Thats a very good question and to far advanced for me to answer but you can goto Med help their is a Thyroid doctor on that site that can advise you! I am impressed with that challenging question.
I hope you feel better and get the answer you are looking for!

Also you can ask Odel what his opinion is because he himself has gone through RAI twice so he would be the go to guy for this!

Thank you very much for both of those suggestions. I am looking for any wisdom I can get in order to understand this all better. Your time in writing is much appreciated. Take Care.

If you still have thyroid tissue you will still have thyroglobulin.

I have now had a TT, and RAI my TG went from1300 down to a low of 13 before it turned around for my recurrence. I had a PET Scan and it was spotted on it. I than had a Modified Neck Dissection (they removed 40 nodes 3 of them were cancerous) followed by more RAI. Now My TG is still up. My Endo (a new Endo) is telling me that instead of doing the Total Body scan we will be doing a Thryogen stimulated PET/CT. This is supposed to be the new, more accurate way of finding the cancer (both the normal cancer and the type that no longer lives on Iodine) you may want to think about asking your DR about that test.

I do know that I read somewhere that a TG of above 10 is considered an indicator of recurrences so this might not be so bad. At least I hope not The Modified Neck Dissection is no fun nor is having a visible scar for the rest of your life. I wish you well!

Thank you Odel for responding to my question. It is very much appreciated for I don\'t have anyone that I know in the same situation. The people I have come across in my location all have undectable TG after their treatments so I have been feeling sort of lost about what I should do. I like the idea of suggesting a PET scan. I have had body scans and my ENDO said that next Spring (my 3rd year anniversary) he may not have me do a body scan- just the thyrogen, blood work, neck ultrasound. So I wouldn\'t be getting the diagnostic radioactive iodine and scan. In my next appointment (he continues to check my TSH, I will aski him what he thinks of me getting a PET instead. I have become so very thankful that the cancer I have is thyroid cancer because, although not always the case, you can sometimes have some time to look into avenues to go. If I had another type of cancer right now and they saw the cancer marker even increasing a little bit, I would be a basket case. Even now, I have those days that I wonder inside, "why me", but I have become so thankful during my journey for each and every day as I see the suffering that others have been through. I also had positive lymph nodes, I have not had a new dissection but they took some out during my original surgery. My ultrasound this month didn\'t show any concerns in my lymph nodes, but again, it may be that the cancer just wasn\'t "seen" , yet. Odel, can I ask you what side effects you had with your RAI? Thanks for your time.

Clarification Odel??

By normal cancer did you mean normal thyroid cancer ?

As to Side Effects from RAI the 1st time I did not have any then 2nd time the inside of my mouth felt like it was burned for several days (like I had swallowed something too hot) and my sense of taste was off for about a month everything tasted sickly sweet.

When I referred to normal cancer I was referring to the kind of Thyroid cancer that absorbs Iodine. In rare cases the cancer can develop to a point that it becomes Iodine resistant. Apparently the PET/CT with Thyrogen Stimulation can detect both types.

The PET scan does not use a dye instead it uses Radio Active Glucose. This has a very short half life so it is not as dangers as RAI but I will stay away from people that day. This test scans your whole body looking for places that absorb sugar quickly and there for could be cancer. In fact it can spot any kind of cancer not just Thyroid. The test is 3D so they can tell where in the body the sugar is absorbed as compared with the total Body Scans I have had that were 2D.

I will be having this test on June the 19th. 1st on June 17th and 18th I have to get my Thyrogen shots (at $1,100 a shot).

I just got a TG reading back but I am not certain what to make of it my TG was 14 but this one was taken using my Spinal Fluid instead of Blood. I am having sever Neurologic symptoms and my Neurologist thinks my Thyroid cancer has spread to my brain. After the PET/CT they will be taking a new TG on me this time they want to see what it is when stimulated by Thyrogen.

Thank you for the information. So far, I have had RAI once, the doctor said he could do it again but advised waiting since the TG isn\'t changing much so far. I had side effects and I am afraid of more RAI.. My taste was temporarily gone but my right eye has a partially blocked tear duct and I had salivary gland problems which seem to be better now but I did use the lemon candy idea to try to prevent them. Anyways, I wish you the best and hope that the thyrogen stimulation doesn\'t make the TG higher or at least too much higher. The description of a PET scan was very helpful. I am really thinking this may be the way to go next time if the Dr. will. Thanks again.