Re: Hi I'm new, with lots of questions

[Guest guest]

Welcome Lindy, from another new member! I had a thyroidectomy last Tues (1-23)

at which time pap thyca was found. I am a nurse, so am disappointed if your

diagnosis & treatment will delay you in joining our ranks! I am not on Cytomel,

but so far so good going hypo. I know the " oldtimers " here will send you lots of

links on different subjects, read all you can! I feel better when I am well

informed. Try some recipes from the Low Iodine cookbook on the thyca.org

website. It helped me enormously. Good luck with your treatment!

Tardie, age 48, Mobile,AL

FNA 11-02 (reported benign)

TT 01-28-03 (during right lobectomy when pap thyca found)

Positive neck nodes, clear chest xray

Going hypo for RAI about 03-10-03 (TSH & Tg sch for 03-05-03)

Hi I'm new, with lots of questions

Hello, My name is , but most everyone calls me Lindy. I'm 34yrs

old, married and have two great kids (both under 6yrs). I'm a runner

and love to read, exercise, and be a Mom. I own my own buesness and

have recently returned to college to become a nurse, which is

something I have always wanted...

I'm due to stop all hormone meds in two weeks (go Hypo) from

now and go on a LID for two weeks. ..... Any ideas on how LID

foods? I cook for my family, and any ideas would be most helpful! ...

Lindy

[Guest guest]

Welcome Lindy, from another new member! I had a thyroidectomy last Tues (1-23)

at which time pap thyca was found. I am a nurse, so am disappointed if your

diagnosis & treatment will delay you in joining our ranks! I am not on Cytomel,

but so far so good going hypo. I know the " oldtimers " here will send you lots of

links on different subjects, read all you can! I feel better when I am well

informed. Try some recipes from the Low Iodine cookbook on the thyca.org

website. It helped me enormously. Good luck with your treatment!

Tardie, age 48, Mobile,AL

FNA 11-02 (reported benign)

TT 01-28-03 (during right lobectomy when pap thyca found)

Positive neck nodes, clear chest xray

Going hypo for RAI about 03-10-03 (TSH & Tg sch for 03-05-03)

Hi I'm new, with lots of questions

Hello, My name is , but most everyone calls me Lindy. I'm 34yrs

old, married and have two great kids (both under 6yrs). I'm a runner

and love to read, exercise, and be a Mom. I own my own buesness and

have recently returned to college to become a nurse, which is

something I have always wanted...

I'm due to stop all hormone meds in two weeks (go Hypo) from

now and go on a LID for two weeks. ..... Any ideas on how LID

foods? I cook for my family, and any ideas would be most helpful! ...

Lindy

[Guest guest]

Welcome Lindy, from another new member! I had a thyroidectomy last Tues (1-23)

at which time pap thyca was found. I am a nurse, so am disappointed if your

diagnosis & treatment will delay you in joining our ranks! I am not on Cytomel,

but so far so good going hypo. I know the " oldtimers " here will send you lots of

links on different subjects, read all you can! I feel better when I am well

informed. Try some recipes from the Low Iodine cookbook on the thyca.org

website. It helped me enormously. Good luck with your treatment!

Tardie, age 48, Mobile,AL

FNA 11-02 (reported benign)

TT 01-28-03 (during right lobectomy when pap thyca found)

Positive neck nodes, clear chest xray

Going hypo for RAI about 03-10-03 (TSH & Tg sch for 03-05-03)

Hi I'm new, with lots of questions

Hello, My name is , but most everyone calls me Lindy. I'm 34yrs

old, married and have two great kids (both under 6yrs). I'm a runner

and love to read, exercise, and be a Mom. I own my own buesness and

have recently returned to college to become a nurse, which is

something I have always wanted...

I'm due to stop all hormone meds in two weeks (go Hypo) from

now and go on a LID for two weeks. ..... Any ideas on how LID

foods? I cook for my family, and any ideas would be most helpful! ...

Lindy

[Guest guest]

What will it feel like to go " hypo " ?

