Sandy - Re: New member

[Guest guest]

Hi, Sandy, and welcome to the group.

Addressing your last sentence first, we're all like you in that we like to be

informed, which is why we're all here. Your husband may not be talking about

it much, which I can understand makes

it more difficult for you, but my guess is that he's trying to cover the fact

that he's afraid for you.

Papillary cancer is very slow growing, and waiting until February to have RAI

treatment should not be harmful in the least. I think many of us waited a

similar length of time, for a variety of

reasons. Having the extra time will not only allow you to enjoy the holidays,

but will give your body additional time to heal from the surgery, and will give

you time to learn more about

treatment protocol.

If you promise not to tell anyone, " hypo hell " is one of those phrases that

really makes things sound worse than they generally are. It typically refers to

the period before the RAI, although

really our hyponess straddles that time, and many feel more hypo after the RAI

treatment than we did before.

We all respond differently to it, which unfortunately makes it really hard to

know just what to anticipate - some people are really miserable, some lucky

ones breeze right through it, and the

majority of us fall in between. The most typical symptoms are brain fog,

fatigue, and cold intolerance. From there, it's anyone's guess just what it

will be like for you.

You can read about the experience in the " going hypo " archive index,

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

The good news is that most of us have a less severe hypo experience the first

time around, since there is some thyroid remnant which is often producing some

hormone.

Has your doctors recommended a low iodine diet before your RAI scan and

treatment? Many doctors don't with it, but there are a lot of excellent

reasons to do it for the last two weeks before

scanning, and it really isn't very difficult. If you'd like to read more

about why doing the LID is a good thing, see the letters linked below.

Of course, keep reading the messages here, and ask any and all questions that

come to your mind.

-

NYC

One more thing - while we have the benefit of numbers (there are over 800 of

us), there is also a wonderful group of Canadian thyca patients who can help

you navigate the unique Canadian medical

system. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thryvors/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/17493 ..... LID - why bother?

(w/links to additional messages)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/7019 ..... Dr. Ain disputes " proof "

that LID is pointless

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/17549 ..... LID effectiveness

(Jeff's experience convinces his endo that there’s no arguing the effectiveness

of the LID before RAI)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/21938 .. Archive index to additional

LID info

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/22779 .. Archive index to LID

recipes

szwicky02 wrote:

> Hi,

> My name is Sandy and I am new to this group. I'm pretty new to the

> thyroid cancer situation also. I have been reading your posts the

> last week or so and find alot of information to be very useful. I

> will tell you the little that I know about my cancer. I had a fine

> needle biopsy on July 4th 2002-I had a TT on Nov. 8th-papillary

> cancer, one lymph node also taken out, RAI scheduled for late

> February because I am in Canada and that is the soonest they can get

> me in. I have a few questions. One being, does anyone know if the

> RAI scheduled so long after the TT harmful to my recovery-should I

> be concerned? I would also like an explantion of HYPO Hell that you

> talk about. Is that the time you are on Cytomel prior to the RAI, or

> is it the time after the RAI? Thanks alot, this group is wonderful

> and I find a lot of comfort in being able to talk to someone because

> my husband is the kind who chooses to talk about it as little as

> possible so that he doesn't worry too much-I like to be informed and

> know what to expect. Thanks alot...