Well, I’ve sat through my first treatment.
The day was filled with drugs. There were three drugs before I even started chemo – a quick-acting anti-nausea drug, a longer-acting anti-nausea drug, and a steroid.
Then the actual chemo drugs.
And tomorrow, I need a drug that will boost my immune system so I can go out into world without huge infection risks – but instead of making me come back to the hospital for a shot, they have attached a pod to my arm that administers the drug 26 hours after being activated. It’s going to beep at me, then push medicine into my arm, then shut down so I can take it off. I thought this was really interesting, although maybe it’s old technology that everyone else already knew about. 🙂
Meanwhile, I am *not* enjoying the steroid reaction, and I’m completely baffled about how people ever get addicted to this. Granted, I am not trying to bulk up my muscle mass and win athletic competitions, so maybe I don’t feel the benefits appropriately. But what I do feel is VERY AWAKE, and not in a good way. It’s like when you really need sleep, but for some reason force yourself awake using extreme amounts of coffee. So you’re wide awake, and kind of edgy, but other parts of you are still aware that you need rest and are keen to sleep. I have a short attention span. I’m crabby. I’m hiding in my room writing this post while my mother is taking care of my kids.
AWESOME.
Now I know why they sent me home with yet another drug that is good for anti-nausea, but which has as a side effect “makes you very sleepy” and told me to take it every night when I have steroids onboard. Normally, I hate drugs that make me sleepy, won’t take them. Tonight I will totally take the stupid pill.
So many pharmaceuticals in my system.
On the other hand, I’m beating cancer, and I’m not nauseous. So the bright side is pretty darn blindingly bright.
And I enjoyed getting pictures from people at PI Planning. I miss everyone, more than you might think 🙂 Hopefully, I will be back at work soon!!
K