{Total thyroidectomy scar 3 months post op}
Because stealing my thyroid and being put on thyroid medication for the rest of my life wasn’t exciting enough, according to my doctor apparently I DO have to take that radioactive iodine pill to get rid of any extra floaty bits of thyroid cancer.
For the last few days, and basically for the next two weeks, I have to be on a low iodine diet. Which means I basically can’t have any more than 50 mcg iodine per day. Fact: Iodized salt is used in nearly all prepared/packaged foods.
So basically I’m supposed to eat clean, to live on a diet of fruits, vegetables, chicken, unsalted nuts and plain oatmeal for the next 14 days {plus 2 days after I take the radioactive iodine pill}.
That doesn’t sound too hard does it?
Well it is. No salt? That’s hard!
No chocolate? No cheese? No desserts? No milk in MY TEA? C’mon now…
So if you’ve been on a low iodine diet before, I would LOVE to hear about your tricks, tips and any specific brands or products {breads or sweets especially} that you ate while on the diet that did not contain iodized salt.
It would be much appreciated. 🙂
Here’s hoping your weekend isn’t as bland as mine will be,
~Mavis
Carol says
Pink Himalayan sea salt contains only small amts natural iodine but lots of trace minerals and elements to maintain healthy thyroid. Look up benefits of HS Salt. .
Deborah says
MAVIS, you can buy salt without iodine.
Tamara says
Yes, they sell noniodized salt – in the regular grocery store – and you can do this. Two weeks is NOT long; remember your 30 day challenge several years ago with the “survival food”? This is your HEALTH and remember you are not the first person to live on this diet for two weeks. It should be easier since you mostly take your meals at home and are not trying to navigate dining out. You CAN do this! Praying it goes smoothly. 🙂
KC says
Pickling salt is usually free of iodine; kosher salt, ditto. Just check the labels carefully.
MEM says
It looks like you can have almond milk in your tea? I just did a quick search for you. BTW your scar is healing well!
Jessica says
These are a little dated but offer some ideas.. If you have not already read these…
http://mylowiodinediet.blogspot.com/
https://seejaneblog.com/low-iodine-diet/
https://normanill.wordpress.com/2018/06/15/low-iodine-diet/
Jenell says
You are definitely going to reach you wedding weight soon 🙂
Lissag says
I read one oz of milk is okay. Lots of info online for diet suggestions. How you’ll miss snuggling with the HH and the dog for a week :(. Good hearing that you’ve got a plan and your timeline. and how nice that second bathroom is all pretty and ready to go for one of you !
Deb says
Check out LID communities on Facebook. They have researched safe products by brand and by country. It is truly a life saver.
Jess says
Hi Mavis,
I have never commented here, except for a contest, maybe, but I do read almost every day! My husband mentioned that kosher salt does not have iodine added, so you can probably use that for flavoring. I hope all continues to go well with your healing and treatment!
elle says
A quilter I follow does this with some frequency. Here is a tag of all her posts about low iodine diets. I figure her experience beats my research!
https://www.joscountryjunction.com/?s=low+iodine+food
Mavis Butterfield says
Gleaned the Ms. Dash Extra Spicy salt free blend from that. Thank you!
Carole says
Have you thought about working with a registered dietitian to give you proper nutrition advice? DRs are not trained fully in this. This is not the end of the world, its two weeks. I have been working with an RD for years, the results are beyond amazing. If you truly want to stay healthy and not be in a DRs office all the time, find an RD and start eating right. A lot of health problems today are improper nutrition and life style issues. I am not saying thyroid cancer is a lifestyle issue. But now for you proper nutrition can really make a difference. My daughter had her thyroid “killed” with the radioactive iodine pill years ago. She is fine now, works with an RD and is very healthy today. I would rather eat something healthy than take a darn pill any day. Just my opinion.
Kelly says
What about sea salt?
You can totally do this! And, on the bright side, I bet it will get you to your 128 lb goal weight!
Heather says
Sea salt is not a good idea. Seafood is high in iodine, so the possibility is there that iodine would be there. Effective radioactive iodine is about starving your body of iodine so that when you take the pill, your body absorbs it and kills the cancer. No salt is the best option.
Marie says
I agree wholeheartedly. Prudent to accomplish this now with no exceptions.
Linda Practical Parsimony says
I used non iodized salt for about 30 years, my choice and no health issues to work with. So, you diet won’t be so bland.
