Monday, March 2, 2009
RAI Isolation
So, I'm day 4 now and really miss my family. I'm sitting in an empty house, except for a very barky, spoiled mini daschund always nearby. I'm getting to sleep in, yes, but I'd rather go back home. I video chat with Huz and Claire every night which helps tremendously but virtual kisses and hugs just aren't the same as the real thing.Yesterday I had salty salivary glands - it's the iodine they took up that I'm tasting. My mouth has tasted like the ocean for two days. Not exactly pleasant but not awful. I've had a distant pain in one of my armpits and I'm freaked out that I now have armpit cancer but hopefully it's a fluke and not at all related to the radiation actively killing thyroid cells in my body.
It's still weird to think that I'm radioactive and have to be all cautious around people. I'm still flushing twice, washing my clothes and dishes separately, and trying to maintain 3 feet distance between my hosts. I'm actually going out in public tomorrow as I'm meeting Huz for lunch (before the lunch crowd gets there) and plan to take any plastic utensils I use home with me to wash and dispose of so that I don't expose anyone to a "hot" fork. I'm looking forward to seeing him, though from a distance, and to Mexican food. Oh yeah! The pizza the other night was good, but boy is Papa John's stingy with the peperoncini peppers! ONE pepper for a large pizza? I need ONE per slice, thankyouverymuch! Still, it was nice to get my cheese on again.
I continue to watch a movie each night as I retire early in my room. The second movie was No Reservations with Catherine Zeta-Jones. It was a cute love story very much in line with all the food-related reading I've been doing lately. Oh yeah, I finished Julie and Julia and am now reading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. Sense a theme here? Last night I watched Lars and the Real Girl and it was quite good in a slow, quiet, slightly disturbing way. I genuinely liked it though.
Today I feel completely normal, other than a wave of ocean in my mouth every now and then, and am working from "home" helping course directors with three different courses at once. I'm busy but am also bored since I'm in an empty house - an OLD empty house. Note to self: when I turn 60 or 70 I will never own a yippy dog or a clock that chirps different bird songs every hour. Both are equally annoying.
Labels: Radiation Iodine, Thyroid Cancer
|Saturday, February 28, 2009
OMG
We just ordered pizza and I am SO EXCITED. Like over the top excited. Low iodine diet? GOOD FREAKING BYE! Pizza, cheese, milk, butter, egg yolks, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, store bought bread, bagels, and english muffins? HELLO!Labels: Radiation Iodine, Thyroid Cancer
|Radioactive Woman
Day One:Huz and I arrived at the hospital promptly at 10:00a.m. for my appointment with the Deadly Pill served in a sealed iron vessel only to wait an hour and forty five minutes for anything to finally happen. I guess that's to be expected in a hospital. I just hope that if I coded they would be more prompt.
We sat in a room that had tons of warning signs on the door - danger! peligro! radioactive woman inside! - and that was freezing for almost 2 hours. We talked about Claire, about Huz's dissertation, about my nervousness involved with intentionally swallowing radioactive material, and then played some thumb war. Finally, two nurses - Sarah and Jeanette - came in wheeling a cart with the sealed lead capsule on it. I had to hug Huz goodbye at this point and he left. Sarah went over the precautions that a resident had already thoroughly gone over with me (stay 3 feet away from everyone for the first 3 days and children or pregnant women for a week, drink a lot of water and flush twice when you go, etc.), handed me some bottled water, and proceeded to open the capsule. They didn't have moonsuits on - just a pair of latex gloves. Sarah handed me a small plastic vial that had 2 blue and white pills in it and told me to swallow them. I did and instantly felt strange. I don't know how to describe it other than feeling slightly tingly all over and my vision went weird for a minute. Sarah and Jeanette stayed chatting with me for 10 minutes (at a 3 foot distance from me) and then Jeanette came over with a yard stick and put it on my belly and with her other hand operated the geiger counter to get my radiation levels. I guess it was doing it's thing because she said they were good numbers. Then they said goodbye and I left. Walking through the hospital waiting room and riding the elevator to the parking garage was strange because I was trying to stay 3 feet away from everyone I ran into - especially children. I felt like a leper or something.
I came to my temporary home, ate some fruit that my host left in my bedroom (was the first food I had all day) and watched a funny movie in bed. I never watch comedies because they are usually just really dumb, which this one was, but I found it hilarious and perfect for being newly radioactive, kind of freaked out, and away from my family. It was Step Brothers with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. My favorite line was Reilly's who when interviewing for a job said, "I really, really need a job. I will take any position as long as it doesn't involve having sex with old ladies for money. Or bear traps. Those are my two buggaboos."
Oh my. So funny.
I retired to my bedroom early and took a shower to wash off any radioactive sweat (I'm staying in an older couple's home and their house is on the hot side) and then settled in to ready my Julie and Julie book before watching BSG at 9:00. I fell asleep at 8:30 and woke up at 9:40. Dang it. I hope Huz keeps BSG on Tivo for me. So I guess you could say going nuclear makes you tired.
