I'm pumping iron!

Yeah ok, get off the floor and stop the laughing.  As if I am ever likely to turn into a gym junkie!

As part of my seemingly never ending cancer treatment I am now pumping iron... directly into a vein! So the story goes after the Radioactive Ablation in February 2013 my iron levels have continued to sink.  I've had every test known to man to work out whats gone wrong, all with no definitive result.

Initially the GP thought it was a consumption issue. I simply wasn't eating enough green leafy veg and steak.  But I thought I was.  I increased consumption and the only thing to rise was my bad cholesterol!!!    So after about 10 months he added oral iron tablets into the mix  (just what I needed, yet another tablet!!!)    6 months later... the iron was still dropping so I was referred to a gastroenterologist.

I saw him and he decided I needed a endoscopy, colonoscopy and a natty little camera inserted into my belly to plot the course of my gut to find out what was wrong in there that iron just didn't like being around.  Of course He also extracted a HUGE amount of cash from my wallet which, once again, my private health insurance failed to cover.   The camera came back with some magnificent pics of my intestine. Pristine!   Absolutely smick!   I saw them, my guts look great!!!  So this ruined his belief in that I had Coeliac disease, a new cancer, ulcers or intestinal bleeding.   His final report read something along the lines of  "it's obviously a consumption issue".   So that was a total waste of time and money and back to the GP I go.

All the time my iron levels are falling even lower and as a result my energy levels are heading southward at an equally alarming rate.   The "normal" range for which I was aiming is between 15-45.  Prior to meeting up with the Gastroman I was running at between 6 and 8.  So back on the steak I went. This time with daily double doses of iron in tablet form.  Naturally you would expect a rise, however slight.... but no.  I dropped for 6 to 4 and finally to 2.   Getting out of bed, walking to the car, preparing a meal, working all became such a burden that I was perpetually exhausted (and grumpy).

Neither I, nor the GP could work it out.  I found a line on an American website that said Radioactive Ablation messes with SOME peoples blood, but nothing more than that.  The post said it was an "uncommon side effect"  but neither the GP or the Gastro believed it.

So I spoke to my friendly pharmacist about it.  He suggested I speak to the GP about inter muscular iron injections.   I did, but the GP gave me three reason NOT to do it.  1.  It can cause immediate heart problems and his surgery does not have a resus room and   2. It can cause horrible skin staining 3.  inter muscular is not a good way of absorbing iron.  It has limited efficacy.  So in desperation he wrote to the Mater Hospital asking them to triage me for an urgent iron transfusion/infusion.   But they refused.  As I was not in active cancer treatment I did not fit their criteria.

My GP is a real  trooper.  He found a private haematologist here in the Hunter who would see me.  I just had to wait 3 months for an appointment!!!   I saw him and he, unlike Gastroman charged me a reasonable amount and 7 days later I was sitting in the Mater getting hooked up to a bag of fluids.  Yes, the Hospital that wouldn't do me 3 months earlier, were now happy to have in in their facility.

I was hooked up at 8.30 am and unhooked a bit after 2pm I think.  There were 8 chairs and 2 beds in the room and they were on high rotation all day.   I was there the longest and chairs either side of me had 3 and 4 people thru them while I just sat and sucked up the goodness.  On the central storage rack I counted over 40 IV set ups in the morning.  When I left there were probably 4 or 5 still hanging there, yet there were still about 12 people in the waiting room!  The staff were on the go all day.

Some weeks on now and the results has been....less than staggering.  In fact I have not felt any relief at all BUT it will take more than one transfusion get me back to "normal".   The Haemo man has decided that "occult gastrointestinal bleeding" is the cause.  What that means is the Haemo man disagrees with Gastroman.  Thing is I really don't care WHAT is causing it, I just want to feel normal again!!!    The doctors are expecting great numbers, as am I.... but only time will tell.

As per usual a few images but be aware some might find them confronting.

Two years later!

