So, since I've been away, I've completed my RAI-131 treatment (although it was not 131, it was 30)...
I was in "isolation" at home for two days where my mom heated up my low-iodine meals and delivered them to me. While in isolation, I had to "clorox" the shower each time I took a shower (twice a day), flushed the toilet 3 times each time I went, washed my hands every half hour/trip to bathroom/after eating. I had to do my laundry separate from anyone in my house and ran bleach through washing machine after I used it. I cleaned my clothes, my sheets, my comforter...etc. I threw away my toothbrush on the 5th day after treatment to prevent any radiation exposure to anyone that came in contact with my toothbrush?!? haha
Other than all of the cleaning, it wasn't that bad. There were no crazy side effects to the treatment. The only things that I can remember complaining about is how sore my neck got and the headaches after the third day. I slept well and relaxed as much as possible. It was sort of a nice "vacation..."
On the fourth day of treatment, I started Synthroid 112 everyday. The first week that I was back on the medication, I felt amazing! My energy felt like it was coming back.
I had a full body scan completed 7 days after the RAI treatment. I immediately took the results to my endocrinologist and he said, "This could not be a more perfect scan!"
Whoo! Yay! Yeah! Finally, some relief!
During the end of the second week of taking the Synthroid 112, I was completely exhausted. I had enough energy to make it through my teaching day, but I came home and was ready for bed. I walked/jogged for 30 minutes every day since I started the Synthroid again and continued it for my health...
Hopefully I can get an answer this week from my endocrinologist about why I am so exhausted. Maybe my dosage is too high? too low?
I will let you know. Thanks for reading! :)
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Snacks...Desserts... Drinks...
Ok...like I said, I am a grazer and a nut for desserts! Here are my favorite ideas for snacking:
Matzo Crackers with organic peanut butter and organic jelly/jam
grapes
apples
carrots with organic peanut butter
unsalted pretzels
Frosted Mini Wheats cereal
unsalted mixed nuts
I kept one or two of these items in my purse for easy snacking when I was out and running errands. I didn't want to become hungry and end up messing up the diet by buying a candy bar...
Desserts...
I found a few recipes on http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf that I loved...
Apple muffins- not just good for breakfast! :)
Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Cookies
Drinks:
I bought a container of distilled water from the grocery store...
Sprite
Dr. Pepper
Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Grape Juice
Nut Milk...recipe from http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf
I hope this helps with your diet! :)
Matzo Crackers with organic peanut butter and organic jelly/jam
grapes
apples
carrots with organic peanut butter
unsalted pretzels
Frosted Mini Wheats cereal
unsalted mixed nuts
I kept one or two of these items in my purse for easy snacking when I was out and running errands. I didn't want to become hungry and end up messing up the diet by buying a candy bar...
Desserts...
I found a few recipes on http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf that I loved...
Apple muffins- not just good for breakfast! :)
Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Cookies
Drinks:
I bought a container of distilled water from the grocery store...
Sprite
Dr. Pepper
Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Grape Juice
Nut Milk...recipe from http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf
I hope this helps with your diet! :)
Dinner/Supper...
Ok...this is when I usually ate my meat portions for the day (if I didn't eat chicken salad for lunch)...
Visit http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf for the complete recipes!
These were my favorite:
Mini Meatloaves
Chili
Sloppy Joes
Easy Pot Roast (added non-iodized salt and ketchup-no salt added when I was eating this)
Chicken Salad-with blender mayonnaise in cookbook
Side dishes:
I usually made fresh green beans as a side or fried squash and onions/fried zucchini and onions.
I also had frozen carrots and broccoli that I added sometimes. (Heated up in microwave...)
Visit http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf for the complete recipes!
These were my favorite:
Mini Meatloaves
Chili
Sloppy Joes
Easy Pot Roast (added non-iodized salt and ketchup-no salt added when I was eating this)
Chicken Salad-with blender mayonnaise in cookbook
Side dishes:
I usually made fresh green beans as a side or fried squash and onions/fried zucchini and onions.
I also had frozen carrots and broccoli that I added sometimes. (Heated up in microwave...)
Lunch...
I am a teacher and I always take my lunch with me so....on the diet, I prepared meals that I could throw in my lunch bag with some ice packs, along with fruit or carrots to snack on.
Visit http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf for recipes!
I liked the:
Orzo Salad
Cabbage Stew
Shoepeg Corn Salad
Chicken Salad (Made with blender mayonnaise recipe in cookbook)-MY FAVORITE!
- usually ate with non-salted saltine crackers
Basil Pesto Spaghetti
Like I said, I usually paired these with fruit like apples, oranges, grapes, watermelon, and strawberries.
REMEMBER- use non-iodize salt!
Visit http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf for recipes!
I liked the:
Orzo Salad
Cabbage Stew
Shoepeg Corn Salad
Chicken Salad (Made with blender mayonnaise recipe in cookbook)-MY FAVORITE!
- usually ate with non-salted saltine crackers
Basil Pesto Spaghetti
Like I said, I usually paired these with fruit like apples, oranges, grapes, watermelon, and strawberries.
REMEMBER- use non-iodize salt!
Breakfast...