If you are lucky you will not experience too many symptoms, however,

everybody obviously can react differently, I for instance, became

very smappy and bad tempered, which wasn't much fun for my 5 year old

son. I became extremely cold, and had to sleep with a sleeping

blanket underneath me and two over me, including snugging into a

wooly cardighan. I slept a lot, and had a foggy memory. I had my

thyroid removed and remaind on the LID for just over 7 weeks in total

and my TSH levels went through the roof, so in my case my symptoms

were a little extreme. But no matter what your symptoms are like,

they will come on gradually, you will hardly notice. What you will

notice is how quickly you recover from the 'Hypo' symptoms once you

start your 'meds' again.

What is RID like?

I am assuming you mean Radioactive Iodine? I simply swallowed a 5mci

tablet for my tracer scan, then another 150mci tablet for my ablative

treatement. By the time I received my ablative treatment I knew it

would not be long before I could start my medication. I finally had

something to look forward to.

The scans themselves I found rather relaxing, the tables are

comfortable and I for one, did not find the experience too

claustrophobic. And if you are lucky there is usually music playing

somewhere in the background.

How long will it take to

> get regulated on my long term (life time) HRT meds?

It took me aproximately 6 months, but essentially it depends on your

blood work which will probably be tested every 6 weeks, so the doc's

can verify your correct HRT dosage.

What kinds of

> questions should I ask my PCP? My Endo ? He is 1000 miles away, (I

> live in southeat Alaska, and he is in Seattle Washington) so I want

> make the most of my time with him face to face.

The ThyCa website, you have already been recommended to visit has a

fantastic list of virtually every question you could think of to ask

your doctors, it would be worth downloading that too.

> All this is so new...and I'm scared.

I think you will find that we were all very scared when we first

found out about our cancer's. But this site has been a wonderful

forum to vent your woes, and receive fantastic support.

Maybe, I thought, if I could

> talk to others and learn about all this stuff, I wont be so

scared.

>

I am no longer scared, I have found a family of fellow sufferers who

understand everything that I am going through, and help smooth over

my concerns.

Ask away, you will always find someone to help you through here.

Take Care

Deborah Ford

[Guest guest]

What will it feel like to go " hypo " ?

If you are lucky you will not experience too many symptoms, however,

everybody obviously can react differently, I for instance, became

very smappy and bad tempered, which wasn't much fun for my 5 year old

son. I became extremely cold, and had to sleep with a sleeping

blanket underneath me and two over me, including snugging into a

wooly cardighan. I slept a lot, and had a foggy memory. I had my

thyroid removed and remaind on the LID for just over 7 weeks in total

and my TSH levels went through the roof, so in my case my symptoms

were a little extreme. But no matter what your symptoms are like,

they will come on gradually, you will hardly notice. What you will

notice is how quickly you recover from the 'Hypo' symptoms once you

start your 'meds' again.

What is RID like?

I am assuming you mean Radioactive Iodine? I simply swallowed a 5mci

tablet for my tracer scan, then another 150mci tablet for my ablative

treatement. By the time I received my ablative treatment I knew it

would not be long before I could start my medication. I finally had

something to look forward to.

The scans themselves I found rather relaxing, the tables are

comfortable and I for one, did not find the experience too

claustrophobic. And if you are lucky there is usually music playing

somewhere in the background.

How long will it take to

> get regulated on my long term (life time) HRT meds?

It took me aproximately 6 months, but essentially it depends on your

blood work which will probably be tested every 6 weeks, so the doc's

can verify your correct HRT dosage.

What kinds of

> questions should I ask my PCP? My Endo ? He is 1000 miles away, (I

> live in southeat Alaska, and he is in Seattle Washington) so I want

> make the most of my time with him face to face.

The ThyCa website, you have already been recommended to visit has a

fantastic list of virtually every question you could think of to ask

your doctors, it would be worth downloading that too.

> All this is so new...and I'm scared.

I think you will find that we were all very scared when we first

found out about our cancer's. But this site has been a wonderful

forum to vent your woes, and receive fantastic support.

Maybe, I thought, if I could

> talk to others and learn about all this stuff, I wont be so

scared.

>

I am no longer scared, I have found a family of fellow sufferers who

understand everything that I am going through, and help smooth over

my concerns.

Ask away, you will always find someone to help you through here.

