A few weeks ago I had radioactive iodine treatment that put me in isolation for a week. Prior to that was a two-week low-iodine diet that was frankly more tiring that the actual isolation itself. Now two-weeks after my release from isolation, I’m doing good.
The low iodine diet
I am thankful to have found a ton of literature and groups online that was helpful. Years ago when my mom had her RAI (radioactive iodine) treatment for her goiter she didn’t have access to websites and online communities, I cannot imagine how she could’ve gotten through her diet and isolation without going insane!
Below is a handy image I kept with me for weeks, it was very helpful when shopping.
Two weeks without soy sauce was probably one of the most difficult things I had to go through and I didn’t even expect it would bother me that much. No eggs? Sure, there can be substitutes for that when baking. No dairy? Sure, there are tons of substitutes for that and you wouldn’t even notice the difference. No milk? Fine, it’ll be difficult to find substitute milk that do not have sea salt in the flavoring but there’s a substitute for that too. Cheese? I can let that go. But soy sauce.. oh boy, I had to make my own fake soy sauce just to tide me over. A lot of people in my Facebook community swears it tastes the same.. but for someone who’s had soy sauce all her life, a true blue (or I guess I should say yellow?) asian… sorry, the homemade fake soysauce does not taste the same. I am truly glad to be back to my regular diet now… very thankful that I have no allergies that force me to be on any permanent diet so I am extremely grateful.
What I binged on: I made chocolate chip cookies and lemon blueberry muffins since I got tired of Oreos on Day 3. I was glad to have Lays chips (in BBQ flavor!) but I could feel I was getting fat every day that I gorged on it LOL. Sure, I had fruits and salads.. but nobody really binges on those, let’s be realistic here! :D
When did it end? I was on the low iodine diet for two weeks prior to isolation, and until the weekend of the isolation.
Taking time off
I took some time off from work especially for the days I was going to have my thyrogen shots and the actual radioactive pill. Other than that, I am grateful to work in a company that allows me to work remotely.
The schedule
January 27, Monday: Thyrogen shot #1
January 28, Tuesday: Thyrogen shot #2
January 29, Wednesday: Radioactive iodine pill intake, start of isolation
Preparing for isolation
In preparing for the isolation period I knew that I would have to prepare meals ahead of time. So I meal prepped for all the kinds of food that I would want to have that considers the low iodine diet and a regular diet (after the diet is cleared). I made sure to make my local home favorites: Lechon Kawali with sauce and atchara, Kaldereta and Binagoongan. Some folks have had issues with their taste buds during/after RAI and I wanted to make sure to check on my taste buds while in isolation… both Kaldereta and Binagoongan had strong flavors and I knew I would recognize right away if something didn’t taste right.
I prepped my isolation room and had three bins: food, personal items, and cleaning items.
Marc made sure I had entertainment and set the TV up in my room with cable and all our streaming accounts.
Laptop, charging station, check.. check.
I also had a spider plant in my room to purify the air. And I guess in my own way, see if it’ll die if its in the room with me…. it did not. Yay! I divided that spider plant into five happy plants.
I packed clothes for a week and a few days (for emergencies) with a ton of socks and white cotton gloves. Because we had carpet all over I wanted to make sure I don’t sweat into it so I wore socks all day. I had white cotton gloves when I walked outside the room so I didn’t have to touch anything that I couldn’t clean up or wipe off. I’m glad I got the white cotton gloves because the surgical gloves were not that comfortable if I had to wear them long, and I couldn’t really wash them.
I called the Town office to inquire about trash policies for radioactive trash a week prior to glow day. The Board of Health said there’s no such policies and I should have a Hazmat company take care of any trash. To be honest it hurt a little when she asked for our house address so they can monitor… here I am trying to get rid of cancer with a radioactive iodine treatment so I didn’t really want to feel like I was such a burden to the town (or that the town didn’t want me to be part of it). I know, not a lot of towns have experience with this and maybe if I said the Cancer word they would have been a little more sensitive.. but shit, really, Cancer fucking sucks. :(
Glow day
I thought of wearing a radioactive shirt on that day but I didn’t have the time to get the shirt. But all is well. They take you in, explain all the risks and gives you the pill. It’s a tiny little pill that you just take with water. After that, they shuffle you out and urge you to go.
Car ride home was Marc on the driver’s seat and me on the opposite side at the back. As much as possible, I stayed away and kept my distance… the radioactive iodine is the most active in the hour or two that’s ingested.
Loneliness
I will admit, there were bouts of loneliness. Being inside a room can be lonely. I can go out and walk about on the lawn for some fresh air… the problem is, its winter and its too damn cold.
Six feet would be my bubble… so that’s the distance I needed to keep between Marc and me. Sometimes we’d open the door and he’d talk to me while he’s on the stairs and me in the room. Those were really good moments and kept me sane.
As for the cats- animals are more sensitive – especially kittens. Penny was only six months and as I am ‘her person’ she just couldn’t stay away. It was heartbreaking having to drive her away every time I need to use the bathroom… I always worried she was going to bolt right in and charge after me.
Next Wednesday: Whole Body Scan
Truth be told, based on research I could stay in isolation for just three days. But, the paperwork all said a week so we just stretched it out as long as we could just to be safe. I was also paranoid, I don’t want to get anyone else radioactive. So, really, I came out of isolation after my WBS the next Wednesday. After my scan I asked the hospital staff for a Geiger counter reading…. and viola! I was between a Banana and a Brazil Nut. So, that sounds good right?
I walked right out and first thing I did was hug Marc. Oh that felt good. So goddamn fucking good.