Post Chemo Round three - Session 1

Sat. Nov 26, 2016

Today is Saturday and it is day four after the commencement of my new Chemotherapy sessions.  In this update I am recording some of the more significant reactions I experienced during my week on Chemo.  I am doing this to ensure that I recall what happens and in what sequence.  That will provide me with a gauge for some weeks in the future where timing is critical as I try to maintain a somewhat ordinary lifestyle.  There is probably more detail here than most would prefer to read but I just have to get it down.

I approached this chemo session with great trepidation as I was informed they were changing “my cocktail” and I was to expect a number of different side effects.   With each defense mechanism comes a series of short comings that we normally would not appreciate or request.  In this case the Dr Team was aware of my neuropathy (causing numbness and ill effects to my hands and feet) resulting from the last go-around and decided to avoid the drug that was known to cause such effects.   This replacement drug is known to upset the bowel and cause cramping and frequency or inability to pass a stool at all.  As a result, the team armed me with Imodium as well as a highly effective stool softener.  When I questioned this practice of being prepared for either reaction I was told that I would know what to do.  Now that gave me a great deal of confidence!  I started to see some of the humour that would result in this treatment.

On Tuesday I sat through my three hours at TOH in the Cancer Centre and met up with some folks I had not seen for the past year.  At the end of my session, where the nurse kindly reminded me of all the things I had inadvertently forgotten, I was tethered with my mobile Chemotherapy bottle and sent on my way.  Being somewhat stupid about this stuff, or non-acceptant of the inability to function completely after a treatment, I set out to a number of small chores for the balance of the day.  I succumbed and only completed half of the inventory and returned to the house to rest.  That night I watched too much Homeland as the steroid they administer during the session tends to override the practical sleep patterns. 

On day two I decided to stay close to home and rest when possible.  In so doing I managed some catnaps plus experimented with some of the drugs they had given me for various effects.  Without going into any detail, I have to report that all of the drugs are very effective.  The nausea drug relieved the nausea, the constipation drug relieved the constipation, the diarrhea drug did not do its thing quite as quickly and I did not try the other more serious drugs which are the second line of attach drugs.   I did manage to sit down and read about all of the potential side effects of the chemo drugs and then the other drugs to fight off those side effects.  I do believe that I need to spend more time with my pharmacist to better understand this seemingly counterproductive war of effects of these drugs.   I did manage to eat and drank lots of water as I had been instructed.   That night I did get some sleep but that was accompanied by some very vivid dreams.

On day three I wanted to stay close to home but I had to go to the CCAC office to have my bottle removed.  That was a relatively simple procedure and I renewed some acquaintances at their clinic.  Once freed of the bottle I ventured outside with my list of things that I had to do.  Once again I only managed to get a few things done and reluctantly returned home to sleep.  I was also experiencing cramps which led to periods of reading in the upstairs bathroom.  In the evening I tried to eat a regular meal that I had prepared for Freddi and myself and managed to get most of it down.  I did get some quality sleep over that night.

Today I am feeling much better but still require a dose of Imodium from time to time.  The cramps are still present but they are only occasional but severe when they come.  The fogginess in my brain had been lifted and I was thinking more clearly (or so I think anyway).  My energy levels are better and my sense of humour is returning much to Freddi’s chagrin.  There are some chores to be done to ready our environment for winter and I believe we could get some of them done.  I am sure that by tomorrow I will be ready to take on more and will have passed through most of the inconvenience of this session.  I have 11 days ahead of me before the next session.

Be well and happy!