It was two years ago on 19 June that I had my first hemithyroidectomy.  It was, in fact, a right hemithyroidectomy and I had hoped it would be my ONLY hemithyroidectomy.   But this was not to be.  The frozen sections were found to be a malignant form of the cancer and 6 weeks later the very talented doctors opened up the original incision site and extended and straightened it for a total hemithyroidectomy.  So what's happened since then?  Well my treatment has continued and I now take 19 tablets a week to replace the now absent thyroid gland.   The levels of thyroid function are measured monthly and have been stable until this last round of tests.  So it is back to the specialist at the John Hunter Hospital to have that tweaked next month.  After both operations I felt well, although tired.  That hasn't changed.   I am happy and well, except for the constant tiredness.

Seems I have had an uncommon reaction to the Radioactive Ablation that occurred in February 2013 where by my blood count sunk.   This is being monitored a bit more closely and my blood count has risen in the last test, so I'm very happy with that.  The tiredness remains, but I have great faith that this will pass in time.

Apart from the two women I spent a few nights in hospital with, and have had no contact with since, and one guy from work who now works in Western Australia, I don't know anyone else who has been thru this process.  That may well explain why I have had so many people read this blog.  I'm guessing we are out there, but we have no way of connecting.    The United States has a Thyroid Cancer Survivers Group, but here ... nothing.   Even the Cancer Council of NSW has just a single page on Thyroid Cancer.  Yet when I was waiting for the Radioactive Ablation I waited nearly 8 months as they only do one person a week at the John Hunter.  So at least 52 people a year are treated this way in this region.

So what exactly does the thyroid gland do?  Well I had no idea, but apparently it makes makes two hormones called thyroxine and triiodothronine, but known simply as T4 and T3.  These hormones  are essential for every cell in the body to function normally and are delivered thru the blood stream.  Thus the drugs must be taken daily to do what the gland did before it ended up in a jar!

Lack of a thyroid gland has otherwise meant little change to me.  For the first 18 weeks or so I needed to keep the wound covered when outdoors to avoid dust and dirt and sunlight.  For that I used a variety of coloured silk scarves. Since then I have had to use sunblock daily to protect the scar and now two years on the scar is barely visible.   Also, I can no longer be either a blood or organ donor. Being a malignant cancer it has already escaped into my blood stream and will pop up somewhere else in my body.  That might happen tomorrow or it might not happen for a few years, but the Doctors have assured me it will happen.  So no sharing my blood products with anyone!!

If Medicare didn't exist in Australia the nuclear scans, biopsies, operations, radioactive ablation,  follow up tests and ongoing drugs would have made treatment for me highly unlikely.  Two injections I had in early 2013 cost over $1000 each!!  Luckily Medicare picked up that tab!!

Should you find yourself on the cusp of this diagnosis fear not.  There are great doctors out there, I know because I met a LOT of them.  Success rates are high as are treatment standards here.  Don't self diagnose, or google diagnose.  I tried it and I thought I had tonsillitis!   I did ask my doctor to take some photos of my specific cancer, but he declined.  He did say if I wanted to see the surgery there were examples on You Tube.  I watched them, but I did want to see my own lump!

If you are squeamish look no further.  Selfies follow, one for each op!

Iron , not ironing!

Back to see the Doc again today. Still have a problem with iron, or rather the lack of it. I had the usual test last thursday and got the call to come on it. Everything we good, or explainable, except the iron. There is some issue with my blood glucose levels, but the blame there can rest squarely on the shoulders of the Easter Bunny! Everything else is good ... except iron.

Whilst not being a rabid carnivore I always thought I ate enough red meat as I haven't really had an issue with low iron before the Thyroid Cancer.  Even after the partial and total thyroidectomy there was no hint that I was anaemic. In fact I was amazed at how well I felt after all three operations. None of the dozens of blood tests I had back then showed any issue.  That was back in August 2012.    Since the Radioactive Ablation in February 2013 there has been a consistent problem with energy, or rather the lack of it, depleted iron levels and a low blood count. Beginning September 2013 the Doc started to hunt for the answer and since then I have had every test known to man to isolate the issue. I have been tested for pretty much every kind of cancer and they have all come back with reasonable results, but with nothing to flag an iron issue. 

