I Am The One...Percent.

Hey friendsies!

So, radioactive iodine therapy has been going fairly well. If you asked me on Sunday, I would have told you it was going fine. If you asked me on Monday, I would have told you it's kicking my butt a little bit. If you asked me today, you'd hear, "Well, apparently I am the 1%!"

According to the numerous online resources I referenced (read: Wikipedia), less than 1% of people who undergo this kind of treatment end up with thyroiditis, which is the painful swelling of the thyroid. Here's the blip about it on the Wiki site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation-induced_thyroiditis

Anyway, it feels very similar to strep throat, but lower in the throat and in the front instead of the back. It hurts to swallow stuff, to sneeze, to cough, and to talk and laugh. When I called the clinic, they said they'd have someone give me a call, and the nurse practitioner who called me said that icing it for about 20 minutes per day four times a day plus two ibuprofen every four hours should help relieve the symptoms a little. She said they can't do anything about it unless it escalates to the point of bleeding. She also said it was really common (?!) and that it's unfortunate but that's the way it is. And that it might last up to a month. And to call her back in a month if it's still pretty bad.

Um, what now??

I have, at this point, gotten pretty upset with Healthpartners. Maybe they don't do this kind of thing very frequently but I am just frustrated with them. Nobody said this was "normal" and "common," nobody told me that I'd have to be at the hospital for over an hour on Friday when I went in to take the pill, and nobody gave me terribly specific instructions until the day of the procedure, which made it really hard to prepare. I just feel like they need someone to create an info packet for patients so they know exactly what to expect.

ANYWAY, that's how I'm doing. I did want to take a moment to thank those of you who have asked me how I'm doing or offered to chat with me while I was in isolation. I really appreciate the care and concern!