Chela says
I have had to do this a couple times and it is hard because I love dairy…and chocolate. I had to make my own bread with olive oil (plenty of recipes on LID websites). I ate a lot of toast with jam. Oatmeal with brown sugar or honey, baked potatoes with diced onions and avocado. Baked sweet potatoes with honey. Big salads with grilled chicken and oil/vinegar dressing. You still have to watch the amount of chicken and spinach you eat per day which I am sure they told you. Funny thing is you can drink as much soda as you want as long as it doesn’t have a certain red dye in it. Not something I was really interested in. I didn’t ever try using non iodized salt or any type of salt because I wanted to make sure, if I was going through all this effort, the pill would do it’s job. The upside to this diet, besides getting rid of the extra floaty bits of thyroid cancer, is I lost around 8 lbs each time. You got this!
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m not a soda drinker either {maybe a grape soda or a Shirley temple once a year?} and I totally agree with you on the using salt part. I don’t want any second guessing, and if I am going to have to do this, I want the pill will do it’s job.
Jennifer says
Just glad that it’s only 16 days. You can do this standing on your head. You already eat pretty clean – all the salads and pickety bits could be slightly modified and you would be good. You’ve gotten great advice already and I would second the nutritionist – I had to use one when I had gestational diabetes years ago and it made things much easier.
Martine says
I use sea salt from Costco and it says on the front there is no iodine in this product.
Heather says
I had thyroid cancer and had to do the low iodine diet twice. It’s not just the salt that is the problem, as you know. Iodine is in a lot of foods. In order for the RAI to work, you have to follow the diet. You can get a low iodine diet cookbook at the thyroid cancer website, I used to be a support group facilitator and the diet was always the biggest question and concern. I will be happy to answer and questions, I am 9 years cancer free and I attribute a lot of that to me following the diet to the letter.
Katie says
I haven’t been on a low iodine diet, but there’s a big community of plant-based eaters that are SOS-free (salt, oil, sugar-free) that would probably have lots of recipe ideas for you. The Jaroudi Family has a youtube channel that’s full of recipes. Also, Chef AJ is SOS free. I know The Jaroudi Family uses miso as a salt replacement—not sure what Chef AJ has done.
Good luck and I hope all goes well. I wish you the best!
Noelle says
Check the Mrs. Dash seasonings that are salt free.
Eileen says
Hi I am a 20 year thyroid cancer survivor. First of all your scar looks soooo good , in a short time it will be hardly noticeable !! Just follow the no iodine diet to the letter and your rai treatment will work well !! Good luck
Sondra says
I will be coming back to follow some of the links! I have a consult next week for my thyroid removal surgery since the biopsy was inconclusive and the genetic testing was suspicious. IDK if I for sure have surgery or not but just in case…. I am glad I saw your post about this!
Sondra says
meant to say not sure if i have cancer or not
Rosaleen says
Hi, Mavis,
I agree with looking at salt labels to find some w/o iodine. I don’t know if there is some iodine in salt that occurs naturally. Bread often needs some salt to come out right, so if you can find safe salt make your own bread. Maybe freeze some ahead.
May I suggest that you rub an oil with vitamin E into your scar? Also, be sure to keep sun off of it for at least a year. UV will “burn in” your scar. The scar from having ONE parathyroid gland is about that big. It was supposed go be about 3/4″ to 1.”
Linda says
You can definitely do this, you have more will power and self determination than anyone I know.
Jennifer says
Mavis,
This cookbook will help you.
http://thyca.org/download/document/231/Cookbook.pdf
Not to discourage you, but you will get pretty tired right before the radioactive iodine, so you won’t care that much what you eat. If it helps, here is what I did:
Go to Trader Joe’s if you can, they have some good options. Basmati rice, almond butter without salt. Also, buy some unsalted matzoh or crackers. And maybe some of the white Tums, just in case.
Go to a butcher and buy chicken with no water injected and a pot roast.
Bake a bunch of potatoes and throw them in the fridge.
Make a bunch of basmati rice.
Cook up a pot roast with carrots and peeled potatoes and salt without iodine and freeze portions.
Cook up the chicken and freeze portions.
Bake some simple bread without salt. Dip in olive oil.
For breakfast: egg whites with veggies cooked in oil. At the end, all I wanted was the baked potatoes without skins, fried in oil with egg whites.
For lunch: salt free almond butter with matzoh.
For dinner, rotate your few meals of already prepared pot roast, chicken and rice, etc. Add different veggies to the chicken to make it less boring.
I also made a batch of something like this:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10103/pecan-clouds/
But truly at the end, I was so tired I didn’t care what I ate. You are right, it’s terribly bland and boring. So–start planning what your freedom meal, so that you will have something to look forward to!
