: the Answer to little vs big dose

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Hi ,

It's been a while since I've been here - nice to hear from you

again. I will check out 's post.

Just heard from doc. She indeed had a good reason for her treatment

planbut it wasn't what you or I expected. I neglected to mention

that i had another ultrasound a while ago. Results: while surgeon

usually can't get ALL the little lymph nodes, this guy did a really

good job. But there was one little one left at the base of my right

neck. This was not where the heaviest spread was so i didn't think

much of it. Also my surgeon says nerves look like scar tissue and he

wouldn't go in in less than 12 mo from last surgery and even then

he'd be nervous. The endo doc says if it uptakes, she will

recommend for another surgery to take it out before any big dose of

iodine. If local neck surgeon is too nervous, she'll send me to

endo surgeon at teaching hospital in Denver. Of course, if

something lights up in unexpected area of body, then i guess we

would need to reevaluate. She still has a slight prefence for not

scanning before a big dose but other considerations outweight it.

Clear strategy, too bad she didn't tell me when i saw her recently.

She seems like a very good diagnostician but we have some trouble

communicating.

Steve

>

> > Hi,

> >

> > I am scheduled for a 4mc scan dose tommorow (Weds) morning.

After

> > some thought, I am not going to take it until I have a discussion

> > with my doctor. I would like to get any wisdom I can from here

> > before I talk to the doc at around 9:00am MDT Weds.

> >

> > After surgery I asked doc's opinion of getting a scan dose and

scan

> > before big (ablation) dose as many people do. She said: some

> > controversy about it, her view is that low dose might stunt cells

> > for a while and make big dose less effective so I took big dose

with

> > scan a week later. Now, 6 mo later, doc didn't want to talk

about

> > big dose until we see scan results and see if TG rises when I go

> > hypo. I guess if TG didn't rise, one might assume that a big

dose

> > is premature since the cells are sickly and dying or might not

take

> > up I-131. So doc has hospital order low dose. At present, I'm

well

> > hypo (TSH 55 a week ago) and just got TG results back. It rose

to

> > 16. This says to me that I'm likely to get a big dose soon so

why

> > do a scan 1st if there is a possibility of negative impact on big

> > dose?

> >

> > I'm very willing to take doc's advice IF 1) it makes any kind of

> > sense and 2) it only has my welfare in mind, not concern over

cost

> > of untaken low dose or embarassment w/ hospital nucl med dept

etc.

> >

> > Thoughts? Opinions from your doctors?

> >

> > Steve

> >

> > History:

> > - pap thyca w/ mets to many lymph nodes

> > - 8/30/03: thyroidectomy and full neck dissection of left, left

> > central and right central areas. Results: TG still high and

pattern

> > of positive nodes indicates more on right side

> > - 9/20/03: full right neck dissection

> > -12/02 to 3/03: TG varying between 1.7 and 2.1 (up and down)

> > - Present: 21 days w/ no Synthroid, TSH: 55 a week ago, TG: 16 a

few

> > days ago