As part of that ongoing investigation I was referred to a gastric specialist in January.  In February he, amongst other things, implanted a camera in my stomach while I was under general anaesthetic to rule out bleeding ulcers or coeliac disease as a reason the the iron problems. Again everything came back normal and whilst normal is a good thing it doesn't help when I can't lift my head off the pillow or walk any distance without having to rest and recover.  The gastro bloke reckoned I wasn't consuming enough red meat and so he gave instructions as to how much red meat I needed to consume before the next round of tests.   I have now undertaken a "meat feast" where I have had red meat at least once a day, every day and am also taking iron supplements.   Those results caused the call in from the Doc today. Yes, the numbers have improved a little, but I am still way off "normal". 

The effects of the iron deficiency are becoming a real issue. Gone are the days of an afternoon spent mowing. I can now do about 10 minutes without having to stop and rest.   So if the iron issue isn't a new cancer, coeliac disease, bleeding ulcers, or lack of consumption what is causing the problem??? I asked if it was from being made Radioactive and so Doc is now turning his mind to that as a cause. 

 
Thyroid cancer does affect a lot of people, but it is not high profile and as such there is little information available on the net in Australia about it. If you were to search the Australian Cancer Council website you would struggle to find anything more than a passing reference to Thyroid Cancer. Searching worldwide does glean a little more information and today I think I hit pay dirt with a couple of lines on an America Thyroid Cancer Survivors website. The following words were buried in a link about Radioactive Ablation under the title "Other potential side effects of RAI" (RAI being the acronym the americans use for Radioactive Ablation). Anyway it said... "Temporary or permanent decreases in blood cell counts can also occur. " YIPEE!!!! Finally a possible reason the lack of iron. Today one of the things Doc said was that my blood count was finally on the rise. So hopefully with some further research by the qualified one ( I rate my Doc, he rocks)  there might be an answer coming.   He is also trying to organise a transfusion for me of chemically manufactured iron (as opposed to a blood product).  This might take some weeks or even months to arrange, but the process has begun.  

Hoping to feel quite normal again sometime soon.  

This may well have been the cause of the iron issues.  Not really the case of what doesn't kill us makes us stronger!!!

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

2013 is just about to click over into 2014 and just like that moment when your cars odometer clicks over a special number, it will seem all vital that you experience it and all important and yet strangely totally unimportant in mere moments after the event.

2014 will be an improvement on 2013, as 2013 was on 2012.

As for 2013 I had hoped to leave the whole cancer thing in 2012, but come February I was back in hospital for the Radioactive Iodine Ablation and lost another 8 weeks off work while I was radioactive.  Thinking the worst of it was all behind me I tried to get back into the swing of work and life... but it was not to be. I struggled and struggled until September when Dr Jeff decided it was time to test for all manner of cancers and oddities.  The first tests came back showing there was definitely something a rye (pun intended).  Ultimately I got a clearance on all the "regular" cancers, but Coeliac was preliminarily diagnosed.  So where I had hoped 2014 would be free of hospitals I am, apparently,  incorrect on that.  I go back in in mid February!  But that's the end of it. I am totally over the whole feeling crook senario. AND NO MORE HOSPITAL!  They are full of sick people you know!!!

2013 was filled with wonderful people.  If I began the list this post would go forever.  Let me just say I hope THEY know they are special and made 2013 great for me.  There are some I will never see again. Death and distance keep me apart from some special friends but that doesn't mean they are not thought of.  Distance seems much smaller with the internet being so accessible, but it's not the same as being there.  It IS a whole lot less final than death though.

2014 will see me finish my 100 Strangers photographic project and then work out what to do with it.   I'm stuck on number 64 because I never seem to be well enough to travel far from home.  That will change after February. I also want to spend more time on portraits in general and know a few likely suspects that will get the whole four light set up foisted upon them!  If you are one of those people, fear not... it is mostly painless!  Mostly!!!  I'd shoot more bands at the 16's if some goodies comes up.  It's a great venue for me to practice those skills.  A bit more macro is needed too.  I have a new series in mind too, but I will need the indulgence of a few friends to pull that one off!

