i am sort of devastated. i just found out that i can not get my radioactive iodine treatment at the hospital close to me! instead, i have to drive to the hospital 4 hours away and get it. i will be getting the thyrogen injection ( IF my insurance approves it) and then i will get the treatment, and i guess the scan there. that means that i will be their " guest" for at least three days!! solitary confinement no less.
UPDATE:
well, i made some calls to my doctor. if she agrees, i can get it done at the hospital about an hour away from here. that means, i can drive myself and will get to go home. yeah!! the only time i will need help is for the whole body scan- i am going to have to take something this time. it lasts an hour or so, and i know i can not handle that without something to relax me. lol this is the way the treatment will go: on monday of the week i am scheduled to start this process, and tuesday, i will get thyrogen injections. then on wednesday, i will get loaded up with the radioactive iodine ( I 131 , i think it is). i have just enough time ( an hour) to get home before i become dangerous,haha. then on friday i will get my whole body scan. they can also do it at the hospital close to me, by at least the end of july. if i had to wait on the other hospital, i would be looking at well into august. now, i do not mean to complain, but i want to "get it done:". i am tired of waiting and want to put some of this behind me. please keep your fingers crossed for me- i will have to get my doctors approval to do this- and an order from her, my biopsy report and the pathology report. i will have to schedule the time myself, if the hospital allows. the nuclear medicine department said that they would help me on this.( i somehow feel that we are partners in crime on this!)
this has been a frustrating, at times, process. i have some "bulldog" in me, so my family says, so i do not give up on things. this is a good thing, in this case. you have to stand up for yourself and hope for the best. perhaps i will be able to avoid the hotel California.... to be continued.
Bea, You are strong and you will come through this just fine. When I had my RAI treatment I had to be quarantined in the hospital for three days, all my garbage had to stay in the room with me, what ever I brought with me and I touched had to be thrown out, it was so weird I felt like an alien. They would drop my food off close to the door, no one could come near me. The doctor would come in once a day in his protective gear and this machine to measure RAI. To say the least it was a strang experience, especially since I felt fine. My husband and I still joke about me glowing. I wish you all the best, keep smiling and remember this too shall pass, and you will one day laugh about glowing. God Bless and I will be thinking and praying for you. Jennie
ReplyDeleteIt might actually be easier to be in the hospital for those three days. I was at home, but I worried constantly about anything I touched and I worried about my family. Plus, I felt ok and I really, really, really wanted to get out of my room and DO something! Those three days were actually harder on me than the two weeks of surgery recovery
ReplyDeleteHi Bea, I'm kind of on the same path as you and I want to thank you for posting your experience. I had a subtotal and then a completion thyroidectomy after discovering Hashi's and multifocal papillary cancer. I'm adjusting to new dosage of Synthroid and going to do RAI in the fall after the kids are back in preschool. I was surprised to see that thyrogen might not be covered and am especially curious to find out what happens with your insurance. Thank you again, so much for sharing your experience. I wish you the very best of luck and look forward to hearing more, and that you're doing well.
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