I went and did my bloodwork yesterday and that all came back fine so I started the next chemo sequence today. It is so nice to be doing it ten minutes from home instead of two hours. Also nice to be able to park right in front of the building instead of waiting ten minutes for a shuttle to take me from the parking structure to the hospital (Stanford is building a new hospital and the parking is totally screwed up).
I also spent less time there today because I did the blood draw yesterday - at Stanford I would go, do the blood draw, sit for an hour while they got the results back from the lab, and then start the infusion. This time the labwork was done and I just walked in and they had me plugged in to the machine and starting pre-meds within a few minutes. We were there just about 2.5 hours and were back home by 4pm.
I'm still on the prednisone so they didn't give me any other steroids today. So I started with two different anti-nausea meds (which I've now forgotten the names of, I'll write it down tomorrow when I go back in) which according to the nurse, should be good for a couple of days, and then I'll start to feel barfy sometime Friday or Saturday, at which point I start taking the Zofran I have. Those took about an hour and then she set up the Cytoxin to go for an hour, and then when that was done she just did a straight push into my port for the Adriamycin, which took about five minutes. The Adriamycin is a really bright red and turns urine red for a day. Fun side effect. And it kicks in fast - I had to pee when I got home and it was already pink, only 30 minutes after she pushed it. Weird.
I go back tomorrow for a shot of Neulasta which stimulates bone marrow to make more white blood cells to fight infection.
So the regimen I'm on now requires a different set of supplements and followup medications, and a totally different set of side effects and warning signs that something's gone wrong. If I develop a fever over 100 I have to call the oncologist and head to the emergency room. The Adriamycin damages the heart, which is why I had to have to ECGs, mostly so we have baseline after this is over to see what kind of damage is done. The damage is cumulative based on dose, so there's a lifetime cap on how much you can take, and I think I'm getting the maximum amount over these four infusions. Other fun things to look for are bowel infections, and painful swelling and redness in the hands and feet, vomiting, and fatigue. That's just the one drug.
Cytoxin is itself carcinogenic and includes leukemia as one of its side effects. Are we having fun yet? Also, hemorrhagic cystitis because it's toxic to the lining of the bladder. So red pee is good for the first 48 hours, bad any time after that. I'm supposed to drink at least 80 oz per day for the next 72 hours to clear the stuff out of my system and make sure it doesn't sit too long in my bladder. It also suppresses the immune system and can cause mouth sores and joint pain, vomiting, and fatigue.
Neulasta causes bone pain, joint pain, vomiting, and fatigue.
There seems to be a pattern there.
I'm feeling a little sleepy but otherwise OK now, and I expect to spend a good chunk of the next few days in bed.
In other side effect news, the neuropathy from the taxol seems to be getting a little better in my hands. I still feel it, but not nearly as much. My feet are still a mess though, and it's worse when they are cold. At best it's like walking around with feet that are asleep, and even my softest cashmere socks feel like sandpaper. At worst, when it's cold, it's like they've turned into bricks. I can't feel anything at all, and that's pretty scary. It should get better, but it makes walking really uncomfortable and something that I have to pay full attention to. Unfamiliar stairs are downright terrifying. I cannot afford another fall/sprained ankle/broken whatever.
That's it for now. I'm off to eat some really bland lasagna from Trader Joe's for dinner and watch something terrible on television before bed.
I also spent less time there today because I did the blood draw yesterday - at Stanford I would go, do the blood draw, sit for an hour while they got the results back from the lab, and then start the infusion. This time the labwork was done and I just walked in and they had me plugged in to the machine and starting pre-meds within a few minutes. We were there just about 2.5 hours and were back home by 4pm.
I'm still on the prednisone so they didn't give me any other steroids today. So I started with two different anti-nausea meds (which I've now forgotten the names of, I'll write it down tomorrow when I go back in) which according to the nurse, should be good for a couple of days, and then I'll start to feel barfy sometime Friday or Saturday, at which point I start taking the Zofran I have. Those took about an hour and then she set up the Cytoxin to go for an hour, and then when that was done she just did a straight push into my port for the Adriamycin, which took about five minutes. The Adriamycin is a really bright red and turns urine red for a day. Fun side effect. And it kicks in fast - I had to pee when I got home and it was already pink, only 30 minutes after she pushed it. Weird.
I go back tomorrow for a shot of Neulasta which stimulates bone marrow to make more white blood cells to fight infection.
So the regimen I'm on now requires a different set of supplements and followup medications, and a totally different set of side effects and warning signs that something's gone wrong. If I develop a fever over 100 I have to call the oncologist and head to the emergency room. The Adriamycin damages the heart, which is why I had to have to ECGs, mostly so we have baseline after this is over to see what kind of damage is done. The damage is cumulative based on dose, so there's a lifetime cap on how much you can take, and I think I'm getting the maximum amount over these four infusions. Other fun things to look for are bowel infections, and painful swelling and redness in the hands and feet, vomiting, and fatigue. That's just the one drug.
Cytoxin is itself carcinogenic and includes leukemia as one of its side effects. Are we having fun yet? Also, hemorrhagic cystitis because it's toxic to the lining of the bladder. So red pee is good for the first 48 hours, bad any time after that. I'm supposed to drink at least 80 oz per day for the next 72 hours to clear the stuff out of my system and make sure it doesn't sit too long in my bladder. It also suppresses the immune system and can cause mouth sores and joint pain, vomiting, and fatigue.
Neulasta causes bone pain, joint pain, vomiting, and fatigue.
There seems to be a pattern there.
I'm feeling a little sleepy but otherwise OK now, and I expect to spend a good chunk of the next few days in bed.
In other side effect news, the neuropathy from the taxol seems to be getting a little better in my hands. I still feel it, but not nearly as much. My feet are still a mess though, and it's worse when they are cold. At best it's like walking around with feet that are asleep, and even my softest cashmere socks feel like sandpaper. At worst, when it's cold, it's like they've turned into bricks. I can't feel anything at all, and that's pretty scary. It should get better, but it makes walking really uncomfortable and something that I have to pay full attention to. Unfamiliar stairs are downright terrifying. I cannot afford another fall/sprained ankle/broken whatever.
That's it for now. I'm off to eat some really bland lasagna from Trader Joe's for dinner and watch something terrible on television before bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment