One Down..Seven to Go....

Well yesterday was the first chemo. What a day. I'm not really sure where to begin. I was having a real tough time with it yesterday. I couldn't really calm down. Everytime I stopped crying something else would trigger it again. And I am not one to cry in front of family, let alone strangers!! My blood pressure was 128 over 88, which I know isn't bad, but I am normally around 118/77.

I meant to post this earlier for those of you that I knew would be checking, I just couldn't!

All I could think of to begin with yesterday is that I was giving them permission to;
1~Shoot poison into my veins
2~Let them make my hair fall out
3~Let them make me tired
4~Make my food taste/smell funny
5~Possibly let them cause me nausea, dry mouth, mouth sores, constipation or diarrhea
6~Steal a few days to a week out of each month for the next 4 months.

This seems like a really stupid thing to do! Esp. since they are fairly certain that they got everything with the surgery, this is just a precaution. But, I guess in the long run it is worth it.

Besides my freaking out, the next bad thing was the headache. I was getting a migraine. And I let it go too far before I asked if I could take anything. My headaches can cause nausea. So b/c of the headache, and not really eating alot for breakfast, I was nauseous before chemo even started. I don't recommend that! The actual chemo infusion was fairly uneventful. I was in at 9 for blood work. That took almost an hour to get back (more stress out time). Then the dr came in and talked for a couple of minutes. Then came the anti-nausea med and steroid in the IV. Then we had to wait for the pharmacy to send up the chemo meds. The first was the Cytoxan--that was a drip through the IV that took about a half hour I think. Then came the Adriamyxin (the red devil)-that was put into the IV through a shot. Maybe took 20 minutes. So other than the waiting, it didn't really take too long. We were out of there by 1.

The ride home I was feeling queasy on. Luckily the nurse had called the prescription in, and we didn't have to wait too long to pick it up. I took one right away and laid down on the couch. At first I just had a little bit of a headache and was tired. Then I got nauseous. I ate a couple of crackers about 3, Peanut butter and Jelly toast about 4. That was basically it. Oh, and about 4 more crackers around 8. I didn't want my belly completely empty, sometimes that can make it worse. I did have to fight the urge to throw up for a good 3-4 hours. Luckily I won!! I do know from the girls on the list is that the best thing you can do is "drink and pee". Gets it all out of your system. I had that down before chemo even started!! And it does work. The Red Devil makes you pee red. I didn't have a full out red b/c it was so diluted. The orangeish/pink I had was gone by about 3:30, and was back to clear by 5:30. (I know TMI for some!) I was taking the Zofran (anti nausea med) every 8 hours. Can take 1 every 8-12 hours as needed.

I was able to avoid puking for 2 reasons. One, sheer will power. The other, that John and the girls took care of themselves, and I didn't have to do anything.

Today I woke up ok. A little constipated. And I feel like I have a hangover (without having had the fun the night before!). But at least it is not too bad and I am able to function today. Took the Zofran every 12 hours today. Thought about not taking it tonight, but was kind of afraid to stop so soon! Hopefully tomorrow will be even better.

I had to go for my Nuelasta shot today. Since I am doing the chemo every 2 weeks, I have to get this shot. It brings your white blood cell count back up faster. Normally after chemo, your body reaches a low at around 14 days, then comes back up by the 21rst and your next infusion. So, if you are doing dose dense (DD-every 2 weeks) then you have to have the shot to have those counts back up by the 14th day. It can cause bone pain. Which makes sense, since your blood cells are made in your spine. My blood pressure was still a little high for me, I think 122/80.

The nurse asked how I was yesterday and how I was doing today. I told her. I also told her if I only have to do 1 day of totally down, I guess that isn't so bad. I would rather not have any days where I am totally out though.

Hopefully next time will be even better. I will not be as stressed, I hope. Therefor no headache/nausea ahead of time. So maybe I won't be down and out. I really did not expect to be sick yesterday. I thought it would take a couple of days to hit. And maybe I am a little egotistical. I didn't think I would get that sick. Not sure why I would be so much better than anyone else! I guess my thinking kind of was that when I was pregnant with the girls, I was nauseous twice, never sick. And twin pregnancies are supposed to be worse for that. So logically I should be stronger than that! Boy was I wrong!

There is a girl on the YSC list that is doing the same chemo, same schedule as me. It was funny that today we posted our results from yesterday within a minute of each other! She was fine until about 8 pm. And is better today.

Next go around is March 12.

I actually started writing this this morning, but was distracted a few times. Then when I came back around 7 to finish up, the site was down. It is now 10:45. Off to bed I go!

One down, seven to go.......