2014 will also see me back in the veggie patch.  I'm still planting somewhat randomly. Not really following  a good crop rotation program or even good companion planting.  My record keeping sucks and I need to stagger my planting fortnightly.  So at the moment I get a glut of one veggie and the others are as rare as hens teeth.  I tried growing pumpkins for the first time this year and harvested my first on December 27.  They are messy and run all over the yard, but that just means less mowing! I think I need more flowering plants to encourage more bees, so rejuvenation of one of the beds that runs along the dividing fence is a must.  I have the plants.  It's the energy I am lacking.  Chickens are still a no go zone for me.  I do need to construct some frames for climbers in the yard.  That will have to wait to 2014 now!

So it's back to work on the 3rd for me and the daily grind is drawing closer to an end with retirement in the not too distant future.  But until that day comes I'll still be using photography as my primary escape method.

In celebration of 2013 here are a selection of my fave pics for the year.
Hope you enjoy them too!

Happy Birthday you Silly Yak!

I got something totally amazing for my birthday.   You'll never guess what, so I'll just blurt it out and tell you.  I got coeliac disease!  Woot Woo!!!

Well it wasn't really for my birthday. Like as in it wasn't wrapped up or anything.   Maybe I should explain.... Since my return to work in mid April after Radioactive Ablation in February 2013 I have never felt well.  Never felt right. Never felt like I did before the whole cancer thing.  I was not just feeling physically unwell, but I had a poor work attitude and my moods were less than pleasant.   I had no energy and so in mid september I began seeing a psychologist and my GP on a very regular basis to try and work out what the heck was going on.  Well it has taken some months, untold blood tests, examinations and poking and prodding and chatting to finally get a preliminary finding that I am a coeliac.  Gluten intolerant. An auto immune disease where the villi in my intestine have decided they no longer wish to absorb any iron or vitamin B12 I ingest.  They have shut up shop and will not be nice to me until I cease consuming the bits they don't like.

Now this is a preliminary diagnosis only.  I have been referred to a gastroenterologist who will do a small intestine biopsy to confirm what the Doctor has surmised. Even though I am not fussed on yet another procedure, I do want confirmation one way or the other. So its back to hospital in February.

So what does being a coeliac mean.   Well it means that a toasted sourdough and a beer are out of the question if I want to feel good!!!   In more technical terms it means that gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye and barley is toxic to me.  At this stage I don't know a great deal more about it all, but I expect that to change soon enough! I did investigate the gluten free section of the supermarket this morning and was pretty impressed with the range of items available.  I was unimpressed that a small box of "corn flake" style breakfast cereal was nearly $7 a box!  It does explain why the British Government provide "prescriptions" for subsidised food for coeliacs.  I'm sure I'll figure out the food options though.  I can't see too many changes for my lunches and dinners, but I am a weetbix or oats girl at beakky and that will be an issue!   Oats themselves are fine, but they are usually processed in the same machinery as wheat and apparently that's a no no.

So there is a steep learning curve ahead of me, but I am hopeful that I will begin to feel back to normal soon.  It's been a long hard struggle. And at least it is not another cancer, which is what the Doc suspected from the start!

Next birthday I want something WRAPPED!!!  Thanks in advance!

UPDATE  19 February 2014 :-   The small intestine biopsy was done on 29 January and results were given today.  I am NOT a Coeliac. Nor is it another cancer, in fact they do not know what the problem is, but they are still working on it and I can't ask for more than that.   So I'm back on the sourdough and beer but along the way I learnt how hard it can be for a coeliac and how much wheat is in the everyday food we eat.  Ice cream as an example....  who would have thought ice cream and ice blocks would have wheat in it.  My hat goes off to every coeliac.  It's not an easy life.

Of holidays and hoarding!

