No sleep last night !

I'm not sure what they mixed in that anti-nausea IV that they gave me yesterday, but I slept for a few hours in the late afternoon, then was up until midnight, then I tried to go to sleep, but kept tossin' & turnin', so eventually got up and started playing piano with headphones on.

When I went for today's chemo, I asked my oncologist during my exam and he said it was just the usual anti-nausea meds IV. Then I asked the same question to the oncology nurse that I had and she said it might have been a little stronger with yesterday's dose but it ususally lasts about 3 days.

I took a "baby card" today to give to one of the Physician's assistants, who has been a great source of information and help since my starting chemo back in July, but she wasn't in and my oncologist said she called in with contractions. Her due date is December 25th, so we discussed it as maybe being new and first baby and possibly a false alarm? I guess I'll find out more tomorrow, but I left the card with my oncologist to give to her. I'll be back tomorrow, but she might not be? She had planned on starting her maternity leave at the end of this week anyway.

Today's treatment was the shorter one with just the port flush, unhook the IV lines from the portable infusion pump and connect me to the IVs on the stand. I took some very quiet Christmas music to listen to and felt myself sleeping and starting to snore once or twice, only to wake and open my eyes and see others staring at me. I apologized and told the group that I didn't get much sleep and to just kick my chair if it happens again. One gentleman said that it didn't bother him at all and snore away!

Anyway, finished up the leucovorin and saline, then my infusion pump was filled with 5-FU while they flushed the port and re-connected me to the pump and I was good to go. It really poured today, but it was warmer out. There were some vivid lightning strikes that we could see clearly overlooking Wellesley Hills along with a wind-driven rain.

Pump Problem

It was another cold day today so I wore gloves and glad I did. My face was very red from the oxaliplatin I got yesterday. This is normal and usually goes away after a couple of days. It was a good visit, good exam report and short infusion then hooked back up to portable infusion pump for another 24 hours.

When I got into my car to leave, the pump started beeping constantly and I noticed it said "shutoff" on the display, so I went back inside and they checked it and re-set it. I hope that it doesn't happen around 3:00am overnight.

The steroids in the meds from yesterday first made me sleepy and I had a nap when I got home. Unable to drink (or even want) cold or room temp beverages, I had a coffee...well...I couldn't get to sleep until after 2:00am....learn from experience...no coffee after mid-day from now on.

My cough and post nasal drip is just about gone. I never filled the Flonase prescription, but the saline nasal spray seemed to work fine with the B-complex and folic acid.

I've accumulated a good sized "med package" that I pull out when I go to chemo now. It includes these items, but not all used each time/cycle :

Lidocaine

Bandages

Medical Tape

Gauze

Anti Nausea Meds

Nyacin Powder (for rashes)

Tom's of Maine drymouth anti-cavity mouthwash

Milk of Magnesia

Senecot

Stool softeners

Antibiotics for certain infections I've gotten.

Saline Nasal Spray

and other prescriptions that I haven't had to fill.

I've probably forgot about some of them too...chemofog syndrome most likely.

I'm into my 8th cycle (2/3 of treatments)

I'm back into a regular routine with the full chemo regime. It's not a very comfortable feeling with the neuropathy and fatigue along with this post nasal drip, cough and the usual side effects and a few surprise ones. :(

My oncologist examined me and said that my lungs were clear and thought that the drip and cough might be allergy related. I tend to disagree with him, but after thinking about it, I suppose that it could be?

He said to continue to use the saline nasal spray and Delsym cough medicine and if I thought it would help, I could try Flonase, which is loaded with steroids...

"For best results, use FLONASE daily. Your nasal symptoms may begin to improve in as few as 12 hours. Maximum relief may take several days. Results may vary. If side effects occur, they are generally mild and may include headache, nosebleed, or sore throat. FLONASE is available by prescription only; ask your healthcare professional if FLONASE is right for you."

I chose to hold off because I DO think the cough and post nasal drip is getting better and want to try the saline spray and Delsym (which I only started with last Friday night) for a bit longer.

http://www.delsym.com/

In looking at the calendar today, it appears that if all goes well (and that's a big "IF") that I will finish my chemotherapy treatments the week of December 30th. :)

After that, there will be CEA blood tests and monitoring followed by scans. I'll be having my follow up colonoscopy shortly thereafter which will be an annual procedure. Thanks again for all of the well wishes and positive thoughts and prayers...they are working!

Chemo - 7th Cycle

First of all, my other sister's procedure went well with no problems, so she doesn't have to go back for another five years.

Another sister, and myself, will be getting the annual check.

One of the doctors told me today about using something called Ocean Saline Nasal Spray for the nasal post drip and cough if it doesn't get better soon. It's available at most pharmacies for about $5/small bottle.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod2501966&CATID=100095&skuid=sku2501403&V=G&ec=frgl_587532&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku2501403

It looks like the weather is transitioning and it will be getting much colder by the weekend. I'll have to make sure that I have gloves and dress in layers from now on.

I came home to find a new Fender Strat from my friends at Fender. I'll post pics when I have more time and feel more energetic.