Pages

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Just Throwing This Out (Up?) There

I'll get back to the naming poll in a short while. In the meantime, week 4 is over. It went pretty well except for the radiation burns (dermatitis) that are really starting to chafe. The other side effects are increasing too. A pretty common one is dehydration - I wake up with cotton-mouth and my blood pressure has been low. The nurses asked if i want i.v. fluids to re-hydrate, but I've passed so far, opting to drink more, or "push the fluids." The problem with that is that the fluids push back.

Another side effect is nausea. I've been taking pre-emptive anti-emetics for this and so far, so good. They've prescribed three lines of anti-emetics.

"Take Kytril. If you still have nausea and vomiting, use Prochlorper. And if that doesn't work, use Lorazepam. If that doesn't work, we'll give you a new prescription.
The fourth line anti-emetic, Emend, is the one that actually works, but they don't prescribe that initially because it's too expensive (according to my infectious disease physician friend). Unfortunately, they don't prescribe Marinol. But that would be the best thing for cancer patients who are losing weight because one of the side effects is the munchies.

One of my friends, a mother of three, said about the side effects, "It sounds a lot like pregnancy." So, I have diarrhea, nausea, and exhaustion in common with pregnant women, and the radiation burns maybe feels like having an episiotomy. But the main difference is that I don't get a shower.


"I have a tumor."
"Oh wow. Where are you registered?"
"Tumors R Us, Bye Bye Cancer, and Target."

7 comments:

  1. Given the radiation burns, shouldn't you register at Sears?

    ReplyDelete
  2. "I wake up with cotton-mouth and my blood pressure has been low."

    You just described my college years.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 4 down 2 to go. Kill the MF.

    ReplyDelete
  4. the tumor that is. tho it sounds like they're doing a good job on your tattoo as well. hang tough.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Waking up with Cotton Mouth isn't normal?

    Shame a more home grown remedy isn't readily available...

    Best of luck...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for clarifying, OWNTF. I thought you were encouraging the demise of one of I-270's docs.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Prochlorper sounds like a cure that's worse than the problem. Are you sure these doctors are trying to help?

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.