Like I said, I usually had Quaker Instant Oatmeal for breakfast (usually maple syrup flavored). I bought the organic pack to be on the safe side.
Here are other breakfast recipes that I enjoyed and that are easy to make:
Well...I cannot upload the .pdf files, but please go to http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf to get recipes.
Apple Muffins
Griddle Cakes (good with maple syrup!)
Jelly Omelet
Any fresh fruit you like to eat
REMEMBER...use non-iodized salt!
Here are other breakfast recipes that I enjoyed and that are easy to make:
Well...I cannot upload the .pdf files, but please go to http://www.thyca.org/Cookbook.pdf to get recipes.
Apple Muffins
Griddle Cakes (good with maple syrup!)
Jelly Omelet
Any fresh fruit you like to eat
REMEMBER...use non-iodized salt!
low-iodine diet...
In preparation for the RAI-131 treatment, almost all doctors will require you to go on the low-iodine diet. Before discussing it with my endocrinologist, I read that most people do it for 2 weeks before the treatment and after the treatment....
Luckily, that wasn't the case for me. My doctor required me to start the low-iodine diet 7 days before treatment. I quit taking the Cytomel 50 mcg 7 days before the diet began.
quick timeline:
Tuesday, October 11, 2011: Stopped Cytomel
Tuesday, October 18, 2011: Started Low-Iodine Diet
Thursday, October 20, 2011: Bloodwork to check iodine levels
Tuesday, October 25, 2011: RAI treatment
Tuesday, November 1, 2011: Full Body scan and end of diet!
Ok...so, how did I survive this diet?
Three words: Organize and PLAN ahead!
Several people told me to go to www.thyca.org and get ideas from the low-iodine cookbook....
BEST advice EVER! Seriously!
This cookbook states amounts of food you can eat per day and RECIPES (that, honestly, are not bad). I went through the recipes and printed 10-12 that sounded easy and good. Knowing that I would have NO energy to cook everyday, I started buying ingredients that I needed and making meals that could be frozen and heated in the microwave.
Also, I LOVE sweets and snacking throughout the day. As my doctor describes, I am a grazer. :)
I found GREAT ideas for snacking, unsalted pretzels, fruits (apples, grapes, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries), veggies (carrots- with peanut butter), Frosted Mini Wheats cereal (no milk!), unsalted nuts, homemade oatmeal cookies....
I am not a huge peanut butter fan, but I bought Organic/Natural (Honey) peanut butter and had that in my lunch bag everyday! If you've never had natural peanut butter, you have to mix the oils and solid once you open it for the first couple of times.
Also, I am not a huge fan of oatmeal, but that was really the only thing I could think of eating at first. For breakfast, I had a bowl of oatmeal, usual maple flavored and drank some apple or orange juice.
Later in the diet, I found a recipe for apple muffins that turned out GREAT! These were a great breakfast treat! :)
For lunch, I usually had pasta recipes or vegetable recipes for the thyca.org recipe book.
I usually saved the meat for dinner (since you can have 5-6 oz. a day). By the end of the diet, I felt like I had accomplished so much and learned many new and yummy recipes! :)
I will upload some favorite recipes next...
Luckily, that wasn't the case for me. My doctor required me to start the low-iodine diet 7 days before treatment. I quit taking the Cytomel 50 mcg 7 days before the diet began.
quick timeline:
Tuesday, October 11, 2011: Stopped Cytomel
Tuesday, October 18, 2011: Started Low-Iodine Diet
Thursday, October 20, 2011: Bloodwork to check iodine levels
Tuesday, October 25, 2011: RAI treatment
Tuesday, November 1, 2011: Full Body scan and end of diet!
Ok...so, how did I survive this diet?
Three words: Organize and PLAN ahead!
Several people told me to go to www.thyca.org and get ideas from the low-iodine cookbook....
BEST advice EVER! Seriously!
This cookbook states amounts of food you can eat per day and RECIPES (that, honestly, are not bad). I went through the recipes and printed 10-12 that sounded easy and good. Knowing that I would have NO energy to cook everyday, I started buying ingredients that I needed and making meals that could be frozen and heated in the microwave.
Also, I LOVE sweets and snacking throughout the day. As my doctor describes, I am a grazer. :)
I found GREAT ideas for snacking, unsalted pretzels, fruits (apples, grapes, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries), veggies (carrots- with peanut butter), Frosted Mini Wheats cereal (no milk!), unsalted nuts, homemade oatmeal cookies....
I am not a huge peanut butter fan, but I bought Organic/Natural (Honey) peanut butter and had that in my lunch bag everyday! If you've never had natural peanut butter, you have to mix the oils and solid once you open it for the first couple of times.
Also, I am not a huge fan of oatmeal, but that was really the only thing I could think of eating at first. For breakfast, I had a bowl of oatmeal, usual maple flavored and drank some apple or orange juice.
Later in the diet, I found a recipe for apple muffins that turned out GREAT! These were a great breakfast treat! :)
For lunch, I usually had pasta recipes or vegetable recipes for the thyca.org recipe book.
I usually saved the meat for dinner (since you can have 5-6 oz. a day). By the end of the diet, I felt like I had accomplished so much and learned many new and yummy recipes! :)
I will upload some favorite recipes next...
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