My doctor suggested http://www.thyca.org as a safe place to get info.
And email me with any questions. You will get through this, and I have been praying for you.
Camie W says
Use non-iodized salt and nut milk. There are many nut milks that taste great in tea!
Katherine says
The American Thyroid Association
https://www.thyroid.org/low-iodine-diet/
Gayle says
My daughter had thyroid cancer or I should has thyroid cancer because life is never the same. It’s been be year she is 38. We are delighted she is doing well. Diet is simply part of life . Life is everything. Her first thyroid storm happened when she was 5. She nearly list her life then.
I’ve been on a low sodium diet for two years due to stage 3 heart failure. We just don’t use the salt in recipes and I have had to make huge life changes. The time will go by quickly since it sounds like a treatment plan.
Tammy says
No advice, because I haven’t been through this! But I just wanted to say: your scar is healing so nicely! And I know you can do this!
Vicki Fetui says
I too have no advice, but I agree, your scar is looking good and healing nicely! Vitamin E or (my personal drug of choice) Vicks Vapo Rub will help the scar disappear. The Vicks is very healing and when my mom used it on a bad grease burn, it left no scar!
Hang in there Mavis! You are doing great!.
Candice says
Vicks Vapor Rub is good for so many things. I injured my right foot big toe and used Vicks to prevent any type of nail fungus since I messed it up pretty good! Anyhow, I was telling a friend about it and she said her mom used to take a tsp or tblsp (not sure, because oooohhhhh) to get rid of a sore throat. I would never recommend this but she said her mom never got sick from ingesting Vicks Vapor Rub, just sayin’.
Marti Clark says
I’ve been on a salt free diet for many years due to heart issues. Just use lots of different spices when cooking. No salt is allowed in my house. Surprisingly your pallet quickly gets use to it and if you do eat something that is seasoned with salt, it tastes extremely salty. Just be aware of the hidden salts in processed foods and cereal–I buy no boxed cereals. I also can and freeze tons of veggies and tomato products so don’t buy canned goods. Just a lifestyle change.
Sandra Huska says
Dear Mavis:
I strongly suggest that you see a Registered Dietician. They are a wealth of knowledge.
Take Care. Best of Health and Happiness Always.
Sandra Huska
Teri says
No Easter ham then? What did the Dr say about plain salt? Best wishes to you Mavis.
Suzanne says
Hello Mavis!
First of all Yes, your scar looks great and with vitamin E and sunscreen, it will fade nicely. I am a pharmacist and I LOVE the comments from your peeps! What an incredible group! and great suggestions about the Thyroid cancer website, cookbook and especially the dietician. All of those will help with meal ideas that maybe you haven’t thought of using seasonings and spices in place of salt. One item I use just because I like it is Mrs. Dash, original blend seasoning SALT-FREE. I use it A LOT when I cook. You can do this! Any other drug questions, just ask 🙂
Vickie says
Be careful with chicken or burger sometimes it gets a salt rosemary bath. I don’t cook with salt. We add it at the table. Make chili and soups from scratch along with the broth for the soup. I’d recommend unsweetened soy milk from Eden Soy. It’s made with soy beans and water and after trying all different plant based milk it comes the closest to real milk in your tea. Also check out Nutmeg Notebook’s YouTube channel. They are plant based no salt no oil or sugar with lots of easy scratch recipes. You’ll get through this without a problem. Didn’t you eat for 30 days dehydrated prepper food a few years ago?
Cc says
Soy is a no-no on low iodine diet.
KCB says
Ask your doctor about weight gain after a total thyroid removal. You will probably do fairly frequently thyroid tests at first to determine your dosage of Synthroid. I have varied between 100mg & 150mg for years. My scar is invisible now.
Pam says
The low iodine diet sucks. No chocolate! No dairy! I think the first time I had to do it I was trying to be a vegetarian – so fruit & veggies and a lot of salt free peanut butter. When I had the radioactive iodine I was told to stay away from people – I remember sleeping on the couch and reading “Julie & Julia” straight through. You will get through it and maybe lose a couple pounds. Good luck!
Amy says
Hi Mavis! I don’t want you to feel bored or restricted on this eating plan! So, here is one of my favorite recipes that is so flavorful and fun!
** I know it says sea bass…I actually use it on salmon, but according to the LID resources, no seafood…I have had this on chicken and it’s glorious!
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-sea-bass-with-tropical-salsa-102174
This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, no-salt added, Whole30 compatible, etc. Enjoy! 🙂