Turned Out to be a Busy Day
Today started with just two appointments scheduled…an office visit with the radiology oncologist, Dr.Owen and my 22nd radiation treatment. That changed early in the day with the addition of two more appointments.
I received a call back from the medical oncology nurse this morning to talk about my nausea issues. After describing my symptoms and providing her with information about my drug regiment (what I’m actually taking and when), my daily hydration volumes, my appetite and eating habits, and my poo schedule for the past few days, she said she would talk to the doctor and get back to me. She called back within an hour or so with the plan.
Dr Halfdanarson, ordered more blood work to check my levels (the results were posted mid afternoon and most of my levels were good…I seemed to bounce back quicker after this last round of chemo).
He added another anti-nausea drug to my arsenal (it’s a daily dose so I waited to take it at bedtime tonight).
And lastly, I was scheduled for “hydration therapy” for later in the afternoon. I thought, wow….sounds like a little spa time. I should have known better…”hydration therapy” is when the stick an IV in your arm and fill you up with fluids….and then to jazz it up a little the also inject a steroid into the IV. The infusion did perk me up a bit. Jon said he noticed a difference.
I still experienced nausea off and on throughout the day, but it was more at a level 3 than a level 7 or 8. That’s an improvement! I’m hoping the new drug will have it more under control by morning.
The office visit with the radiology oncologist went well. We talked quite a bit about the burning discomfort. She gave me some things to try right away….like switch from toilet paper to baby wipes. She also prescribed a non narcotic pain medication, but I worry about the side effect causing more problems than it fixes. We filled the prescription, but I’ll hold out a little longer before I take any. What I did learn (and maybe I already knew and blocked it out of my mind) was that the last week of radiation was the beginning of the most painful period, and that the burning pain will escalate for about two weeks after radiation ends. I have another appointment on Thursday with the radiology oncologist to talk more about the pain - she wanted to meet again before we left for home.
ONLY 3 RADIATION TREATMENTS LEFT!!!
View from the 8th floor of the Eisenburg building. Beautiful clouds!