Radioactive Iodine

Before I could take the radioactive iodine, I had to get blood work done to confirm that my TSH levels were very high so I could ablate those cells during my treatment. Luckily, I was able to stick to the low iodine diet (I didn’t cheat!) and my TSH levels were very high. I was all set to take the radioactive iodine. I was afraid of how my body would react to the radioactive iodine pill. My oncologist prescribed an anti-nausea pill to help the nausea the radioactive pill causes. It’s very important to not throw up, because if you do, you have to take the radioactive pill again.

When I arrived in the nuclear medicine wing of the hospital, I was escorted into a small room with a recliner and a bed. The doctor then wheeled in the “box of doom.” Basically this box has stickers with warnings all over it – DANGER – RADIOACTIVE….when the doctor opened the box it was metal, lined with more metal, and inside the second compartment was a tungsten cup with a small pill inside. She handed me the pill, I grabbed it and said, “bottoms up,” as I took it with water and I swallowed it as soon as possible because I didn’t want to think about it any longer. The doctor then closed the door and left me alone for a while. After some time passed, she checked on me to make sure I did not throw up. Although the temptation was very strong to throw up, I kept thinking about other things to keep my mind off of the disgusting urge to be sick. I had brought a book with me and started to read it out loud. I am sure anyone walking by my room thought I was crazy and talking to myself, but it was a last resort effort to keep my mind off of the gurgling going on in my stomach. After 45 minutes, the doctor came in with a Geiger counter and measured my radioactive level. I signed a release form assuring doctors I would sit 6 feet away from people, use the same dishes for a week, flush the toilet 3 times after use, along with many other guidelines and then I was dismissed from the hospital. Luckily, I did not have to stay the night in the hospital like many people do – I was released within an hour to go home. I then needed to drive to my parent’s house so I could have my own bathroom and area to “be radioactive”. I couldn’t do that in my 775 square foot condo with my husband and cat. While I was radioactive, I spent a lot of time by myself reading and eating candy. It's important to keep lots of candy by your side because the radioactive iodine can really impact your salivary glands. I was at my parent’s house for a week. Once the week was up, I needed to go back up to Chicago to get my I-131 body scan.