Friday night I started to feel achy, flu like. I took the Ativan to help me sleep, which it did. I did wake up a few times with dry mouth and drank alot of water and used the bathroom about 2-3 times. Even though I was up, the Ativan helped me fall back into a deep restful sleep. By Saturday morning I was in the midst of my flu like symptoms. I had made myself promise I was going to go to Pilates at 10:00. All the forums said you really should do exercise so I made that my goal. I think I did most of my class with my eyes closed trying to concentrate. I couldn't finish and ended after 45 min. I got back in my car with waves of nausea hitting me. My hands were shaking as I was trying to get the Zofran out of the package and under my tongue. I literally felt like a drug addict. The Zofran was going to save me from the misery that was coming over me. I crawled into bed and literally was in another zone. As the day progressed my flu like symptoms increased and then by evening, I could feel the bone pain coming that people have talked about from the Neulasta shot. I had taken the Clariton D an hour after the shot on Friday and continued every 24 hrs. It was supposed to help with the bone pain side effect. By Saturday night, 7:00pm every joint, muscle and nerve ending was hurting. It wasn't a sharp pain but a dull ache but enough to make me cry. I remember my eye sockets hurting, my throat, my teeth and my pelvis. My skin hurt. I reached up to rub my shoulder and the touch of my hand on my skin hurt. I took the Ativan hoping it would put me out of my misery and luckily it did. When I woke up Sunday am, I felt better not great but better. By the time 10:00am came around I was able to sit at the table and have breakfast with the family to celebrate Mother's Day. As the day progressed, I became better then I had a set back about early evening. Went to bed and woke up Monday am. I actually felt normal Monday morning. Slight headache but felt good. I spoke with my nurse practitioner at the oncologist and asked "is this the hell I face every 2 weeks and will it get worse?" Her response, "we really don't know but your return to feeling better will take longer as you move through chemo". Wow, what a downer.
What did I learn from my first experience and what am I going to do different?
1) Begin taking the Clariton the day before I start chemo. I am still taking it now 5 days out and probably will continue until day 6 or 7.
2) Start taking the Zofran right after I finish chemo. I am still taking it 5 days out and I will continue for a couple more days. The oncologists office said to take every 12 hours. The pharmacist said every 8 hours. There was no way I could make the 12 hours so I take it now every 8 hours.
3) Ativan take it the night before infusion and before infusion for anxiety. I think I will take it during the weekend also to help with the nausea and give me a "happier state" to be in.
4) Start taking Tylenol right after my chemo infusion to help with the headaches and continue through to the first day I feel better.
5) Start taking a stool softener the day before I have an infusion to give me a head start on this issue. Continue taking until I feel better. No amount of prunes will help you....
6) Mouth wash, same thing start early.
7) I found laying on the floor and rotating my hips back and forth helped with my pelvis and the pain. A warm shower helped my shoulders overcome the touch sensation ache. I wasn't too sure about a bath and will ask.
I am not looking forward to to my next 7 appts but lets hope my adaptations help me get through it easier. I am still in awe of my body knowing how many medicines are flowing through and my body does everything it can to recuperate to come back to being normal. Even in the midst of this misery, I still would crave a food item which I feel was my body telling me I was still functioning and sending me a message of "don't worry, your healthy body is still here". I'm going to make it through this one way or another.
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