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.

Finished 5th cycle today !

It has been a trying week, but today's treatment finishes my 5th cycle and I was able to go ahead and schedule my next cycle for the week of September 30th - October 3rd, 2008. After this next week of treatments, I will have half of my treatments completed.

I heard from one of the oncology nurses that a new anti-nausea patch has recently been approved by the FDA...

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzTSB0ffFGHcV9CLa5kt8sTg3LGgD937BU4O0

There are always new meds, methods and treatments coming along to help those afflicted by this horrible disease.

All went pretty good today. The senna is helping with digestive issues more and the redness in my face is from the prednisone which is part of the anti-nausea IV that I currently get at the beginning of each cycle. They told me to keep on the B-Complex and Folic Acid and it would help with neuropathy, but won't take it away. I'm getting used to the routine and know to use gloves and dress in layers when necessary.

Day 2 - Second cycle of chemo

Today went pretty good. I asked about the neuropathy side effect (mainly cold sensitivity so far) and was told that Folic Acid and Vitamin B Complex should help with that, so I'll be picking some up.

Mainly just tired, but restless-type tired, if that makes any sense. My face got really red and my wife noticed it when she came home today, but I feel okay and temp is normal.

I met an interesting woman who I chatted with for quite a while. She seemed very wealthy and spoke of her home in Franklin with two horses which she absolutely adored. She has been going for a year and a half for stage IV breast cancer, but looked like she was tolerating it well and seemed to speak coherently.

I prefer the morning appointments much better than the late afternoon ones and hope that I can book more earlier ones from now on.