June 11th - approximately 4-5 hours total: 1) wait for my blood tests to make sure that I am hypothyroid, 2) give me tracer amount of I-131, 3) take radioactivity scan and blood test (takes only a couple of minutes), 3) repeat radioactivity scan every hour for the next four hours. While each task takes only a couple of minutes, I had to wait around the hospital waiting room for an hour to take the next test. My appointment was for 9AM; I did not leave the hospital until a little after 2:15PM. Since I told my boss that this was a "short" day, I had to run back to work and let her know that this day actually encompassed 4-5 hours of time. She was quite understanding and told me to switch my day off from the 12th to the 11th. There was no sense in wasting the day running back and forth to the office
June 12th - appointment was for 8:30AM. I was called right in. The nurse took my blood again and gave me another radioactivity scan. Afterwards, I was taken into the room and given a head and neck scan (the total body scan would follow the next day) which only took around 15-25 minutes. On the way out, I was given a Fleet Kit. It is a kit containing laxative fluid and suppositories in order to clean out your bowel and stomach before the total body scan. This helps to try as much as possible to lessen the background radiation in the scan.
June 13th - My stomach was still bothering from the Fleet kit. My appointment was not until 3PM today. Not sure whether or not I was supposed to eat, I came into the hospital on an empty stomach. Of course, I was told now that I could have eaten and might have even helped the scan. Anyway, they called me in a little after 3PM to take blood and another radioactive count before taken me into the scan room. This is what I was waiting for. My diagnostic total body scan was finally here. I had to strip naked into a gown and get on the table. The total scan time was going to be about 1 1/2 to two hours. First, there was a 10 minute scan of my head and neck. Then another 10-15 minute scan of my rib area. And then, there was a 45-50 minute scan of my entire body. I have gotten used to staying calm and not moving. It is a little nerve racking at first that you are going to need to sit still and not move for almost and hour, especially with a metal place only about an inch or two from your face. It is a little claustrophobic. So I try to close my eyes and rest a bit and the time goes a little faster. Basically, you just sit that there and the plate moves from you face to your feet, little by little, over about 45 mintues. Before I knew it, the scan was over. I was hoping this was it for now. I would get the results from the doctor, and here what my treatment dose was going to be. Of course it is never that easy. The doctor and technician told me that my stomach heavily lit up on the scan and that I would have to come back in the next day to get a total body scan again to make sure that it was just food, and not a problem. Ugh. Luckily, I didn't have to fast or "cleanse" again for this.
June 14th - 9AM appointment. Called in right away. Radioactive body count, blood was taken, and then I was taken into the scan room. The same drill as yesterday. The only scan I needed was the total body scan. It was about 45-50 minutes. I was dressed and out of the hospital by around 10:20. Now I need to wait to hear from the doctor on Monday about the results of the scan and my treatment.
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