I know others have different experiences, especially with drugs that are different from mine, Taxotere, Carboplatin, and Herceptin, but the infusion itself was not painful or uncomfortable for me. It was, however, very stressful and anxiety inducing. My blood pressure still shoots up every time I go to the hospital. It was also tiring to sit for such a long time. Because of he premeds I was pretty perky the day of and day after. So perky that it was difficult to sleep at night.
Even though I was bloated from all the liquids and steroids, I wanted pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) for my meal after the infusion. It was delicious and perfect, and Craig was happy, because he likes it as well. It became our tradition to eat pho after all my infusions. I unfortunately associate pho with chemotherapy now, so I cannot eat it. It will hopefully change eventually.
The day after the infusion, September 16, we went back to the hospital for my Neulasta injection. This pushes the bone marrow to create white blood cells faster, since the chemo kills them. The reason they have you come back 24 hours after the infusions is to make sure the chemo drugs will not be as strong and kill the white blood cells as they are being made.
The injection itself takes a few minutes and hurts more than what I have experienced with others.
They give it to you in the back of your upper arm and it takes a while for the pain to go away. I chose to get the injection in my right arm so that the pain would “work itself out” more quickly because I am right-handed.
Many associate chemo with nausea, and this is true. Because I was aware of this I had prepared myself. I had purchased a Relief Band that helps prevent nausea. It looks like a watch, and you place the watch part inside the wrist. When you turn it on it sends little electric shocks that you can feel out to your fingertips. It sounds strange, but it works; it was a good buy.
My doctor prescribed two anti-nausea medications, Zofran, a sublingual (pill that melts in your mouth), and Compazine. The latter is more powerful and can make you drowsy, so it is best to take in the evening before you go to bed. They worked well for me. Between the Relief Band and medication I did not have major issues with nausea, and never vomited.
I had the infusion on a Friday. That day and Saturday I felt well, other than sleeping poorly. Mainly because took the afternoon steroid pill too late in the day. I learned from this that if I took it no later than noon I slept better.
The real side effects started on Sunday. I had migraine like headaches and felt like I had terrible jet lag - woozy, sluggish, not being able to move very fast, difficulty sleeping even though I was very tired. I was also very gassy and constipated, and the constipation caused me to be even more bloated and nauseous.
Water went straight through me, so I had to urinated not long after I drank. I was told to drink a lot in order to get the chemo drugs out of my system faster, but I was not able to. Not being able to drink very much also made the constipation worse.
Being bloated I could not eat very much, so started snacking more rather than eating full meals. I craved toast with a lot of butter and went through a lot of bread and butter. During the day, and also at night when I couldn’t sleep.
On Sunday, September 17, a close family friend thought it was a good time to bring up some bad old history. I was devastated and could not think straight. This and chemo was a bad combination. I could feel myself spiraling down and was petrified. After I came out of my deep depression I promised myself that I would never go there again. This almost brought me there.
Fortunately I had a checkup the following Friday, September 22, to see how my body reacted to the chemotherapy. I told the doctor what had happened, and that I might need an anti-depressant. She prescribed Zoloft and Ativan an anti-anxiety drug. Being listened to, crying, and walking out of there with medication helped a great deal.
The worst day that week was Tuesday, September 19. I felt very poorly and it didn’t help that I had difficulty sleeping. The side effects were worst that day and it was difficult for me to function. That night I woke up several times sweating so much that I had had to flip my pillow over because it was so wet every time I woke up.
The sweating must have been a good thing, because the following day I started feeling better. I still had all the side effects, but they were not as bad as they were on Tuesday.
Thursday, September 21, eating started to hurt. I noticed sores on my tongue, and food hurt as it was going down my throat. It was difficult to eat because of the pain, and it got worse with time. My tongue looked red and I could no longer eat any kind of spice on my food, not even black pepper. Food did not taste good, not even chocolate :( My tastebuds were no good.
It makes me happy to report that I can now, almost five months later, enjoy chocolate again :)
Keeping track of side effects I hope to lessen after future infusions.
The Relief Band and gel you place on your wrist under the “watch” to help conduct the electricity.
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