R 131

[Georgia25]

Hi on Dec 4th I did the r 131, i wasn't really all that informed, my endo said I had 5 nodules 2 on the left with 1 being 1 cnm by 7mm and 3 on the right with 1 being 1cnm by 11mm he never said anything about the size of the others but now that the treatment has been done the right side of my neck feels hard and is very sore, when I called they said to monitor it and take motrin for the pain. When I asked if this was normal they told me in some paitents it can be but when i asked did it mean it was" killing the thyroid?" the nurse said "humm I'm not really sure just do what he says it should be alright, so I guess my question is: is it normal for it to be painful after the treatment and how long will that last is the first question, and the second part to that is how long does it take to kill it cause this is all new to me as I recieved no information at all I was given 3 options when  I saw him 1) monitior it 2.) R131 3.) removal and as you see he chose R131 so any help would be appreciated.
                                                     Thanks for your help
                                                         Georgia25

[stella5349]

Many here can give lots of information on this - I hope your doctor informed you that sucking on lemon drops and drinking a ton of water to flush is what you should have done.

RAI = known as I131 is a slow process of depleting function of the gland - this will all depend on you and how your thyroid will react. I had a hard time with my treatment back in 2004.

[skeeterknitwit]

I was told that neck soreness and sore throat are common and to take tylenol or ibufrofen for pain.  The I131 can cause thyroiditis (inflamation of the thyroid) because it is getting sick and damaged.  That is what you want to happen.
The nukie tech told me that mine was a low dose, 30 mCi, and that I probably would have no problems.  I guess, the higher the dose, the more soreness you can get.
I'm 5 days post RAI and so far I feel better than I did last week.
Hang in there!