Guest guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 Welcome aboard, -- You're right! Your note WAS long! LOL! I can't imagine typing a letter that long while hypo! I truly believe you've missed your career calling! I say this in jest so please don't be offended. I enjoyed reading about you! In fact, I've left you a rather length response It sounds as if you've really been through the wringer with your insurance company. I'm thankful I am one of the lucky ones who have insurance! The HMO's have certainly changed the health care world. I've often wondered if all those " health care dollars " they claim to save consumers haven't merely been deducted from our physician's wallet and placed into theirs! But that is another debate…… As for your questions… How long after going back on your meds do you really start to feel like yourself again? Everyone is different (you'll see " YMMV " -- " your mileage may vary " -- often here). I'm post TT almost a year now and my memory has not yet returned to it's previous state! I think our recovery period depends on how long our bodies are in a hypo state. I've heard of people who bounce back very quickly but it seems that their TSH levels were brought to a suppressed state within a couple of months. I equate our hypo experience to the amount of brain damage that occurs when one is deprived of oxygen…. The longer you are deprived the more severely brain damaged you become. Likewise, the amount of " brain fog " one experiences depends on the length of time they are deprived of the proper levels of T4. I've never heard this theory as medical fact…it is just my opinion. 2- I need help understanding the LID. My first Endo gave me a list of foods to avoid, etc, etc and my second Endo said that I should just avoid seafood and kelp. She said that everyday foods do not contain enough iodine to make a huge impact. I actually underwent RAI without doing a LID because my TSH levels rose so rapidly. I'm praying my RAI worked as well as it would have had I been iodine depleted! My first yearly scan will tell…. You'll find some very good information about the LID on this board. Keep in mind that MOST processed food contains salt and one cannot assume it is non-iodized. Therefore, my rule of thumb was " if it is processed, assume it contains iodine " . Although it's difficult to entirely eliminate iodine from your diet, your best bet is to " eat foods made from scratch that have been made with kosher or non-iodized salt " . And remember, LID does NOT mean " NO SALT " . I believe Nick Russo has some really good stuff in his archives regarding LID. Nick? 3-How long should you isolate yourself after RAI if you're given a dosage of 30mci? I received 145 mci and was kept in the hospital overnight and discharged the next day. I was advised to stay 8 feet from my loved-ones for at least 10 days (or was it 10 feet for 8 days?). I was also advised to use disposable utensils and plates, a separate bathroom, and to wash my clothes separately. What does your radiation tech say? Just an observation but ….30 mci seems to be a rather low dosage after seeing the various ablative dosages here on the board. Good luck! It sounds like you're on your way to recovery. Feel free to write me personally if you'd like. And again, welcome! Christy, 42, Las Vegas 2.5 cm Follicular and .9 cm Papillary 2/26/01 LL (Frozen Section thought to be benign) 3/10/01 TT after a positive final pathology Hypoparathyroidism (.5 Rocaltrol/1500 mg calcium), PTH 0 3/28/01 148 mCi RAI (w/o LID), .250 Synthroid, 0 Tg --------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2001 Report Share Posted December 31, 2001 > So now I have a couple of questions. > > 1- How long after going back on your meds do you really start to > feel like yourself again? it takes 6 weeks or so for the meds to build back up in your system but many of us find that we start feeling a bit better after just a few weeks, but it can take up to the 6 weeks to feel more like yourself. > > 2- I need help understanding the LID. My first Endo gave me a list of foods to avoid, etc, etc and my second Endo said that I should just avoid seafood and kelp. She said that everyday foods do not contain > enough iodine to make a huge impact. Does this sound like hogwash? I > didn't stick to my second diet to the degree that I am now thinking I > should have which only leads to an opening for more fear. different doctors have different views on this, but the LID is something one can do for yourself. There is a good guideline on the www.thyca.org site under radiation. The idea is to minimize the iodine in your system, and while many foods only contain a little, through the course of the day, that can add up to quite a bit. > > 3- How long should you isolate yourself after RAI if you're given a > dosage of 30mci? it really depends on how " hot " you are. When I had my RAI, they had me come back every few days for a geiger counter test to see when i was safe to be near other adults, children, babies etc. I could be near adults much sooner (4 days) than I could be near kids (7 days), but it depends on the individual and how quickly they clear the dose. barb tt 8/99 RAI 4/00 Clean scan 12/00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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