M
MARIPOSA
Guest
OK, so far things are going well. During the bone scan yesteday they finished the initial procedure then came back into the room and asked me if I had ever had a fractured hip??? Not that I know of, but the past several weeks I've had intermittent pain in the back top of my hip. Wonder what that means? we'll find out when I see the scan results. I was able to drive to and from this procedure cuz you experience no side effects other than a very full bladder from all the fluids you must drink between the time they injected the radioactive dye and 3 hours later when they begin the actual scan. This is to get a good reading, as well as to flush out the excess dye that does not get absorbed directly into the bones. The scan took a total of about 30 minutes and was a breeze. And no, I did not glow in the dark last night. LOL
I got my chemo teaching session during that 3 hour wait period after the dye injection. Just walking into the infusion center made me feel like crying. It's a wonderfully nurturing atmosphere and I adore the staff, but Gosh, I never thought I'd be back there again. This time it looked so 'hospital'' like. Not as cheerful, but guess that's cuz I wasn't feeling cheerful myself. Seems I'll be in the infusion center EVERY week for one of the drugs, Taxal. The treatment cycle is 3 weeks of infusion, and LOTS of labs the 4th week. Glad I am having a port and they won't have to stick me every time. I will need to come in 2 hours early before each session (or I could come in the day before) to have labs done to see if my white counts are high enough to have the treatment. Only after you "pass" do they prepare your chemo cocktail. This week my counts are great so no need for labs, cuz I had them all done a few days ago. The second drug will be added to next weeks treatment. One new feature the oncology department has added is a VIP card, with my patient ID info on it, for if I ever experience signs of any kind of infection ~ tempurature over 100 degrees, any time night or day~. I show this cart at emergency and they will see me within an hour, as opposed to the standard 4 hr wait. Cool. Just pray that I never need to use this wonderful new service!
Today I had one of my molars pulled and it was a piece of cake, My white counts were so high that I didn't even need any (just in case) antibiotics. BUT, I just got home and took the recommended Vicoden. Not sure what I'll feel like once the novacane wears off and the vicaden kicks in! I'll probably be real dopey then. Great~~~ when hubby gets home to take me to another class and then to vote I'll probably be a zombie. LOL My dentist decided to pull the one on the other side tomorrow, instead of doing both of them at one time. He said my system would tolerate it better. I'm OK with that. Glad I have a ride. My buddy Bill drove me today. Thanks Bill. Last night I picked up my Kozy shack tapioca pudding, lots of jello (I love to drink it before it solidifies), chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes & gravy, applesauce, mandarin oranges, mac and cheese & oatmeal. Not sure how my blood sugar level is going to react to this temporary diet, but tomorrow chewing protein is going to be a challenge. I'll save my pea soup for tomorrow cuz today shouldn't be a problem if I'm careful. These foods will all taste great when the nausea kicks in from chemo as well. Funny note * this morning I had a Whopper cuz it is my favorite food and I thought it would be the last thing I would be chewing for several days. LOL Think tonight I'll have some chicken tenders or fish sticks. yumm
This afternoon I need a teaching session on the port that I'll be getting on Thursday. I'm very curious about this procedure. The nurse mentioned that I will get a 'numbing cream' before she inserts the needle in the site. Guess it will hurt a bit, but I'm sure not like an IV directly in my arm. I learned yesterday that inserting a port for those undergoing weekly chemo infusion is now standard procedure. Good thing. My poor veins would not tolerate this tough treatment every week very well. I also got a prescription for several medications that I will take the day before and then again a few hours before the infusion. these help prevent any complications. Smart huh, I love it when my staff is proactive with my health. So far everyone has been wonderful, returning my calls promptly and answering my 101 questions. I finally got smart, I fax the list of questions to them and they do their research and call me back with the answers. LOL
Well, glad my brain cooperated while I wrote this. Now it's time for a nap. The first of many, I'm sure.
Oh, just a note on a very fascinating phenomenon. You know that problem I've been experiencing in my rt eye? well, if I close my eyes I have my very own personal light show. In the sunlight the center of my 'rainbow" is solid blue. In the shade it is orange. During my bone scan and at the dentist today it was completely shades of blue with the most gorgeous brilliant outline around it. Actually, when the dentist was drilling the whole thing lit up a bright yellow! LOL The outline of the problem area is in the shape of a face, with a very large nose and a mouth. Very interesting. wonder if it will change shapes or color in the days to come. I'll keep ya posted. so far I can still drive with no problem whatsoever, thank God. I just have to try to focus on the clear parts of my vision, which is all but an eighth of my vision field.
