tapered off and it just stopped running. At 10:10, I got up enough courage to go in and flush and see if it did it again. It flushed for an extended time, but did stop, like a normal flush. At 10:15, 2 guys showed up from the radiation safety team. They went in to assess the situation and determined that the glove that was on the handle had gotten lodged between the flusher and the toilet and was, essentially, holding the handle down. I am not entirely certain that was the case, because I did jiggle the handle and there was no change. However, once they removed the glove, the toilet was fine. They then pulled up all of the protective floor coverings and put down new ones. It was an adventure, for sure. They left at 11, I took my shower and I finally fell asleep again at about 12. I then woke up at 1, 2, 3:15, 4, 5, and 6. Every time I woke up, I drank something, ate one candy, and went to the bathroom. I was pretty tired in the morning, but was glad that I had slept some. I'm going to stop this post here and continue with going home in the next one.
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