The opportunity arose for me to use the absolute last of my annual leave to have a few days off.  When leave was combined with RDO's and weekends I managed to accumulate 17 consecutive days off.  BLISS!!  Since being sick in 2012 I have not been able to settle back into work very well.  So many things had changed.  While I was off work sick I watched my workmate Jenny die after an horrendous battle with cancer and I guess 7 admissions to hospital, 3 surgeries and being made radioactive caused a shift in my priorities.  The work place changed too. New broom sweeping clean, my office was moved and all my pictures came down.  I am no longer proud of the work I produce.  In the past, a name or a circumstance would have me recall a matter with ease, but this too has gone.  Whether it be as a result of the radioactive ablation burning holes in my brain or whether is it because of a shift in priorities I simply do not know.   The people are still the absolute best thing about that place, but they too seem different.  I guess it is most likely just that I am different now.

So with 17 days to fill I embarked on a task I had been attempting for some time, but constantly failing at.  That task is ridding myself of the hoarding gene I inherited from my mother and making my home "easy".  Easy to live in, easy to clean and all round better than it has been for years.  Late in 2012 I bought a new bed and my DIVINE 1880's porcelain and nickel plated number moved to the garage.  With it to the garage was sent two Edwardian pine chests and a matching duchess and all the "antiquey" pieces in my bedroom.    I kept the bronze statue and a couple of good pieces of art and the curtains, but the rest was banished to the shed!   Replacements were minimal, two bedsides and a single tall chest in painted timber and a brand spanking new ensemble that cost me an arm and a leg!!!  Choice!  6 months on, the bedroom is still pristine. A place for everything and everything in its place!  I have added only minimal stuff.  A brolly and hat stand and a canvas on the wall.

It seemed prudent to use these 17 days to work the same magic on the lounge and kitchen areas.  They have looked like a bomb hit for some time now.  I have taken to sorting stuff into boxes.  Garage Sale, Keep, Dump and "Things I want to photograph" are the working titles.   So far I have worked my way around about 2/3rd of the loungeroom with reasonable success.   The curtains went to the charity bin and were replaced by 10 new blockout drops in "Mocha". A standard lamp was added as was a footstool to match the  super comfy armchair I bought earlier this year and it all looks good thusfar.  I still need to address the dining table.  Depending on what day of the week it is the dining table is either a dining table that no-one ever eats at or a macro desktop studio surrounded by lighting gear and a portable backdrop stand!  This is the area I am up to now.  I could not have made it this far with the assistance of my sister Nola.  She drove me forward when I was stalled and did the jobs I couldn't do while injured.

It's getting easier.  The decision making.  What stays, what goes and which box they go in.   The garage sale boxes are filling and the rubbish bin goes out each sunday with the proceeds of the "Dump" box.  The local charity bin is copping a flogging too!  So a date has been set for the next garage sale and hopefully on October 26 the excesses of my life will be taken to new homes!  Until then I need to keep sorting "stuff".  It's not really that hard.  Will I use it?  Have I recently used it?  Have I EVER used it?!?!?!  I need to keep some things like the nun's habit (ideal for fancy dress parties) and the angels wings (ideal for photo opportunities), but so much other stuff can go.  I simply do not need it, will not use it and want it out of my world.

The kitchen is next to be stripped bare.  You know that second drawer down in the kitchen.  Come on....  we all have one.  The one with the olive stoner  and the parmesan grater in it.  Well that is my next big task.  Sadly I do use both my olive stoner and parmesan grater on a regular basis, but I bet there is stuff I can dispose of!!!

I didn't just spend my holidays in cleaning mode. I also took a couple of photos, did some bushwalking and spent a fair bit of time in the veggie patch.  I spent part time seeding dried chillies I grew last season and I am thankful I thought to wear latex gloves for the process.  I also had some work done on both cars and found a happy coincidence in both cars have the exact same 3 disc cd boxed set in them and both cars have disc 1 in the player! Yes, it is Faithless.  I managed to meet up with a few friends for coffee and cakie, but nowhere near enough of them. Did some family history research and debunked a few myths. Found that the marriage listed in the family bible from 1853 is a farce.   I also endured a heap of medical appointments (and they are wearing thin let me assure you).   In fact today at one appointment my phone rang, to confirm another tomorrow. I feel like I am on a treadmill and I can't work out how to get off!  Tonight I will cook up a storm and maybe even make some more choc mint fudge and chilli chocolate.  Going back to work tomorrow is going to be very hard.  Roll on retirement!