Take Care

Deborah Ford

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I had my tt Nov 18, 2002, my RAI and treatment Jan 6, 2003 and now I am

getting use to synthroid.

you will find great info on thyca.org and will be receiving info e-mails from

many people especially katiekabob & aproctor -- watch for those.

This new journey is a real " pain in the neck " -- lol - meaning a big

inconvenience but not really painful -- just a lifstyle interruption that

covers about a 3 month span.

I never was good about going to doctors or taking pills or getting needles --

I claim it hurt when I had my ears pierced -- but I got through this really

well.

As a nurse you probably will find this very interesting -- stay in good

spirits you have a great support network to keep in touch with.

caio -- been there and done that

Alice

Long Island NY

age 56 female

tt Nov 18, 2002

RAI etc Jan 6 2003

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I had my tt Nov 18, 2002, my RAI and treatment Jan 6, 2003 and now I am

getting use to synthroid.

you will find great info on thyca.org and will be receiving info e-mails from

many people especially katiekabob & aproctor -- watch for those.

This new journey is a real " pain in the neck " -- lol - meaning a big

inconvenience but not really painful -- just a lifstyle interruption that

covers about a 3 month span.

I never was good about going to doctors or taking pills or getting needles --

I claim it hurt when I had my ears pierced -- but I got through this really

well.

As a nurse you probably will find this very interesting -- stay in good

spirits you have a great support network to keep in touch with.

caio -- been there and done that

Alice

Long Island NY

age 56 female

tt Nov 18, 2002

RAI etc Jan 6 2003

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I had my tt Nov 18, 2002, my RAI and treatment Jan 6, 2003 and now I am

getting use to synthroid.

you will find great info on thyca.org and will be receiving info e-mails from

many people especially katiekabob & aproctor -- watch for those.

This new journey is a real " pain in the neck " -- lol - meaning a big

inconvenience but not really painful -- just a lifstyle interruption that

covers about a 3 month span.

I never was good about going to doctors or taking pills or getting needles --

I claim it hurt when I had my ears pierced -- but I got through this really

well.

As a nurse you probably will find this very interesting -- stay in good

spirits you have a great support network to keep in touch with.

caio -- been there and done that

Alice

Long Island NY

age 56 female

tt Nov 18, 2002

RAI etc Jan 6 2003

[Guest guest]

Hi, Lindy - welcome to the group! Many of your questions are really

answered with " it depends - YMMV " (your mileage may vary), our

favorite disclaimer. There are a lot of variations in how these

things affect each of us.

> What will it feel like to go " hypo " ?

Some folks don't notice much of anything. Some have a lot of

unpleasant symptoms. Most of us feel increasingly tired, develop

brainfog (or increased brainfog for some of us :-))..forgetting why

you walked into a room, stumbling over words a bit, stuff like that),

and everything just kinda slows down. Here are some typical symptoms:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/20532

> What is RID like?

That would be RAI (Radioactive Iodine), but I like your letters MUCH

better (since it IS supposed to get RID of the cancer cells) :-). For

most of us, it's kind of boring :-). You take a drink or a pill, and

sit around a hospital room (or at home, if they're not isolating you),

waiting to get a bit less radioactive. You'll want to take certain

precautions to protect those around you from your radioactive self.

Here's some info on RAI for you:

ARCHIVE INDEX: RAI SCAN AND ABLATION

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/23590

> How long will it take to get regulated on my long term (life time) >

HRT meds

> What kinds of questions should I ask my PCP?

Y'know, I didn't ask mine much about this, cause she's not an expert

on it (and was smart enough to know she wasn't)

> My Endo ? He is 1000 miles away, (I

> live in southeat Alaska, and he is in Seattle Washington) so I want

> make the most of my time with him face to face.

Ah ha! My neck of the woods (Seattle, that is). That IS far - where

are you having your RAI done - Seattle or Alaska? Can you email him,

or call? Is he the one who will be dealing with your RAI (mine turned

me over to the hospital's nuclear med dept for this aspect of

treatment). Here are some questions for Endos:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/18594

> Any ideas on how LID foods? I cook for my family, and any ideas >

would be most helpful!

