Treatment #2

This process is like a roller coaster. Your emotions are up and down, your energy levels are up and down, and each day is different from the previous day. My treatments are every other Thursday. I almost start feeling normal on day 10 after treatment and then it is time to do it again. My husband had to go out of town for business on the day of treatment #2 so my daughter went with me. She stayed during the exam and bloodwork and helped me make sure my cap was on properly. We still have covid protocols at the treatment center so no one is able to stay during the actual treatment. I didn’t bring so much stuff this time because I was planning to sleep like I did last time. I had a different nurse this time and she seemed unsure about the Paxman machine. She hooked me up to the machine and started the Ativan. She kept checking the machine and asking me questions as well as the other nurses. After the 30 minute pre-cooling time she started the other drugs which take about 45 minutes. It was painful again for the first 10-15 minutes but this time the Ativan didn’t make me sleepy. I was awake through the entire treatment. After the drugs were infused I asked to go to the restroom so she unhooked me from the Paxman machine but when I got back to my seat I didn’t see the nurse. I had to wait almost 15 minutes before someone hooked me back up. I was so anxious because I knew the drugs were going through my system and my scalp wasn’t cool. Finally after trying to hook myself up someone came over to help. During the 90 minute post cool I was very anxious and restless. It was a long treatment. My sister volunteered to pick me up and stay with me for a couple of days. The first day I was a little loopy from the drugs so I don’t remember much. The day after treatment I felt okay. We were able to eat lunch with my daughter since it was her 26th birthday. We had to go back to the Dr office after lunch to get a shot to increase my white blood cell count. We stopped by a local farm to pick tulips because we were expecting frost the next day that could kill them. They were beautiful and definitely brightened up the living room. Saturday I was really tired and we watched movies all day. By Sunday I was so tired I could not stay awake. My sister went home and I slept most of the day and night. Fortunately by Monday I started to get some energy back. I was feeling a little queasy and my tastebuds were still a little weird. One of the things I enjoyed was sherbet. The sour and cold felt really good to my dry mouth. Eating small frequent meals help along with the salt/baking soda rinse. By Thursday I had the mouth sores again. So I definitely have a pattern of side effects. By the following weekend my energy was almost back to normal. This week was really hard because I started shedding a lot of hair. I decided to write a separate post about that. I also had an ultrasound on my neck and it was determined that I had a blood clot near the port. I will write a separate post on that as well to stress the importance self advocacy. The journey continues….