The 'C' word....... Cured?

Massive week in my world.  Last thursday was the one year anniversary of finding Mr Lumpy Bump.  Wednesday this week is the one year anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer, later known to be a Papillary Carcinoma, although Mr Lumpy Bump is a nicer name!!! 3 operations, 6 admissions to hospital and 4 days in isolation glowing in the dark after Radioactive Ablation has lead me to today.  And today entailed heading off to the John Hunter Hospital again today to see the man of small stature with the enormous brain, my Endocrinologist.  He has a non descript ascent and hand made suits and all the answers I needed. Unusually he was LATE today. He is normally right on time if not early, a real rarity in the public health system.

He had all the answers today. The last 5 sets of blood tests, the 3 CT scans,  the 2 Gamma Camera scans and the geiger counter results held the answer. But the answers fell short of the "C" word.  Cured. What he did say was I had "no distant metastasis" which means the radioactive ablation worked  where it was meant to and from that he knows that at this stage there is no spread of cancer.  The Radioactive Iodine did burn thru three places in my brain and it was only supposed to be one, but Doc thinks it is all still ok up there!  He still says cancer will return, but it could be YEARS not months away.

So now I have ongoing testing (blood tests and ultrasounds and scans) on a quarterly basis for the next 3 decades or longer, depending on MY useby date!

My plans to resign and get my hands on my superannuation are out the window.  No buying an Avan and racing off around Australia for me!   Plan B is work on for another few years and retire happy and healthy.  So that's where I am at.  Blood and organ donation are still a big fat no, so if you are fit and healthy and aren't registered then give it some thought and consider signing up.  Organ donation really is the last thing you will ever do and it is a good thing ........  give it some thought!

So now it is time to celebrate.  I think a shandy is called for ...... oh yeah I really live it up!

Just a simple pic as a thank you for reading this far.

Radioactive Iodine Ablation... just like a weekend camping!

This latest offering comes to you from the lead room at the John Hunter Hospital.  F1 Room 30 is the place to hide if there is ever a nuclear accident.  It's a biggish private room in the orthopaedic ward, right down the end of the hall so no one walks in mistakenly while you are radioactive.  Double doored, air lock style. For those of you reading for the first time the quick version of what lead me here was April 2012 found a lump in my throat.  Diagnosis and surgery found a rather large malignant tumour called a Papillary Carcinoma (Hurthle Cell variant) but it was commonly know as Mr Lumpy Bump.  So he got whipped out in two separate operations and that lead me to this latest phase of treatment known as Radioactive Iodine Ablation.  Or 'newking' as it became known.   It could also be known as cruel and unusual punishment, but that is more an indiction of the tastiness of the food than the treatment itself.   Naturally I had read up on all the side effects, but as I type this (Saturday evening) I've been spared.  So I'll go back to the beginning and finish this off when I get home, with photos of course!   Hopefully you will enjoy the read.

Prep Day 1:-  Prep injection of Thyrogen at the John Hunter Hospital. The injections are horrendously expensive, but Medicare picks up the bulk of the cost.  Later that night I was pretty crook with the standard, run of the mill, written on the side of the box, side effects.

Pre Day 2:- Same as day one.  Lots of laughing as I get jabbed again.  The two nurses that administered the Thyrogen where both riotously funny.  Well they were jabbing a bloody great needle into my rear end at the time.  They held all the power.  Strangely NO side effects on night 2.



Radioactive Day 1:- Up at stupid o'clock to be at the John Hunter for 8.30am blood tests.  Of course the forms written out 3 months ago had something written in the wrong column and staff were hesitant to assist. So I took matters into my own hands and rang the Nuclear Medicine section. They were great.   Sent a staffer down to correct the error and pushed me up the line with an URGENT request.  The vampire taking the blood obviously had her day jobs confused because she thought she was still at the vets and used a syringe suitable for a pit pony on me.  I never bruise from blood tests.......except today! OUCH!

