Monday, January 5, 2009

Iodine Drops

We didn't hear anything today about the status of Tyler's lumbar puncture, so I can only assume that no news is good news. We go to the UWMC for the Test Dose tomorrow, starting at 8am.

In preparation for the radioactive antibody he will be infused with, Tyler has started taking Iodine drops each day. Apparently, the Thyroid is a magnet for any radiation the body receives and the goal is to "fill up" Tyler's thyroid with iodine before the radiation starts, so it will not be able to absorb any of the radioactivity his body will get.

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland in your throat. The thyroid gland uses iodine from food to make two thyroid hormones. The thyroid gland stores these thyroid hormones and releases them as they are needed. The hormones regulate the way your body uses energy (your metabolic rate), so too much or too little of the hormone can affect people's behaviors.

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