One of the most frustrating and hardest parts of the whole ordeal. Both because of the distinct discrepancies on how long it will be and the shear willpower needed to stay on it while trying to suck down tasteless, bland food for a full four weeks!!!
No shellfish, no dairy, no salt, no restaurant food, no processed food – all of the things on my usual diet. Mainly a constant diet of fruits, vegetables, fresh meat (with some non-salt seasoning), nuts, rice cakes, some pasta, and juice/water/clear sodas. Luckily my parents were able to cook several weeks of dinner meals that I can put in my freezer so I didn’t have to worry about cooking every night or worrying about finding “edible” ingredients to put in my food. This was a huge help. The first week was very hard since your body is not used to cutting off an entire list of foods that I like eating. It forces you to think about food all of the time. Your entire day now revolves around what you can and cannot eat.
By the second week, the cravings got a little less and I got used to what I was allowed to eat and what I unfortunately had to stay away from. I guess one positive effect of a low iodine diet was the fact that this was probably the healthiest I have eaten in my whole life. I was cutting salt almost entirely from my diet for an entire month; I was eating 3-4 pieces of fruit per day. My blood pressure went down a little and I lost some weight (more likely though from my gradual loss of appetite and no snacks/bad food for a month).
I was expecting to have to go through this for only 3 weeks so I mentally prepared myself for that amount of time. When I was told I had to add an additional week, I almost lost it. I could not stay on this diet any longer. I knew that I had to be strong and continue but I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I had to be tough.
The fourth week was definitely the worst. I had nothing left in the tank mentally and physically. I had a “pavlovian” response to the food on the diet. When the food got even a few inches from my mouth, I began to get a little nauseous. I had had enough. I couldn’t eat this food anymore. I had to force myself to keep eating just for nourishment. If it would have been possible to not eat for the entire last week, I would have done it. I believe it was probably a combination of the radiation treatment, and it being the fourth week of being off of the Synthroid and on this dreadful diet. I knew the diet served an important purpose and I was only hurting myself if I strayed. At this point, I had no taste, no appetite and I was almost at the end of the line mentally and emotionally. I couldn’t wait for the scan to be over just so I would be able to eat normally again for the first time in a month. This was a very tough part of the entire process.
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