Plan ahead - try to have some things ready and in the freezer. Get

the rest of your family to help if you can :-).

> All this is so new...and I'm scared.

Well of course you are! This is very scary..but you're not alone -

we'll all help you through this - people are here 24/7 to listen and

answer questions. And we all understand!

> Maybe, I thought, if I could

> talk to others and learn about all this stuff, I wont be so scared.

Absolutely. I think these have been the main things to ease my fears

- exactly what you've said. And you'll find that here. Knowledge is

power, and communicating with others who've been there is support.

Cheers,

Alisa

Currently - 140mcg Levoxyl

2/15/2002: Nodule found 2/27/2002: FNA

3/4/2002: Hysterectomy/oopherectomy-possible ovarian cancer - BENIGN!!

4/9/2002: TT - Stage 2 pap 2.5 x 2 x 1.6 cm nodule, dx Hashimotos

5/28/2002: 100 mCi RAI

12/16/02: WBS (5 mCi): clean scan - no thyroid tissue in body!!!

Age: 49 -- Location: near Seattle WA --- Check out my posts:

Radioactive Girl - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/19472

My LID - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/15872

My RAI - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/15873

LID stuff - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/25430

[Guest guest]

Hi, Lindy - welcome to the group! Many of your questions are really

answered with " it depends - YMMV " (your mileage may vary), our

favorite disclaimer. There are a lot of variations in how these

things affect each of us.

> What will it feel like to go " hypo " ?

Some folks don't notice much of anything. Some have a lot of

unpleasant symptoms. Most of us feel increasingly tired, develop

brainfog (or increased brainfog for some of us :-))..forgetting why

you walked into a room, stumbling over words a bit, stuff like that),

and everything just kinda slows down. Here are some typical symptoms:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/20532

> What is RID like?

That would be RAI (Radioactive Iodine), but I like your letters MUCH

better (since it IS supposed to get RID of the cancer cells) :-). For

most of us, it's kind of boring :-). You take a drink or a pill, and

sit around a hospital room (or at home, if they're not isolating you),

waiting to get a bit less radioactive. You'll want to take certain

precautions to protect those around you from your radioactive self.

Here's some info on RAI for you:

ARCHIVE INDEX: RAI SCAN AND ABLATION

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/23590

> How long will it take to get regulated on my long term (life time) >

HRT meds

> What kinds of questions should I ask my PCP?

Y'know, I didn't ask mine much about this, cause she's not an expert

on it (and was smart enough to know she wasn't)

> My Endo ? He is 1000 miles away, (I

> live in southeat Alaska, and he is in Seattle Washington) so I want

> make the most of my time with him face to face.

Ah ha! My neck of the woods (Seattle, that is). That IS far - where

are you having your RAI done - Seattle or Alaska? Can you email him,

or call? Is he the one who will be dealing with your RAI (mine turned

me over to the hospital's nuclear med dept for this aspect of

treatment). Here are some questions for Endos:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/18594

> Any ideas on how LID foods? I cook for my family, and any ideas >

would be most helpful!

Plan ahead - try to have some things ready and in the freezer. Get

the rest of your family to help if you can :-).

> All this is so new...and I'm scared.

Well of course you are! This is very scary..but you're not alone -

we'll all help you through this - people are here 24/7 to listen and

answer questions. And we all understand!

> Maybe, I thought, if I could

> talk to others and learn about all this stuff, I wont be so scared.

Absolutely. I think these have been the main things to ease my fears

- exactly what you've said. And you'll find that here. Knowledge is

power, and communicating with others who've been there is support.

Cheers,

Alisa

Currently - 140mcg Levoxyl

2/15/2002: Nodule found 2/27/2002: FNA

3/4/2002: Hysterectomy/oopherectomy-possible ovarian cancer - BENIGN!!

4/9/2002: TT - Stage 2 pap 2.5 x 2 x 1.6 cm nodule, dx Hashimotos

5/28/2002: 100 mCi RAI

12/16/02: WBS (5 mCi): clean scan - no thyroid tissue in body!!!

