Cooking

I love to cook.  Not bake....cook. And I love to try new recipes.  This Saturday I get off my thyroid medication and need to start my new low-iodine diet.  I plan on cooking some new recipes that I found in this low iodine cookbook and freezing them for when I get really tired.  If anyone is interested in making me some food while I am tired, check this link out!

http://www.thyca.org/ThyCa%20Cookbook%20011804.pdf

Updates

Good news!  I got my bloodwork back today and it looks like my calcium is improving.  Now I only have to take 6 calcium pills a day rather than 9 ;)  I guess that means my 3 parathyroids that are left are recovering, so that is great.

I spoke with my doctor and we changed the date for me to get off the temporary hormone and to start my new diet to June 25th.  After that, I will get bloodwork each week to see what my hormone levels are.  Once they reach the magic level they will make an appointment for me with the Dr. from the nuclear medicine group to get my radioactive iodine pill.  The unfortunate thing is that this makes it difficult to plan because I won't know exactly when I am going to get the pill until the last minute.  The goal is for it to happen around the week of July 10th.

For now, I am feeling great.  I even did a jog/walk on Monday for 30 minutes and it felt wonderful.  Life is good :)

More Information

I spent the past two weekends celebrating my 30th birthday and it was awesome!!!  I seriously have the most amazing family and friends and am so thankful that they made it so special for me.  The best part is I have felt really well the past week.  My energy level has been good and I've been sleeping good at night. 

Today I had my follow-up appointment with my endocrinologist to discuss the rest of my treatment.  The plan is to do my radioactive iodine treatment after the 4th of July.  To prepare for the treatment, I stop taking the temporary thyroid hormone, which will put me in a hypothyroidism state meaning I will be tired and cold.  The plan is to stop taking the medication on June 20th.  After this date I will be getting my blood checked weekly to evaluate my thyroid hormone levels to see when they are low enough to undergo the treatment.  I also will have an iodine-restricted diet for the few weeks before the treatment.  The purpose of this is to rid my body of as much iodine as possible so the radioactive iodine is more effective.  The doctor gave me a list of foods that I CAN eat during this diet:

Fresh meat
Poultry
Potatoes or rice
Wheat or rye bread
Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables

I am not allowed to eat anything from a restaurant, dairy, seafood, chocolate, soy products...Basically I should be super healthy after the few weeks of this diet are up!

I will be meeting with a doctor from the nuclear medicine department who will administer the radioactive iodine to me.  I still have to set that appointment up, so I don't know the exact date of the treatment yet.  My doctor gave me some paperwork with some post-treatment information and said I would get more details from the nuclear medicine group.  Once I take the radioactive iodine pill I will have to have limited contact with people for 3-5 days.  More details to come....

Feeling Better

I can't believe it has been so long since I updated the blog!  This week has been very busy and tiring. On Wednesday Nate and I drove back up to Jacksonville to meet with the surgeon for a follow-up appointment.  He said things looked good and he gave me the ok to resume regular activities, including holding Mikayla, which has made my life much easier!  He also said that I should expect more swelling in my throat and that my voice should take another month or so to fully recover.  My voice is much stronger than it was, however it still sounds softer than normal.

I also recieved my pathology results from the surgery this week.  It was confirmed from the pathology reports that the mass in my thyroid was cancer.  The lymph nodes that were removed also had cancer, so that means I definately need to do the radioactive idodine treatment to rid my body of any left over cancer that wasn't removed during the surgery.  They also found the removed parathyroid and confirmed that it had a tumor.  This was what was causing my high calcium levels.  The parathyroid was hiding somewhere in my thyroid and was removed with it.  People typically can live normal lives with 3 parathyroids, which I now have.  If you have less than that, you have to take lots of calcium supplements.  Since my calcium dropped so low after my one parathyroid was removed, my doctor has me taking 9 calcium pills and a Vitamin D pill each day until my parathyroids that are left recover from the surgery shock.  Hopefully only another week or two of the pill craziness.  I also started the temporary thyroid hormone this week (2 pills twice a day) to get my body back on track.  I have an appointment on June 6th with my endocrinologist to discuss the rest of my treatment.

I went to work yesterday for 5 hours.  It was good to get out and see people, but definately tiring.  I know I better get used to being tired because I have another few months until I can get back to normal again.  For now, I will enjoy relaxing while I am forced to.  This weekend should be fun and relaxing.  We are celebrating my birthday with family on Saturday, enjoying time with great friends on Sunday and going out to eat for our anniversary on Monday.  Definately a good weekend planned.  I am happy and in good spirits.  I am blessed to celebrate my life and my 30th birthday with those I love!

False Expectations

So for some reason I must think I am superwoman because I expected to feel pretty good by now, but my throat is still swollen and sore, my voice is not yet recovered and I'm tired. I definately had false expectations that by Monday I would be back to new, ready for the work week. I guess my big hint should have been that the hospital dischage paperwork indicated that I can't lift more than 10 lbs for two weeks, meaning I better take it easy and not pick up my toddler! This is difficult for a busy mom! Fortunately my inlaws were here today to help and mom is spending tomorrow night. I have a follow up appointment at Mayo on Wednesday to check my calcium levels and make sure everything is healing ok. I plan to do some email for work this week and possibly go in on Thursday if I feel good enough. The goal is to be rested enough to enjoy my 30th birthday next weekend!!!

Finally Home

Yesterday I was finally able to drink some water and eat some solid foods on my own, so was discharged from the hospital.  It is still difficult to eat and speak because my throat is swollen, but it keeps getting better.  We spent last night at my parents and just got home this evening.  The hardest part is keeping my little bundle of energy (Mikayla) entertained while I rest and Nate takes care of things.  It has been really hepful to have family help us the past few days.  We plan on spending a relaxing weekend at home and plan to have a few visitors stop by to help with Mikayla.  Thanks to everyone for the voicemails and texts.  Recovery is going well.

Recovery

We arrived at the Mayo Clinic this morning at 10am. Pre-op started at 10:30, but surgery was pushed back to start at 2pm. Surgery went well and was complete at 4:30. Dr. Casler removed both sides of the thyroid along with one parathyroid and about ten lymphnodes. Currently in a room having an orange popsicle. Should be released from the hospital before lunch tomorrow.

Thanks for all the prayers.