Day Two:
I woke up at 6:00 with a really dry mouth (one of the side effects is damage to the salivary glands), drank some water, and went back to bed resolved to sleep in while I have the chance. I've had an alarm clock named Claire Bear who rarely lets us sleep past 7:00 for the last 16 months, so I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bit while on isolation. I couldn't sleep for a while, but finally got another hour and a half. I woke up the second time with pain in my jaw right under my ears. My salivary glands are swollen and sore. I've been gargling baking soda water, sucking on hard candies, and drinking lots of water to help. It's a normal side effect and I hope they ease up and go away soon.
Oh yeah. I'm still on the lame low iodine diet (probably until tomorrow since they said 24-48 hours after the RAI). So I still haven't ordered a pizza for myself yet but am very much looking forward to it.
Signing off for now,
Radioactive Woman
Labels: Radiation Iodine, Thyroid Cancer
|Thursday, February 26, 2009
Butt Prayers
That has been the subject line of emails from my mom both yesterday and today with regards to my thyrogen shots. Pretty funny.So, the shots were no big deal - yesterday's didn't even hurt. Today's did because it burned when the meds went in, but it wasn't bad. The only thing that sucked was that I immediately felt tired and kind of out of it, as if I was on cold medicine. I probably shouldn't have had 2 martinis on an empty stomach during my last date with Huz last night, but I did. I got crazy drunk crazy fast and still felt dizzy and nauseated this morning, but nothing dire.
I go nuclear tomorrow at 10:00. Wish me luck!
I'll be blogging and letting you know how isolation goes.
Labels: Radiation Iodine, Thyroid Cancer
|Monday, February 23, 2009
Cancer Crap
Hello kids.I have cancer-related treatments this week and am anxious, yet hopeful. This is the schedule:
Wednesday - 10:00a.m. get a shot of thyrogen (in my butt)
Thursday - 10:00a.m. get a shot of thyrogen (in my butt - other cheek, hopefully!)
(Some patients get tired, headaches, aches and pains, and nauseated from these shots. I hope I don't follow suit!)
Friday - 10:00a.m. get radioactive iodine pill. Wait in hospital for an hour to see if I vomit radioactive substances up (good times). Drive to a colleague's house where I will be on isolation from my family and friends for at least 7 days (I'll find out exactly what the half life of the radiation will be on the day I take it when they wave a Geiger counter wand over me like I'm some alien from another planet).
I hope to borrow a Mac laptop from a colleague during this time so that Huz can use it and I can use mine to Skype teleconference all week. That way I can still see Huz and Claire and talk to them "in person" rather than just on the phone which Claire doesn't get yet. I will miss them so much, but know it's for the best. I'd never want to come home early and ablate their thyroids accidentally. I'll be blogging through this period and will let you all know how I'm doing. I hope I won't get sick like some patients do and I hope, hope, hope that the radiation kills the cancer but the rest of me stays healthy and safe! Since I'll have so much quiet time on my hands during isolation I think I might look into creating a second website that chronicles the cancer. We'll see. Other than that, I'll be reading books and watching lots of DVDs. Any other ideas? I won't be able to go out and eat all the things I can't have on this diet (CHEESE! ICE CREAM! TACOS!) since I'll be radioactive and harmful to others, but you can bet I'll be ordering in! Oh yeah! Domino's? What's your biggest pizza? I'll take that. All to myself. Thankyouverymuch.
Friday, March 6th 10:00a.m. I have a whole body scan which will show what took up the radiation and what, therefore, is remaining thyroid tissue and quite possibly cancer. Please pray with me that the scan will be clean and that there will be no metastasized cancer. Please pray with me that this will be the end of cancer for Victoria Winters and the Winters family. Thank you.
Labels: Radiation Iodine, Thyroid Cancer
|Thursday, February 19, 2009
VW Turns 33
So today is my birthday. Huz made me banana pancakes with some salt-free margarine he found at Kroger. It was good - sure beats cold cereal with watery almond "milk", but I gotta admit that I really wanted some bacon to go with it. Come on March 2nd!How am I celebrating my birthday? I'm at home with Claire who is sick. It started on Monday with vomiting, then that resolved and she's been lethargic with a low-grade fever ever since. Huz took her to the Dr. yesterday and she was diagnosed with an ear infection. This is the first time she's been on antibiotics; I'm glad that she went 15 months before needing them. It sucks having a child who seems to be sick every month, but I know it's par for the course when you introduce a child to daycare. The good news is that this will really build up her immune system and by next year or the year after she'll probably not get sick very often again.
I'm waiting until Huz gets home from TAing and then I'll go to work at around noon. My dear friend is coming over to babysit tonight after Huz and I put Claire to bed and eat a LID compliant dinner at home. We're going to a photography show that a woman in my new book club is a part of and then to the movies. Now, if only I could decide which one to see: Coraline, The Reader, The Wrestler? Of course I'm trying to find one that's not too late (10:00!?) since I have to work tomorrow.
