[hockey]

#1018896

Hello all,

Well, I decided to get the RAI done (Oct 2nd) .. I made it to the appt. by myself & wasn’t the runaway bride that I thought I might have been. The nurse who I dealt with was a bit crusty, but thankfully she was able to give me the RAI as the nuclear dr. had to leave earlier that day.

My time away was very quiet and cold as the heat at the cottage I was staying at wasn’t working. When my dad tried to get the neighbour to fix it he said something to the neighbour and the neighbour looked at me as though I were a green monster – EXACTLY the reaction I was fearing!! The neighbour was to come back after work that day to have a look at it, thankfully I fixed it myself (yeah!) as the neighbour had a look of terror on his face at the thought of coming into the cottage after he was done work to try and fix it. Luckily it was just a blown fuse – somebody put a 15amp fuse in a 30amp space – uuugh. So after the neighbour looked at me like a green monster I called my dad, chewed him out for a minute or two – then I think he hung up on me, or maybe I did – I can’t remember now, but I haven’t talked to my dad since – don’t want to either – I wish I had call display to see when/if he is calling to avoid answering; too bad too as my kids b-days are next week and he will miss them .. but hey, what can I say – he hasn’t called me either.

I ended up making it a whole week before I came home to my husband/kids … I would like to have made it at least one more day to meet the half-life, but my daughter was sick and I didn’t want my son to miss out on the activities planned for the next day and I was cold. I was tired of having no heat and wouldn’t you know, as soon as it got fixed, the power went out a couple of times so the electric heat didn’t work anyhow. I surprised my husband when I got home as they weren’t expecting me that day. I was actually on my cell phone talking to my husband as I rang the doorbell – was he ever surprised … the kids were soooooooo happy to see me. My daughter sweetly clung to me and my son wanted to show me everything they had been doing. I also couldn’t believe how much they had grown in just a week! Funny how others say how your kids have grown and you don’t notice it b/c you’re with them every day – this time I got to be the one who noticed!!

The past week has been pretty good … my husband said that I am the happiest he’s seen me in a LONG time .. not sure why – if it’s more having done the RAI and am trying to get better or if it’s because I’m rested. I never got a break before from the kids unless I was up late.

My numbers are down already – still hyper, but better than they were prior to RAI, so things are moving in the right direction (I even played hockey tonight! and I have a hard time unwinding from the late night games so here I am). Now, if only I can keep my stress levels down – but not sure how to do that with a b-day party next weekend for aprx. 18 kids! Then , we also have to get b-day gifts for 2 other parties we are attending. Is it just me, or are there a lot of b-days around this time of year?

Now -finally to my question … my neck/throat STILL hurts. Generally I don’t take any Tylenol etc. for pain (I’m the type to tough it out), but I have had to with this … the pain just bothers me too much otherwise. The pain isn’t there every day, but it is there most of the time. How long will the neck/throat discomfort continue – I’m already 2 wks post RAI? Has anyone else been bothered by this? What causes the neck pain – it’s right where my thyroid is.

One more question … once the numbers (T3/T4) start trending downwards and approach normal, is it possible to start supplementing (at a very low dose) so that you don’t have to go severely hypo? I’m afraid that I will hit that hypo stage at Christmas and it will be the worst time to be VERY hypo (no doctor avail b/c of holidays so can’t get Rx), especially since I’ve been hyper so long (on & off for the last 5.5 yrs – diagnosed, and likely at least 1 yr prior to that undiagnosed)? Also, since it takes several weeks for the supplement to be absorbed, start working, wouldn’t it be good to get the ball rolling before you are actually hypo?

Thanks!

[ewmb]

#1067729

Hockey,
Glad to hear that you are doing well. I took four months to go hypo. My throat and neck area did hurt for the first week. You probably have some swelling that is taking a while to go down. I wouldn’t worry too much unless it gets worse. You probably won’t start any hormone replacement until you really can show it with the numbers that you need it. Take care and have fun with the birthdays.

ewmb

[Bobbi]

#1067730

First off — the neighbor is simply uninformed. It’s too bad that happened, but it isn’t something you need to fret about. And you were not required to help educate him either.

Second — I’m glad you got a week of rest. We so often don’t take the time to pamper ourselves. I know that wasn’t your reason for taking the week off, but…

The neck pain — Mine didn’t last terribly long. It’s not easy to say how long it will last, because we are all different. It’s a sign that the RAI is working, so if you can view it as "progress" perhaps it won’t bother you quite as much.

As to going hypo around Christmas — Do you have an appointment with the doctor for blood work yet? My endo gave me an appointment five weeks out from my RAI to check the progress of things. If you don’t have an appointment, you might call the office and get one now. The timing may be different for you if your doctor has already recommended something else, but the important thing is not to wait until you necessarily "feel" hypo. There has to be some lag between RAI and that bloodwork, so that the pituitary has a chance to "catch up" with the lowering thyroid levels. But catching things as early as possible can be a huge help.

Good luck,

[hockey]

#1067731

As for blood tests – initially he said to go weekly … I had one 11 days after RAI (#s trending downward), and was asked to get another one in 2 weeks (initially he said weekly when I said yes to RAI) so maybe he is trying to catch it early so that I don’t end up having to feel symptomatic – not sure yet, just from what I’ve read on here, it looks as though most people seem to go hypo & feel hypo before any meds are started.

If the neck pain is related to the RAI working, it’s a little easier to take – I just hope the pain goes away soon, it’s rather annoying.

Thanks!

[Bobbi]

#1067732

I know that a lot of folks complain about hypo — you might not be one of them. I’m not. I never got severely hypo, but even at a TSH of over 12 one time, I didn’t even know I was hypo!! I was sleeping (luxury after hyperness) and while I felt a bit of fatigue, it was fatigue that went away with gentle exercise. With hyper, if I tried to exercise it made me more tired; with hypo it wasn’t like that. My experience, for what it’s worth. We are all different. (Oh, yes, and there were times when I was sure I was hypo, and I wasn’t. Perhaps going hypo without symptoms has made me more understanding of why endos don’t take us seriously when we "feel" hypo but are not. My experience has shown me that I cannot tell what my levels are by how I feel — I need bloodwork to show it.)

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