After the vampire had her chop I was sent away for a few hours, which was handy as I had not packed my bag and I needed to take a swift detour to the Apple store as my MacBook wouldn't recognise my Dongle.  They, unlike the blood collection assistants, were totally awesome and got me online in short time!

Back at the John Hunter at noon with sister in tow.  We met the Doc and had a chat, went to admissions and signed up and, as you do at the John Hunter, run into someone you know!  Finally made our way to F1 and ran into someone else we knew, before being shown to the "suite".   Suite MIGHT be overstating it if you were looking for some tourist authority stamp of approval.  It contained a bed, 4 chairs and an ensuite that had seen better days.   We sat for a while enjoying the ambience. There would have been a delightful bush view, if you could see through the inch thick layer of dirt on the windows (outside). Of course the windows are locked shut as breeze is bad..apparently.  Kinda makes every window having a fly screen irrelevant.    But still I prefer the JHH spend spare dollars on more staff and better equipment than window washers.  Nola left and I just hung about waiting.

2pm Doctor Tim turned up with two other blokey looking blokes with a stainless steel wheely tray and a sneaky looking canister on top.  Introductions all-round and pleasantry exchanged I knew these dudes were about to make me very sick and very radioactive.  We went thru all the safety stuff we had to go thru including DON'T LEAVE the room and if you are going to spit it out.......aim it in THAT direction!!! Humourously that was the direction Dr Tim was standing is so we joked about was there time to paint a target on his shirt so I could get a score if my aim was spot on.  Len and Nick went thru the process in fine detail.  Who would do what, what I could and couldn't do immediately after being given the capsule and we did three dry runs, just to get it right.  When the time came to actually take the capsule I did two things I was told NOT to do.....  I looked at the capsule instead of putting it straight into my mouth and when I bit down on it I heard it crack, but I expected it to break in half and it didn't.  So I kept trying to break it in half and momentarily opened my mouth.  Len knew I needed some help so he told me he had heard the crack and to now swallow.  I'm glad he said that or I'd still be rolling that capsule around in my mouth now!!!  Two big glasses of water washed it down and the 3 blokes couldn't get out of the room fast enough!!!  I was glowing!!!

For the next four hours I had to eat lollies. Hell job but someone has got to do it!!  Yeah, NO!!   Being diabetic is was a bit of a challenge, but if I didn't my salivary glands would get fried.  So I ate Fruit Tingles and let me say if I never taste another one, it will be too soon!!!   I washed them down with 4 litres of water and something resembling food.   It must be difficult to feed every patient in this big nursing hospital and they do their best....... but dinner at 5pm is actually really afternoon tea!!!  It was chicken with a tomato and onion sauce, pasta and carrots.  Dessert was sago and that was delicious.

So I had my first of many many showers and headed to bed with a DVD playing on the MacBook.
Old Man Sleep unfortunately didn't realise I was in a different bed and avoided me.  Probably the sugar hit and going from a super luxurious brand spanking new bed to a tiny metal bed with a mattress made of something resembling crushed bricks didn't help the cause!  2.19am was the last time I recall seeing the time.   The door has a sign on it saying how long visitors can stay for.  Today visitors were allowed to stay a total of 4 minutes.

Radioactive Day 2:-  5.55am!!!!  Mmmmmmmmmm  not best pleased AND a headache to boot!  Well I drifted in and out of sleep till breakky arrived at 8.30am and it was a welcome relief.  Dinner at 5pm, breakky at 8.30am, that a HUGE fast to break!  Try as I might I can't shake the headache so it is back to bed with some painkillers.  My sister woke me up at 10.30 with a rescue pack of popcorn!   Last night I was craving chips or popcorn and today she delivered.  Unlike staff she has no issue walking into the room.  I can understand it though.  The nurses and food porters get this every weekend and I can totally understand they need to keep themselves safe.  Some open the door all the way and will have a short conversation.  Others open the door and hide, they talk thru the crack.  Plenty of people to talk to though. My phone is going off like a frog in a sock!  Nic called from Perth to tell me he has moved off base and found...IKEA!  That was great call.