There. Now you see that I am, indeed, old. I'm worried about staying up to midnight on a weeknight.
Labels: Birthdays, Radiation Iodine
|Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Low Iodine Diet
Things that are making this diet bearable:Chocolate Sorbet
Low Iodine Mexican Chocolate Cake from thyca
Egg white scramble with potatoes, onions and peppers
Labels: Radiation Iodine, Recipes
|Monday, February 16, 2009
This and That
I was so very excited that Claire gave us a Valentine's Day/early birthday present on Saturday morning when she slept (and so did we) until 9:00a.m. I was thrilled. Thrilled! I tell you. I haven't slept in for FIFTEEN MONTHS. Alas, it seems it was because she is, yet again, sick. She has vomited 3-4 times today from what I can tell from Huz's sporadic emails. Sigh.I am on day 6 of the low iodine diet and am absolutely sick of it. It is so annoying having to carefully plan out each meal and not being able to eat out at all. I am craving FAT so badly: cream in my coffee, ice cream, a big ol' pad of butter on a waffle, sausage links, pepperoni pizza, and, most of all, a cheeseburger with mayo and pickles. Drool. This is going to be a VERY long 2 and 1/2 weeks.
I have vowed not to get into watching American Idol this year and, so far, I haven't watched more than 5 minutes of the try-outs whilst flipping channels. Yay me! I'm so highbrow it hurts.
My cats are constantly fighting. What gives? I thought we got all the bitch slappage out. Apparently I was wrong.
Labels: Life, Radiation Iodine
|Thursday, February 12, 2009
LID: Day One
Yesterday was the first day of my low iodine diet (LID). It wasn't bad thanks to Huz who made me some diet-compliant bread (orange cinnamon bread = yummy) even though I couldn't put any butter (dairy) or margarine (salt) on it. Honey or jam work just fine though. I can't have any milk (because it's dairy) or soy milk (because it's soy) or rice milk (because it has sea salt in it) so I made my own almond milk yesterday. Note to self: STRAIN the almond milk. Chewing after taking a sip of coffee isn't very pleasant.I went to my new book club last night (we read Ellen Foster and next month's is Julie and Julia - yippee!) and it was rough watching all the ladies eat Girl Scout cookies, cake, and spinach dip but at least I could drink the wine I brought and drown my sorrows. I exaggerate; it wasn't that bad. Next Tuesday will be difficult, though, because a few friends and I are going to the Vagina Monologues after work and have to have dinner first. Do you think I could find a steak place that would serve me 5 oz. of meat with NO seasoning whatsover? I hope so, otherwise I'll have to pack my own homemade bread and and apple for dinner. Ho hum.
Labels: Radiation Iodine, Reading
|Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Going Nuclear
I am preparing for the radiation treatment which will, hopefully, wipe out any remaining cancer cells which might be hanging out in my body. I take the radiation iodine pill on the 27th and then go into isolation, basically, for a week while I'm radioactive. I have to have my own bathroom and maintain 3 feet distance between myself and all adults for 5 days and I have to do the same for pregnant woman and children (ie, Claire) for 8 days. Since I have a small house with only one bathroom and you can't explain to a toddler why you won't pick her up, hug her, or even come near her for 8 days, I am staying at someone else's house that whole week. This makes me so sad because I've only been away from Claire for one night (the night after my surgery). I will miss her (and Huz, but at least I can talk to him on the phone!) terribly.Before all of this, however, I have to be on a low iodine diet for 2 weeks in order to starve my body of iodine so that it takes up the radioactive version more readily, making it more effective in ablating the thyroid tissue that remains. Now most of you, like I did, probably just assume this means avoiding salt since we all know salt contains iodide ("an essential nutrient" blah, blah, blah). No. I wish it were so. Check out the list of things that are forbidden to me as of tomorrow:
iodized salt (duh)
sea salt
fish or anything that comes out of the sea
ALL dairy products
ALL soy products (uh, hello? what am I supposed to put on my cereal?)
egg yolks (white omelet anyone?)
canned fruits or vegetables
basically anything already made since it all has salt in it (tomato sauce, ketchup, most cereals, etc.)
restuarant food since there is no way to know if they use products mentioned above
any pre-baked items (bread, bagels, etc.) because they have iodine dough conditioners
Foods that are limited are:
meat - I can only eat up to 5 oz. of fresh (not ground) meat a day
grains - I can only have up to 4 servings of grains a day
Oh my God, right? So, what can I eat? Basically fresh vegetables and fruit and homemade bread that has no milk or egg yolks in it. This is going to be freaking awesome. Not.
In preparation for this diet I just ate a huge southern meal from a local soul food restuarant where the line was out the door. I had meat loaf swimming in tomato sauce, mashed potatoes with dressing, and green beans. Peach cobbler is waiting for me just as soon as my stomach settles from the tide of greasy, dee-licious food I dumped into it moments ago.
Wish me luck on the diet. Because, as you can probably tell, I like food and think diets suck.
Labels: Radiation Iodine
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