Radioactive Iodine Therapy on 10/14 HELP!
 

I have been treated for thyroid problems for years, slight goiter, but normal levels. About a year ago, a routine screening showed hyper thyroid. We decided to wait it out and retest. Retest showed I had switched to hypo. Started Levoxyl and was feeling great until about 3 weeks ago... I started getting really emotional and angry, have diarrhea, shakes, losing weight really quick, etc etc. Retest showed... guess what??? Right.. hyper again. Off the Levoxyl, trotting of to my endocrinologist again... Bottom line, uptake test today and tomorrow and Radioactive Iodine Therapy on Tuesday!

I am Scared!

I'm not scared about weight gain because I know we will work together to get the meds right. I'm scared about eating something radioactive! My questions...

1. Does everything I touch get radioactive too?
2. If I sleep in my daughter's bed (she's going to Daddy's for a few days!) does her bed become contaminated?
3. What is the life cycle of radioactive iodine? When does it become just iodine?
4. When can I resume normal sexual relations?
5. Do my clothes get washing separately?

I have been getting too much info from too many people and I need some advice. Thanks!!!
Susan

Susan,

I had the radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroid almost 30 years ago and I can tell you that no, you will not glow in the dark or "contaminate" anyone else and you don't have to wash your laundry separately or anything else. The amount of iodine required to slow down your thyroid (my doctor explained it like hitting the choke on your car to slow it down) is very small. And yes, I asked my doctor several of the same questions at the time, although I admit that the laundry one never occured to me. ;)

Now I do remember that the person who gave me the pill did give me a lead container to open once she had left the room, but that was because otherwise she would have been exposed many times instead of my one time. So don't let that spook you, either.

HTH,

Karla

Well I did it today... took the radioactive idione. I'm a little freaked out about it!