Seems like if I don't think about the whole big picture or probabilities and remind myself what a huge army of people love and support me I do much better and don't stress as much. So I just focus on each day, each procedure, one at a time. And I relax like crazy in between. Isn't that a paradox, working at relaxing. LOL
PS Deana, today at the dentist office when I closed my eyes and everything turned a gorgeous blue, then a bright yellow it was very easy to picture us on that sandy beach in the Caribbean with the water waiter asking us "what would you two lovely ladies like to order today?"
Until tomorrow, hugs, Mari
I got my chemo teaching session during that 3 hour wait period after the dye injection. Just walking into the infusion center made me feel like crying. It's a wonderfully nurturing atmosphere and I adore the staff, but Gosh, I never thought I'd be back there again. This time it looked so 'hospital'' like. Not as cheerful, but guess that's cuz I wasn't feeling cheerful myself. Seems I'll be in the infusion center EVERY week for one of the drugs, Taxal. The treatment cycle is 3 weeks of infusion, and LOTS of labs the 4th week. Glad I am having a port and they won't have to stick me every time. I will need to come in 2 hours early before each session (or I could come in the day before) to have labs done to see if my white counts are high enough to have the treatment. Only after you "pass" do they prepare your chemo cocktail. This week my counts are great so no need for labs, cuz I had them all done a few days ago. The second drug will be added to next weeks treatment. One new feature the oncology department has added is a VIP card, with my patient ID info on it, for if I ever experience signs of any kind of infection ~ tempurature over 100 degrees, any time night or day~. I show this cart at emergency and they will see me within an hour, as opposed to the standard 4 hr wait. Cool. Just pray that I never need to use this wonderful new service!
Today I had one of my molars pulled and it was a piece of cake, My white counts were so high that I didn't even need any (just in case) antibiotics. BUT, I just got home and took the recommended Vicoden. Not sure what I'll feel like once the novacane wears off and the vicaden kicks in! I'll probably be real dopey then. Great~~~ when hubby gets home to take me to another class and then to vote I'll probably be a zombie. LOL My dentist decided to pull the one on the other side tomorrow, instead of doing both of them at one time. He said my system would tolerate it better. I'm OK with that. Glad I have a ride. My buddy Bill drove me today. Thanks Bill. Last night I picked up my Kozy shack tapioca pudding, lots of jello (I love to drink it before it solidifies), chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes & gravy, applesauce, mandarin oranges, mac and cheese & oatmeal. Not sure how my blood sugar level is going to react to this temporary diet, but tomorrow chewing protein is going to be a challenge. I'll save my pea soup for tomorrow cuz today shouldn't be a problem if I'm careful. These foods will all taste great when the nausea kicks in from chemo as well. Funny note * this morning I had a Whopper cuz it is my favorite food and I thought it would be the last thing I would be chewing for several days. LOL Think tonight I'll have some chicken tenders or fish sticks. yumm
This afternoon I need a teaching session on the port that I'll be getting on Thursday. I'm very curious about this procedure. The nurse mentioned that I will get a 'numbing cream' before she inserts the needle in the site. Guess it will hurt a bit, but I'm sure not like an IV directly in my arm. I learned yesterday that inserting a port for those undergoing weekly chemo infusion is now standard procedure. Good thing. My poor veins would not tolerate this tough treatment every week very well. I also got a prescription for several medications that I will take the day before and then again a few hours before the infusion. these help prevent any complications. Smart huh, I love it when my staff is proactive with my health. So far everyone has been wonderful, returning my calls promptly and answering my 101 questions. I finally got smart, I fax the list of questions to them and they do their research and call me back with the answers. LOL
Well, glad my brain cooperated while I wrote this. Now it's time for a nap. The first of many, I'm sure.
Oh, just a note on a very fascinating phenomenon. You know that problem I've been experiencing in my rt eye? well, if I close my eyes I have my very own personal light show. In the sunlight the center of my 'rainbow" is solid blue. In the shade it is orange. During my bone scan and at the dentist today it was completely shades of blue with the most gorgeous brilliant outline around it. Actually, when the dentist was drilling the whole thing lit up a bright yellow! LOL The outline of the problem area is in the shape of a face, with a very large nose and a mouth. Very interesting. wonder if it will change shapes or color in the days to come. I'll keep ya posted. so far I can still drive with no problem whatsoever, thank God. I just have to try to focus on the clear parts of my vision, which is all but an eighth of my vision field.
Seems like if I don't think about the whole big picture or probabilities and remind myself what a huge army of people love and support me I do much better and don't stress as much. So I just focus on each day, each procedure, one at a time. And I relax like crazy in between. Isn't that a paradox, working at relaxing. LOL
PS Deana, today at the dentist office when I closed my eyes and everything turned a gorgeous blue, then a bright yellow it was very easy to picture us on that sandy beach in the Caribbean with the water waiter asking us "what would you two lovely ladies like to order today?"
Until tomorrow, hugs, Mari