The rest of my day was spent on the internet, reading and I got a great surprise when flowers were delivered in the afternoon.  My niece Rachel sent them and they were lovely!

The menu lady brought only bad news.  Just about every meal was swathed in gravy and I'm not a gravy kind of girl.  Oh well, only a few days, I'll be right!

As the evening wore on I was chatting on Facebook when I realised I was running out of credit on the dongle.  DRAMA!!!  I had no idea how to recharge it and every number I rang was "not available" as I was ringing from a non Telstra phone.  I was getting pretty cranky.  90 minutes into my quest I found a number I COULD call and spoke to a woman who couldn't assist me....... but she went all out and transferred me to someone who could!!   5 minutes later I was all recharged and ready to roll!

Back to bed about 11pm and I watched a DVD. Nighty night day two!  Todays visitors were allowed to stay 15 minutes up close or 1 hour at a distance of 2 metres.  Thats a vast improvement on yesterday!


Day 3:-  3am  Side effect city!!!  Luckily these Doctors know exactly what to do and had already charted medicine to suit me.  I buzzed and nurses promptly assisted and I felt much better.  5am they woke me to give me meds not due till 8am!!!  But I drifted back to sleep.  The breakfast porter woke me at 8.30.  Today has been spent drifting in and out of sleep, in and out of bed, a bit of internet play and I watched most of a DVD, but kept falling asleep. I can't seem to stay awake, one side effect I struggled with.  Dinner delivered 5.30pm, supper delivered 6.30pm.  Mmmmmm  not too sure if they are aware the meals are so weirdly spaced.  Supper was raisin bread.... it was the 8th slice of bread delivered today!!!  I wouldnt normal eat 8 slices of bread a week!!!! Most made their way to the bin!  So I'm settling in for my last night here...finger crossed.  Full body scan in the morning but only if Nick with the geiger counter will let me out of the room.  Time to take my flowers and head on home.   Special thanks to Russ tonight for bin duty.  Todays visiting hours were 30 minutes up close and 4 hours at 2 metres.  Tomorrow I find out how long the residual will take.

Day 4:-  Another night with broken sleep and an early start only to find my 8.30 scan was now at 9.30 due to a unit meeting.  First was the Geiger counter, then 5, yes FIVE scans on two different machines and finally a discharge certificate and I was outta there.  There was some messing about with the scans and I had to return to isolation twice before all five were finished.  On the whole I had an excellent level of care and feel very lucky that Australia has Medicare to assist with the enormous cost of this kind of treatment.

Due to the time and day of my admission, it was not possible for me to make my own food choices until sunday.  Everything I was served was palatable and hot..... if not interesting.  And EVERYTHING was served with bread!!!  Strangely I was served soup, jelly and ice cream.....all without a spoon!

Oh and if you were wondering about the title   "Radioactive Iodine Ablation ..... just like a weekend camping" is because the bed is uncomfortable, the showers are nowhere near hot enough and you eat food you would normally avoid.  There is plenty of time to read, no TV!   It's just missing the sand and the fish and the mossies!


Let me just say that I am sure there are typos and verbosity in this post, but I am soooo tired and just cant proof read anymore.  I hope you enjoy it and if you are about to undergo Radioactive Iodine Ablation you have nothing to worry about.  Be prepared for sleepless nights and daytime lethargy. The ongoing lethargy apparently lasts weeks if not months. So take good care of yourself!

UPDATE:

The weeks following the ablation were pretty damn HORRIBLE.  For the first 6 weeks I was lucky if I could scratch myself.  Well maybe not that bad but being newked sapped all my energy and whilst I tried to get a clearance to return to work, it was continually refused by my doctor.  I was a danger to pregnant women, small children, but strangely NOT to my cat or my mother (as they both have a fair bit of age about them).  The Nanna Nap ruled, I was asleep more than I was awake.  When I did finally return to work it was a struggle for the first 3 weeks or so, but I am now feeling better, but not yet back to my post op level of activity.

Radioactive Ablation is the prime example of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!