« Criminalizing Christianity | Main | Agenda Drives Attacks on Times »

July 01, 2006

Radioactive man

Yep... that'd be me at the moment.

Yesterday afternoon I received the treatment dose of I-131, a form of radioactive iodine used to treat hyperthyroidism, particularly for the Graves Disease type of hyperthyroidism which is what I've got. My insurance company informs me that I-131 treatment is considered a form of chemotherapy. Which makes sense really because I-131 is used to treat thyroid cancer.

So far I seem to have avoided the worst of the lovely side effects... specifically the nausea and vomiting associated with radiation exposure. From what I've read online those symptoms normally manifest themselves in the 24 hours following treatment and as of right now I'm just under an hour shy of exactly 24 hours since treatment.

I'm sequestered in my room trying to avoid too much contact with my kids because I'm apparently kicking off Gamma Rays at a pretty good clip and will continue to do so for several days. Only about 20% of the I-131 will be absorbed by my thyroid gland with the rest being passed out of my body in the two or three days following treatment. So I only have to be sequestered for that period of time. And some really fun personal hygiene procedures have to be adhered to because all of my fluids are quite radioactive at the moment. But those really aren't much of a problem because I found out years ago that accepting personal domestication vis-a-vis bathroom hygiene was just the easiest way to go and it has long been second nature for me, which undoubtedly my daughters would appreciate if they had ever had to live in close quarters with a non-domesticated male. But alas they take it for granted. Spoiled kids... LOL

Anyway, due to the remaining I-131 in my thyroid the nuclear medicine physician says that I should avoid physical intimacy for two to three weeks - for the same basic reasons that they advise not sleeping with a lump of Uranium. So... no hookers for me. Haha... as if. But seriously, that'll be a major inconvenience for my Significant Other and I. But, it's a small price to pay for my physical health. Besides, I'm betting on make-up sex after medically dictated abstenence being even better than make-up sex after a fight. :::big grin:::

Oh... the endocrinologist thought he detected a nodule on my thyroid and that always raises the specter of thyroid cancer. But the nuclear medicine physician gave me the same manual examination that the endocrinologist had and that examination coupled with the results of the scans (more radioative iodine but at a significantly lower dose) from two weeks ago left him convinced that there not only is no cancer but he intimated that the endocrinologist mistook some cartilage for a thyroid nodule... which, if correct, automatically renders any talk of possible malignancy entirely moot since it's quite impossible for cancer to develop in cartilage. Of course if the endo still insists on doing a biopsy at some future date I'll agree to it just to be on the safe side. But, for now I'm just relieved. The specter of cancer worried me more than anything else.

Graves Disease is most commonly associated with the bugged out eyes of Barbara Bush. And it's interesting that the nuke Dr. gave me a more comprehensive physical examination than the endo Dr. did. But, long story short he said that while my thyroid scan clearly proves that I have Graves Disease, I have zero sympoms (there are several...) associated with later stage GD which is where the bugged out eyes become an issue. So, That's a relief too. My rugged good looks won't be compromised... by this at any rate.

Anyway that's how I'm doing right now. The prognosis looks good. I'll know more when they test me again in three to six months to determine whether this dose of I-131 did the trick and if so to what extent. If it didn't (it does for 90%) then a second dose will be administered and that apparently does work for almost all of those for whom the initial dose didn't work - reportedly 90% of the unfortunate 10% for whom the first one didn't work. So the only remaining issue will be whether the nuclear medicine Dr. guessed close enough so that I won't be left hyp0thyroid... at least not for the short term. Apparently even with good guesses (it's a very inexact science, of necessity) hypothyroidism often develops five to ten years down the road. But, in the meantime the patient got five to ten years of normality and that's no small thing. They're by far the best odds available to me so I've got no complaints, win lose or draw.

Cheers!

Posted by Kevin at July 1, 2006 02:47 PM