FOLFOX Round 1

The first FOLFOX treatment started Tuesday and ended Thursday.  I reacquainted myself with the infusion pump and the little tricks about how to wear it and where to hang it when I sleep or shower.  Overall, this first round went well.  I had just a little of the cold-sensitivity.  My fingertips tingled a little on Tuesday evening, when I took off my gloves outside to make a phone call and again on Wednesday morning in the cold hallway at work.  Yes, I finally put in a full day of work, but I was exhausted at 3:30 PM.  The cold sensitivity didn't last all Wednesday.  I expect that to change, since the side effects can be cumulative.

To pre-empt the nausea, I'm on anti-emetics.  I get i.v. Emend during the infusion (day 1) and take it on day 2 and 3 in the morning.  I also take Kytril in the evening.  With each dose of the enti-emetics, I take dexamethasone to enhance the effect.  Dex is a steriod, so if I start breaking my keyboard, I may have to take a drug test.  I'm not sure how that helps the Emend and the Kytril.  Any pharmacologists out there?

I still have the back-up drug Prochloper, in case I still feel nauseated.  But they steered me away from the Lorezapam.  Lorezapam is the generic for Ativan, the one that gave me hallucinations in the hospital.  It's better that I stay off that.