The charming Dr. David Hedley is so reassuring and positive. We were there last Wednesday to see when the chemo would start. It is official, it starts tomorrow.
Every one is so supportive. But truth be told, no one really knows what to expect. Everyone is different, and reacts differently. I guess future posts will shed light on that.
We were given prescriptions that require me to take about 150 pills before going in for chemo. They all have a purpose, like preventing nausea. There is also a prescription in case I get diarrhea. The instructions for that one are very simple. The moment you feel cramps or have diarrhea, you start taking these pills at the rate of 1 or 2 every 2 hours round the clock. And I complain about not being able to sleep now.
A bit of apprehension. A bit of confusion. The unknown of what is about to happen is disquieting at best.
We also saw a psychologist in the morning. I have never seen one before. She looked great. We spent the hour getting to know one another. She asked a lot of questions, and we provided a lot of answers. The answers would have been a lot more difficult to provide if it wasn’t for this blog. I felt like saying to her that we could save a lot of time if she were just to read this blog.
We talked about all sorts of stuff including family history, and some stuff that I have talked about once or twice and only with Janet. I think it was a good session. At the very least, we have someone to turn to if we get really confused.
I slept really badly last night. I usually wake up every two hours to go to the washroom, and usually fall asleep when I get back to bed. Emptying the colostomy bag creates a more serious issue. First, the bag keeps you awake when it starts filling up. Emptying it takes about 10 minutes, and requires a certain amount of concentration. The result is that I am wide awake at the end of the operation. I get up, play on the computer, read articles, and try to sleep again. Nothing doing last night.
We get home from the hospital and I have a huge headache. I decided to sleep it off, but it does not work. I finally get up and take a couple of Tylenol 1. They take about an hour to kick in.
The oncologist also prescribed a drug called Lorazepam to calm me down enough that I should be able to fall asleep. Sleep is important. Makes you heal better and handle the chemo drugs more effectively.
Have not had this much fun in years!
I had forgotten the site name, until the recent email from Janet. I have been reading some of your posts. I think once you get over this you should collect some of these and put it into a book as your journey. A lot of times cancer patients love to read about someone else’s journey. I did, I read a diary by a breast cancer survivor and it was nice. Maybe even write down all the little frustrating and funny things that happen when you first learn to empty the colostomy bag, must be something to write about , huh?
I guess I am assuming today you got your intravenous chemo, or is it just pills. I do remember the headache after the chemo. My biggest discomfort was the scalp the whole time. What is the worse part for you?
By the time you read this it’s middle of the night or the next morning. I hope the headache is gone.
I too had to learn to slow down. My afternoon naps became so sacred.
I got really cold while the chemo was running. How was it for you?
I also had to learn to eat smaller portions the first days after the chemo. The anti nausea meds worked great. Although I didn’t have to take a pill for it, it was mixed into the chemo solution I believe.
You know what I looooved, were Thai soups, after the chemo, maybe because they have ginger and they help settle the stomach. Tell me if you have any.
You know the fun is just starting. Some people smoke pot to help with the nausea. There is a show “Desperate Housewives” , yeah I am sure you don’t watch it, there was an episode where one of the wives was going through chemo and she was sooo sick, and wouldn’t smoke pot, so a friend put it in a cookie, and then she was happy. No I didn’t have to resort to pot!!!