# RAI Dosage...is this high?



## sonnyjane

I just met with my nuclear medicine specialist and I really liked him a lot. We set up my dosage day (Jan. 19th) and I started my first day of low-iodine diet today (already depressed lol!!!).

Anyway, I've been researching on the boards and looking at some of the dosages mentioned and can't help but think that my dosage seems high? They are going to give me 150 mci, but I've read that others have had only 75 or 100 mci. Is this considered a higher dose, or is it all pretty par for the course? Just wondering what kind of side effects I might encounter if it is a higher dose than usual.


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## joplin1975

I think I mentioned that my radiologist really, really, really wanted to give me 150mci, but New York state requires inpatient hospitalization for any dose higher than 100 and I really wanted to avoid hospitalization. So we went with 100 and the assumption is that I will need to do it all over again next September.

150 is on the higher side, but it's gonna zap out all of that nasty thyroid stuff. If I could have done it and avoided inpatient isolation, I totally would have.

Again, in all honesty, I felt like heck warmed over after my RAI. It doesn't sound like that is the norm, but I felt like I had the flu for the first ~48 hours after taking the pill. Stiff joints, sore/stiff neck, cold, fatigue, etc. After that 48 hours, I felt pretty much normal again (well, normal for being hypo, but normal).


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## sonnyjane

joplin1975 said:


> I think I mentioned that my radiologist really, really, really wanted to give me 150mci, but New York state requires inpatient hospitalization for any dose higher than 100 and I really wanted to avoid hospitalization. So we went with 100 and the assumption is that I will need to do it all over again next September.
> 
> 150 is on the higher side, but it's gonna zap out all of that nasty thyroid stuff. If I could have done it and avoided inpatient isolation, I totally would have.
> 
> Again, in all honesty, I felt like heck warmed over after my RAI. It doesn't sound like that is the norm, but I felt like I had the flu for the first ~48 hours after taking the pill. Stiff joints, sore/stiff neck, cold, fatigue, etc. After that 48 hours, I felt pretty much normal again (well, normal for being hypo, but normal).


Thanks as always, joplin  Here in CA I guess it's okay to send me home since my husband is out of town (silver lining there...I would have hated another hospital stay!). They did give me the warning about locking my cat out of my room. That will be more lonely for me than my cat haha. They said I'll only have to miss one extra day of work (three days of isolation total, 2 over my weekend), and then I can go back, just watch my contact with others.

13 more days of low-iodine diet... worse than my cancer lol! Craving a brownie sooooo badly right now lol.


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## Octavia

Wow, I'm surprised about the rather limited isolation, IMHO.

Here are some random links...you may have already seen some of them, but just in case:

RAI Treatment Articles/Info

http://www.hkcr.org/publ/Journal/vol8no3/full/127-135 Side.pdf

http://www.thyroid.org/patients/faqs/radioactive_iodine.html

http://www.thyca.org/ablation.htm

http://www.nucmed.com/nucmed/protocols/Thyroid_Cancer_Treatment_Guideline.rtf


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## sonnyjane

Octavia said:


> Wow, I'm surprised about the rather limited isolation, IMHO.


Hmm. Should I mention it again? I mean prior to my appointment I had read on here and other sites that isolation could be up to a week, so I brought that up to them when I asked how long I would need to miss work. They asked me about my living situation (currently I'm alone), if I had pets (which I do but he can easily be isolated from me in another room) and asked what I do for work. They said that with the half life, after three days of isolation at home, I should be okay to go to work, just need to not be in close proximity (closer than one meter for two hours or something like that?) with anyone and I can do that. I even voiced my concerns because one of my co-workers has a 3-month old and is breast-feeding, but they weren't concerned as long as I wasn't touching her or sharing body fluids in any way. They said if I was working with anyone pregnant or small kids, I would need longer isolation, but I won't be at the time?


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## joplin1975

What happened with me was that, prior to receiving the therapy dose, I was told I'd need a "few days" isolation and that it was "no big deal." Then I got there and was given a page of very specific instructions, had a long talk with the tech, and a follow up discussion with the doctor. It was much more comprehensive than what I was lead to believe before going radioactive. 

The first three days were the days when I was told to be the most careful. After that, I could be within three feet of someone for up to eight hours in a 24 hour period, but I needed to continue to be very, very careful about using public restrooms or using any kind of utensils that someone else might use, etc. I was told I could go back to work after those initial three days, but for sake of ease, I worked from home.

So, very generally speaking, it sounds similar to my isolation protocol, but I bet you'll get WAY more information than you wanted or expected once you actually get there.


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## mum2bradley

wow...I only had 12 mci and I was isolated at home for 5 days and off work for two.
maybe they have different guidelines in Canada??


