It was not so bad at first. Its a large bright room with a lot of reclining chairs and some beds most of which were not occupied when I got there at 9am. There were a few other people but for the most part it was rather quite.
I had a really great nurse. She was able to be upfront with me about the drugs I am on. For one thing, she mentioned that a different type of line into my IV had to be used. I asked if that was due to the fact that the Docitaxil would corrode the lines. She said yes and "Wait till you see what it does to your veins" So, no surprise to me. I don't mind knowing all of that, in fact, I like to be in the know no matter what, especially what is going into my body.
For the first while, saline and steroids went through the lines.
I also took anti nauseant pills before hand as well.
The first chemo drug that I was given was the Docitaxil. As the nurse started the line, my teeth felt funny. I figured it was all in my imagination since there had been a total of two drips in the IV and I know things are instant but I didn't think it would be THAT instant.
The nurse went over to the person next to me. After half a minute I felt my chest tighten and it continued to do that, my face went flush, it felt like it was on fire and my lower back was paining like never before. I could hardly say to Dave to get the nurse. When he did, she stopped the line, I was given some other type of steroid and antihistamine. There were about 4 nurses with me at that point. My oncologist was there with in half a minute or so as well.
My heart went into Atrial Fibrillation. My kidneys felt like they were going to explode.
After a minute or so, all was good again, I was high as a kite and wanted to pass out.
That drug was too much too fast.
After 40 minutes of another steroid and saline, we tried again. This time it was a lot slower and it gradually got up to what it was started at in the first place.
I was so glad that I could take that in the end. For one thing, it is a very mild chemo drug compared to a lot of the others, less chance of a chemo induced cancer and less likely to mess with fertility.
The second was the cyclophosphomide. I had no reaction to that whatsoever. I was told the most I would feel from that is a stuffy nose but I did not even get that.
All and all it was not a bad experience. (except for the beginning) I just kept my mind busy thinking of other things and did not focus on what was going into my body.
I have since had hardly any side effects from the chemo. The most I have had is joint pain that is uncomfortable but not even worth going for the tylenol. Oh, gastroesophageal reflux also but I am finding a smoothie and milk help with.
I am also tired but thats no problem. My mother in law has been looking after Ethan a lot this past week so I can recharge. That has helped soo much.
I was told that my white blood cell count will drop 8 - 15 days after the first treatment. I will have to be careful going out and about since my immune system will not be so great.
I was also told that one side effect from this whole thing that was very common is food aversion. I figured I would get that one since I am a very picky eater as it is and never really get hungry. It has actually been the opposite for me. I can't stop eating and I crave everything.
My next round is the twenty something of this month.
I go for blood work before to check my rbc and wbc etc again. If it is too low, I may have to have a transfusion before I go for the next round. Hopefully it will be just fine.
I was actually quite surprised that all levels were good this past time. I had been told that everything had been low pretty much since my first surgery (the mastectomy) and figured that it for sure would not have gone up much after the c section.
So far this experience is not too bad. One that I obviously would prefer NOT to experience but whatever. Its something different
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