Age: 49 -- Location: near Seattle WA --- Check out my posts:

Radioactive Girl - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/19472

My LID - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/15872

My RAI - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/15873

LID stuff - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/25430

[Guest guest]

Hi, Lindy - welcome to the group! Many of your questions are really

answered with " it depends - YMMV " (your mileage may vary), our

favorite disclaimer. There are a lot of variations in how these

things affect each of us.

> What will it feel like to go " hypo " ?

Some folks don't notice much of anything. Some have a lot of

unpleasant symptoms. Most of us feel increasingly tired, develop

brainfog (or increased brainfog for some of us :-))..forgetting why

you walked into a room, stumbling over words a bit, stuff like that),

and everything just kinda slows down. Here are some typical symptoms:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/20532

> What is RID like?

That would be RAI (Radioactive Iodine), but I like your letters MUCH

better (since it IS supposed to get RID of the cancer cells) :-). For

most of us, it's kind of boring :-). You take a drink or a pill, and

sit around a hospital room (or at home, if they're not isolating you),

waiting to get a bit less radioactive. You'll want to take certain

precautions to protect those around you from your radioactive self.

Here's some info on RAI for you:

ARCHIVE INDEX: RAI SCAN AND ABLATION

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/23590

> How long will it take to get regulated on my long term (life time) >

HRT meds

> What kinds of questions should I ask my PCP?

Y'know, I didn't ask mine much about this, cause she's not an expert

on it (and was smart enough to know she wasn't)

> My Endo ? He is 1000 miles away, (I

> live in southeat Alaska, and he is in Seattle Washington) so I want

> make the most of my time with him face to face.

Ah ha! My neck of the woods (Seattle, that is). That IS far - where

are you having your RAI done - Seattle or Alaska? Can you email him,

or call? Is he the one who will be dealing with your RAI (mine turned

me over to the hospital's nuclear med dept for this aspect of

treatment). Here are some questions for Endos:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/18594

> Any ideas on how LID foods? I cook for my family, and any ideas >

would be most helpful!

Plan ahead - try to have some things ready and in the freezer. Get

the rest of your family to help if you can :-).

> All this is so new...and I'm scared.

Well of course you are! This is very scary..but you're not alone -

we'll all help you through this - people are here 24/7 to listen and

answer questions. And we all understand!

> Maybe, I thought, if I could

> talk to others and learn about all this stuff, I wont be so scared.

Absolutely. I think these have been the main things to ease my fears

- exactly what you've said. And you'll find that here. Knowledge is

power, and communicating with others who've been there is support.

Cheers,

Alisa

Currently - 140mcg Levoxyl

2/15/2002: Nodule found 2/27/2002: FNA

3/4/2002: Hysterectomy/oopherectomy-possible ovarian cancer - BENIGN!!

4/9/2002: TT - Stage 2 pap 2.5 x 2 x 1.6 cm nodule, dx Hashimotos

5/28/2002: 100 mCi RAI

12/16/02: WBS (5 mCi): clean scan - no thyroid tissue in body!!!

Age: 49 -- Location: near Seattle WA --- Check out my posts:

Radioactive Girl - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/19472

My LID - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/15872

My RAI - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/15873

LID stuff - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/25430

[Guest guest]

I got through LID with some help from a breadmaker and a juicer!

If you are comfortable with making your own bread I highly recommend

it! My mother and I experimented and came up with the following

substitutions. You can substitute the milk with non-dairy coffee

creamer, and you can use salt substitute instead of real salt (can't tell

the difference in taste once it is baked). I am a bread junkie so this was

great! If you get a breadmaker with a " roll " setting you can also make

rolls and top them with a glaze (powdered sugar and water) and some

unsalted nuts...and it is " mostly " like a sticky bun!

A juicer is wonderful also. Some LID diets are very restrictive and it

gets boring just eating plain fruit and vegetables. If you get a juicer

then you can blend all sorts of interesting drinks. One of my favorites is

carrot juice and citrus: just take two parts carrot and one part citrus

(anything will do really, even pineapple). These are also great to have

on hand after RAI when you get sick of sucking down gallon after gallon

of water. The bonus of a juicer is that you don't get the preservatives

or funny additives and it tastes wonderful.

Good luck...Jenn