Where to stay after RAI?

nasher said:

Hotel = bad
Hotel is a bad idea for you…

the reason is simple you want to make sure you do not spread radiation to anyone else... hotels may not launder sheets and such good enough to prevent spread plus you are subjecting the maid to the extra radiation with no idea she/he will be receiving it.

The big question is when are you getting the radiation vs. when are you kids in school.

Ok here are some snippets from thyca.org ( http://www.thyca.org/rai.htm#after )
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What do I do at home?
If you go home immediately after a treatment dose, use the following guidelines regarding distance, time, and hygiene.

Minimize contact (less than 3 feet or 0.6 meter for more than 1 hour each day) with everyone for the first five days and with small children or pregnant women for eight days.
Do not sit next to someone in an automobile for more than one hour.
Sleep in a separate room and use separate bath linen and launder these and underclothing separately for one week.
Wash your hands with soap and plenty of water every time you use the toilet.
Rinse the sink and tub thoroughly after using them.
Use separate eating utensils or disposable eating utensils. Wash eating utensils separately for one week. Do not prepare food for others.
Flush toilet 2-3 times after use for two weeks after discharge.
Males should sit when urinating to avoid splashing for one week.
Discuss with your doctor how long you should wait before starting a pregnancy after your treatment (usually at least two months for males and six months for females).
If you are breastfeeding, it should be discontinued, but can be resumed for subsequent childbirths.
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Is it possible to…
1) Send the kids to camp?
2) Have your spouse take the kids on a vacation?
3) Another option is have the kids do sleepovers or the like?
4) The kids and your spouse could spend the time in a hotel
5) (depending on insurance coverage and such) you could stay in the hospital for a few days they kept me in the hospital for 3 days due to the dose size (175 mCi)
I am sure there are lots of other options

Other questions for you

Can you do the same precautions for when you are sick?
What do you consider totally safe?
How old are the kids (how much can they understand about the situation)?

you can do minimal contact with your kids and such (quick hugs and such) a suggestion might be have your spouse put another layer of clothing on you (including gloves) just before your kids want to hug you and such then have your spouse take them off and put them in the laundry (that way you reduce the risk of transfer of RAI from perspiration.

As for safe and the like realize that the first few days your body will be passing out the extra RAI that your thyroid tissue doesn’t absorb through perspiration and using the toilet.

So the first 48 hours is the time that most of the radiation that is not staying with you will leave after that we can use the half-life of radiation to determine how much is there

- - - Calculation time - - -
I-131 t1/2= 8.02 days (will use 8 for ease of math)
Assume you get the same dose i got 175 mCi
Assume 100% is absorbed by thyroid tissue (I don’t know how much you absorb but it’s much less)

So immediately after treatment you have 175 mCi of I-131
1 hour 174.4 mCi
6 hours 171.2 mCi
12 hours 168 mCi
18 hours 164 mCi
24 hours 160 mCi
48 hours 147 mCi
3 days 135 mCi
4 days 124 mCi
5 days 114 mCi
1 week 96 mCi
2 weeks 52 mCi
3 weeks 28 mCi
4 weeks 16 mCi (less than 1/10 of what you originally got)
5 weeks 8.4 mCi
6 weeks 4.6 mCi
7 weeks 2.5 mCi
8 weeks 1.4 mCi (less than 1/100 of what you originally got)

As you can see it decays away quickly

in actuality the majority of the radiation will leave the body in 3 days and only a small amount will actually stay in the body but I cannot tell you the average amount your body will take so I cannot give you any idea how much actually will be left.

- - - - -

Ok for basic on radiation there are three ways to minimize exposure
1) time
2) distance
3) shielding

For all intents and purposes shielding is not going to be a factor for contact with family so we are left with time and distance

If you actually feel like calculating the distance equation it can be found at http://www.wright.edu/admin/ehs/documents/EquationsforRadiationSafety.pdf
But basically radiation falls off very rapidly at distance...

again using myself for the first 24 hours people were allowed up to 1 hour at 6 feet away and unlimited at 12 feet away. After the 3rd day I was allowed to have people at 2 feet for up to 4 hours a day and unlimited at 6 feet. At 1 week I had no contact restrictions with adults but it was recommended that i limit my exposure with children to less than 2 hours a day close contact.

Hope some of this helps if you have any more questions please ask them

Sorry for the LONG post

Craig

nasher said:

my pleasure
It is my pleasure to help others and it helps me with my day to day life after THE BIG C.

I can see why it is going to be tough

Yes at 2 and 3 they probably will not understand why mommy cannot be with them. Also with their age they are probably more sensitive to radioactive iodine.

Do you know how much they plan to give you (treatment dose)?
Is there a way they can put you in the hospital for a few days?
Do you have a separate bathroom that you can use?
How far away can your kids be from you and feel safe (12 feet + would be optimal)
Remember you do not want to prepare there food for the first week +

I am guessing your doctor decided on a hotel because they can’t put you in the hospital and were trying to come up with an easy solution to keep you and the kids apart.

oh and I did consider sleeping outside in a tent when I was trying to figure out things but my wife just decided to visit her mother so that solved the problem. They put me in the hospital for 3 days as well so I was much lower risk once I got home.

I would ask if your husband could take a few days off work to take care of the kids for a few days...

Another option is frequent showers (no baths) to wash as much radiation that has left the body do to perspiration (hopefully you have a separate bathroom and shower you can use.

If your husband can take the time off then he could take them to a hotel or such... if so and if you have a laptop for him he could even do video conferences with you and the kids.

Treat it the same as if you have a bad flu or the measles or such and your kids don’t.

I don’t know how many days your kids will be ok with you not being near them but each day you can make it (up to 2 weeks) will greatly reduce the risk to your children and the first few days are the most important.

from the research I have done it looks like within 3 days most of the radiation that will not stay in the thyroid tissue has left the body and within a week it’s pretty much just what’s left in the thyroid so you then have much less chance to spread loose radiation and are just dealing with what’s left in your thyroid tissue.

Again if the doc said a hotel was a good option for you just reverse it and have your family go there instead. If they can put you in the hospital for a few days it will minimize the chance give your kids’ unwanted radiation.

Remember no way is perfect and you are doing what you can to minimize the spread.

the only other thing I can think of that might reduce the exposure to your kids more is what one of my friends who is in alternative lifestyles did... she wore a metal collar around her neck for 2 weeks (yea I know a bit extreme there hu)

Also I don’t know if it was mentioned but you should not try to get pregnant for at least 6 months either.

Please ask thousands of questions hopefully we will be able to answer most of them for you

Craig