Finally feeling a little better,and summary of the last year.

I am finally feeling a little better. Most of the symptoms have subsided, but I am left with a cold (yay, me right?)

I still haven't slept very well, but I guess that should come soon enough. I can start loving on my children again tomorrow. You don't realize how much you love on your children or sit with them or anything else until you CAN'T do it.

Okay, let me back up a little bit and explain a little history (for those that already know, sorry for the repeat).

Last October, I went to the doctor for a routine physical (It was a new doctor since we had just moved and I had never had any experience with a civilian doctor, I called them and asked them how I get set up with them. They said my insurance covered an annual physical, so I made an appointment) While I was been examined, the doctor stood behind me, put his hands on my neck and told me to swallow. He did it twice, then went on with the rest of the exam. Right at the end, he asked me to do it again. He said he felt something, probably nothing, but get an ultrasound of my neck/thyroid and go from there. After I had the ultrasound, the results were "nodules" on my thyroid. Again, the doctor said, probably nothing, but lets go have a fine needle biopsy on the big two just to make sure. That is when I really involved my brother in law who is a surgeon. I wanted to make sure I was being seen by a really good doctor and knew he would have that knowledge. I was seen by an endocrinologist (who is great). And all along, I kept hearing the statistics that 95% of cold nodules (they can either be cold or hot. If hot, they don't do anything, if cold, then they investigate more). I had the Fine needle biopsy and it came back "suspicious". Still the medical professionals kept saying, "oh it is probably nothing" I then had a consult with my brother in law's colleague. We could either go one of two ways. I could go in and have the nodule taken off or go in and have a thyroidectomy. If the nodule came back cancerous, I would have to have a second surgery, so we decided to just take it while he was in there. I my friend ended up in the lower 5% of the statistics. It was a contained papillary cancer. (meaning it had not broken the walls of the nodule/tumor). The next action was for me to be off of any thyroid medicine for six weeks and be on a VERY LOW iodine diet (basically I could eat a very small chicken breast salads and bread I made at home, very bland, very limited, no eggs, no dairy, no salt, no chocolate, etc). After six weeks, I was in extreme hypothyroidism. Not fun. I then had to take pills that had radioactive iodine in them. If there was any thyroid tissue left in my body, it would be hungry for iodine (which is one of the things the thyroid does, it grabs iodine from your food) and absorb the radioactive iodine and kill it.
I wasn't able to be in the same house as the girls since children are more susceptible to radioactive material. After three days, I could go back home (I stayed at Randy's mom's house during that time). I got to start my thyroid medicine after that and started feeling better.

Now, a year later, I was to have a follow up scan to just make sure I didn't have an thyroid tissue left. They gave me two injections of Thyrogen. I did a search and I pretty much had all but two or three of the side effects that people reported with it. That is why I felt so bad, two days went by a lot quicker than the six weeks of last time. The Thyrogen artificially attaches to the thyroid hormone and allows for the scan to work. After the two days of shots, I went and took five pills of radioactive iodine (a much smaller dose, I can be in the same room with the girls, but can love on them or kiss them). The next day (today) I had the body scan to make sure there wasn't any tissue. I haven't heard from them yet, but they aren't expecting to find anything.

So that brings me to now. I just have a little cold left to show for it.

Why did I go through that you ask? Next time you go to the doctor, ask him to check your thyroid. All you have to do is swallow. Women are WAY more likely to have thyroid problems. If I didn't have that physical with that doctor, I may not have found it until it had spread beyond the walls or to my lymph nodes or worse. A lot of people I have found have never had their thyroid checked. It is painless and could catch something long before it becomes a problem. The only lasting effect I have from the whole thing is a small scare on my neck that is barely visible and a pill I have to take every morning for the rest of my life. All the doctors told me that if they had to have cancer, that was the best one to have. It is the most curable and easiest to deal with. Okay, maybe I have checked the cancer box in my life and don't ever have to revisit it again. One could only hope.

Okay, that is all. Sorry to be long winded, but knowledge is power right? Now you know and you have the power!