This last chemo treatment is keeping to the same pattern as the previous two only a bit more intense on two fronts. The first is the mouth and throat sores. For some reason it seems as those are a bit more intense this time around. The pain meds are just able to keep up with those as long as I keep on the meds schedule. The other side effect is the excess mucus. That seems to be more but of a different type. Less of the solid mucus and more liquid. I had to remember to jump back in with all of the meds recommended to help with the mucus. As long as I keep up on those the side effects are manageable.
Fortunately if this holds true to form by the end of this weekend these side effects will start to fade and I will be on a upward recovery trajectory going forward. Have I mentioned how good it feels to not have any more treatments on my schedule? By this time next week I should be on the path to recovery.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Out Like a Lion: A 3 Hurricane Night
Not to be out done the last round of chemo decided to go out the same way the first round came in.. with a 3 hurricane evening. (For a description of what that is check out this post. A three hurricane evening For the most part the weekend was like previous weekends after the PIC line was pulled. On Sunday though my energy level seemed to be higher and I thought that maybe this time around things would be a bit lighter. From what I have been told its hard to predict how people react to multiple chemo treatments. Sometimes the reactions are lighter, sometimes not. I was hoping for the lighter part of course. :-)
In the early evening I did feel the tell tale 5 second warning signs that I needed to get back to my room. Having been through this a few times I made it back with out a problem. (Its amazing the skills you acquire during cancer treatment. :-))
(Warning gross stuff coming up.) Typically these incidents are ones that want to clearing the mucus that gets lodged in the back of my throat that causes the swallowing problems. This is mucus that would make a severe head cold proud. :-) Normally these get cleared by just coughing it up but once in awhile, after chemo treatments for example, my body decides that more extreme measures are required. Normally any ill feelings pass a few minutes afterwards and I am back up an operational. This time around however I became dead tired and literally fell asleep right where I was. Big time rookie mistake. One thing I have learned throughout all of this is don't mess with the meds schedule. Unfortunately this ended up with my missing a few meds.
For those that don't know my meds schedule can be broken down into three categories. There are those that last only 3 hours, pain meds for the most part. Then there are those that are once a day like the meds for the blood clot and then those that are every 8-12 hours. These typically are the ones that control nausea and symptoms along those lines. Missing any isn't really a good thing but the ones that are every 8-12 hours are the ones that like to remind you why you shouldn't miss them. :-). I have learned that even when I am feeling particularly good on a day I should still try to adhere to the meds schedule by the minute. Pushing it even an hour on a good day isn't a good idea. Like I said, rookie mistake.
So after sleeping a few hours I woke up to once again with a bang. This time from missing the appropriate meds. With these last three chemo treatments Sunday nights and Mondays always seemed to be the worst times and this time around was proving to be the same thing. So at this point I am feeling out of it from the general chemo effects and missing the meds schedule along with a feeding. (The feedings also help keep the symptoms under control. Not having an empty stomach plays a part in controlling nausea as well.)
I won't bore you with the rest of the details but lets just say it took awhile to get my body back on the meds / feeding schedule and have it take effect. Fortunately by the early morning I was able to get back onto the "normal" course that happens after chemo treatment and back to the usual feelings. On the plus side of all this if history is any indicator in a few days I should start trending upward again. Right now I have all the usual symptoms, tired, fatigue, mouth sores and can't talk. This should all start to get better by mid week and hopefully by the weekend I will just keep going on the upward trajectory.
With the last round of chemo it did appear that I recovered faster than the previous round so hopefully this round will bring more of the same. The added plus this time around is that there isn't any additional chemo treatments to knock me back.
In the early evening I did feel the tell tale 5 second warning signs that I needed to get back to my room. Having been through this a few times I made it back with out a problem. (Its amazing the skills you acquire during cancer treatment. :-))
(Warning gross stuff coming up.) Typically these incidents are ones that want to clearing the mucus that gets lodged in the back of my throat that causes the swallowing problems. This is mucus that would make a severe head cold proud. :-) Normally these get cleared by just coughing it up but once in awhile, after chemo treatments for example, my body decides that more extreme measures are required. Normally any ill feelings pass a few minutes afterwards and I am back up an operational. This time around however I became dead tired and literally fell asleep right where I was. Big time rookie mistake. One thing I have learned throughout all of this is don't mess with the meds schedule. Unfortunately this ended up with my missing a few meds.
For those that don't know my meds schedule can be broken down into three categories. There are those that last only 3 hours, pain meds for the most part. Then there are those that are once a day like the meds for the blood clot and then those that are every 8-12 hours. These typically are the ones that control nausea and symptoms along those lines. Missing any isn't really a good thing but the ones that are every 8-12 hours are the ones that like to remind you why you shouldn't miss them. :-). I have learned that even when I am feeling particularly good on a day I should still try to adhere to the meds schedule by the minute. Pushing it even an hour on a good day isn't a good idea. Like I said, rookie mistake.
So after sleeping a few hours I woke up to once again with a bang. This time from missing the appropriate meds. With these last three chemo treatments Sunday nights and Mondays always seemed to be the worst times and this time around was proving to be the same thing. So at this point I am feeling out of it from the general chemo effects and missing the meds schedule along with a feeding. (The feedings also help keep the symptoms under control. Not having an empty stomach plays a part in controlling nausea as well.)
I won't bore you with the rest of the details but lets just say it took awhile to get my body back on the meds / feeding schedule and have it take effect. Fortunately by the early morning I was able to get back onto the "normal" course that happens after chemo treatment and back to the usual feelings. On the plus side of all this if history is any indicator in a few days I should start trending upward again. Right now I have all the usual symptoms, tired, fatigue, mouth sores and can't talk. This should all start to get better by mid week and hopefully by the weekend I will just keep going on the upward trajectory.
With the last round of chemo it did appear that I recovered faster than the previous round so hopefully this round will bring more of the same. The added plus this time around is that there isn't any additional chemo treatments to knock me back.
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