Chemo Updates (1st Treatment, days 4-8)

Let's see... day 4 was Saturday. It was very early morning when I wrote my last entry, and the "fun" had not yet begun.  I spent most of Saturday in bed or in the bathroom. Sunday was more of the same. By Sunday night, I was so tired and weak.


Not that you want too many details, but the "tummy troubles" I've mentioned... well, that's just a euphemism for diarrhea. Like clockwork, I spend early morning and much of the evenings in the bathroom. I knew that the cells in our stomachs and digestive tracts were rapidly dividing cells, which means they are prime targets for the chemo. I guess I just assumed that I'd feel more nausea than anything else. Instead, I have diarrhea. It's been among the worst of my side effects. At least until there was bone pain, but I'll get to that in a minute. My belly hurts, I'm full of gas and the sudden pangs send me running (ok, hobbling as quick as I can) to the bathroom.


So, other than feeling weak and constantly going to the bathroom, the weekend seemed uneventful.  Doug took Charlotte to her first play at Thalian Hall which she really enjoyed. I hated to miss out on that, but I'm glad they went and had fun. By Sunday night, I knew I was getting into troubled territory.  You see, everything tastes different. I wouldn't say it's all metallic tasting like I'd been warned, though plenty of the foods I try to eat taste exactly like metal. It's more that EVERYTHING tastes different and it seems that all fluids have a "fuzzy" texture to them, like I'm trying to drink cotton balls. I've had a hard time figuring out what tastes good enough that I can get it down. By Sunday evening, I was getting worried. My fluid consumption was way down and when combined with the diarrhea, dehydration was looming. 


I was feeling so incredibly weak and tired by Monday morning, and the tummy troubles had been particularly bad that morning that I decided to call the doctor and see if there was anything that could help. His nurse told me to come in right away for fluids. When I got there, they took blood and the results were a bit frightening. My white counts were way down. The average person has between 5,000-10,500 neutrophils (part of your white blood cells). I had 900. Combined with dehydration, diarrhea and the constant low-grade fever I'd been running, I was on the brink of a hospital admission. After a full liter of fluids, I still wasn't hydrated (they measure based on urination and since I still hadn't gone after 2 hours and a full liter of fluids, they knew I needed more), so the nurse hung a half-liter and I just sat around and waited. Eventually, they let me go home, but with stern warnings to stay hydrated and to stay away from germs. With white counts that low, a simple cold could send me to the hospital.


Now, throughout the weekend and into Monday, I was experiencing "bone pain" or an achy, sore feeling in my lower back and hips, knees and ankles. I relate the feeling to early stage labor pains, that point when you're uncomfortable and wiggly but not yet really in terrible pain. The chemo nurses explained that the Neulasta shot causes bone pain because it tells your bone marrow to make more white blood cells and this, apparently, hurts. Even though it was uncomfortable, I didn't think it was a big deal. But then, all of a sudden it went from bone pain to HOLY CRAP SOMEONE'S RIPPING MY BONES OFF pain. Really. The first time it happened, I was in bed and went to adjust my position. I was in mid sentence when this piercing pain tore through my leg into my hip. And then it was gone. By Tuesday night, this pain had become a near constant. I made my way downstairs to eat dinner with my family on Tuesday night only to find myself sitting at the table, feeling hopeless and scared because I'd tried to stand up to get something for Charlotte and my hips actually felt like they were going to split apart. So now, I'm pretty much stuck in bed until this part passes, except that, well, the diarrhea is still an issue. Those emergency trips to the bathroom are even more interesting now.  I called the doctor today to see what could be done (the side effects lead to more meds, which lead to more side effects, which lead to more meds... yeah, that's fun). He called in some prescription strength anti-diarrheal meds and told me to restart the Oxy for pain. As a bonus, the Oxy is likely to cause constipation which could resolve the diarrhea issue without the need for more meds.


For now, things aren't great. But there are some positives worth mentioning; chocolate ice-cream, which I NEVER liked is now a daily staple. And V8 VFusion Fruit Punch (at least there is something I can drink). Everyone's been so generous, willing to get me any food or drink at the drop of a hat just so I'll eat or drink something. Also, Doug got me a nice lap desk, so I can work from bed. It's the little things, folks. I'm really looking forward to feeling a little better each day. Fingers crossed for that.