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## sonnyjane

mum2bradley said:


> wow...I only had 12 mci and I was isolated at home for 5 days and off work for two.
> maybe they have different guidelines in Canada??


Who knows! I'm nervous about today because I'm going in for my blood draw to see if I'm hypo enough to get the pill. I wasn't actually supposed to go in until Tuesday, but my Endo (who is separate than my Nuke Med doc that will be giving me the pill) called yesterday and has also ordered some blood work for me and she wants that today, so since I have to go to an outside lab, I called the Nuke Med to see if I could just have my blood drawn today while I'm at the lab and have the results sent to them as well. I'm hoping it's low enough, otherwise I'll have to go in again next week. I certainly FEEL hypo, but I'm not sure what numbers they are looking for to make their decision as to whether or not I can still take my pill on Thursday. We'll see!


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## Andros

sonnyjane said:


> Who knows! I'm nervous about today because I'm going in for my blood draw to see if I'm hypo enough to get the pill. I wasn't actually supposed to go in until Tuesday, but my Endo (who is separate than my Nuke Med doc that will be giving me the pill) called yesterday and has also ordered some blood work for me and she wants that today, so since I have to go to an outside lab, I called the Nuke Med to see if I could just have my blood drawn today while I'm at the lab and have the results sent to them as well. I'm hoping it's low enough, otherwise I'll have to go in again next week. I certainly FEEL hypo, but I'm not sure what numbers they are looking for to make their decision as to whether or not I can still take my pill on Thursday. We'll see!


Let us know when you know! I hope you can just get all this behind you so you can get on with your life here. This has been a hard time for you.

(I do read all posts, LOL!) I did not have cancer, thank God so cannot contribute too much.


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## sonnyjane

Andros said:


> Let us know when you know! I hope you can just get all this behind you so you can get on with your life here. This has been a hard time for you.
> 
> (I do read all posts, LOL!) I did not have cancer, thank God so cannot contribute too much.
> 
> ]


Thanks haha! I'm all about being candid, so I'll say that the low-iodine diet has been MUCH harder on me than the actual surgery recovery! I'm learning through this "withdrawal" period that I'm addicted to chocolate, milk, cheese, and bread, and not being able to have it makes me very sad  I've been creative, but on top of being hypo, I am just not getting the strength I need at work from this diet, plus I am battling a cold right now too (I never ever get sick, so I don't doubt that my immune system is weakened because of the diet as well). All I can think of is my first - post-RAI meal, which will be Papa Johns pizza, garlic sauce, brownies, and ice cream!!! 

My endo is starting me on 137 mcg of Synthroid at first starting the day or two after the RAI, so I'll be sure to post labs and stuff once I'm on medication and am going down that road.


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## Andros

sonnyjane said:


> Thanks haha! I'm all about being candid, so I'll say that the low-iodine diet has been MUCH harder on me than the actual surgery recovery! I'm learning through this "withdrawal" period that I'm addicted to chocolate, milk, cheese, and bread, and not being able to have it makes me very sad  I've been creative, but on top of being hypo, I am just not getting the strength I need at work from this diet, plus I am battling a cold right now too (I never ever get sick, so I don't doubt that my immune system is weakened because of the diet as well). All I can think of is my first - post-RAI meal, which will be Papa Johns pizza, garlic sauce, brownies, and ice cream!!!
> 
> My endo is starting me on 137 mcg of Synthroid at first starting the day or two after the RAI, so I'll be sure to post labs and stuff once I'm on medication and am going down that road.


I could go for the pizza!!! Yum! We are gluten free and my hubby makes a mean crust out of Maize!!!


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## nodakmom

sonnyjane said:


> Thanks haha! I'm all about being candid, so I'll say that the low-iodine diet has been MUCH harder on me than the actual surgery recovery! I'm learning through this "withdrawal" period that I'm addicted to chocolate, milk, cheese, and bread, and not being able to have it makes me very sad  I've been creative, but on top of being hypo, I am just not getting the strength I need at work from this diet, plus I am battling a cold right now too (I never ever get sick, so I don't doubt that my immune system is weakened because of the diet as well). All I can think of is my first - post-RAI meal, which will be Papa Johns pizza, garlic sauce, brownies, and ice cream!!!
> 
> My endo is starting me on 137 mcg of Synthroid at first starting the day or two after the RAI, so I'll be sure to post labs and stuff once I'm on medication and am going down that road.


hugs3 right there with you! Cutting out anything with dairy was sooooooooo hard. And that's just what I did for my first post-RAI meal-- Pizza Hut extra cheese  Good luck with everything. I was started on 112mcg (which I thought was too low, but hey they're the "experts"), and my endo just bumped me up to 137mcg last week.


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