Whew - holy shit, I have been a nervous wreck all day worrying about this first appointment!! We met with the oncologist to hear about and sign a waiver stating that I know all the bad stuff that can happen to me for using chemo drugs. I asked her opinion of me working through chemo. She hesitated (that was my answer!) and said slowly, "Yes, you can work and many people do. However, there will eventually come a point where you are going to need to stop and rest. You are going to get exhausted and it will get worse and worse as you go along with the treatment." So, now there's that to worry about. Then, we met with the chemo nurse for about an hour to go over everything from nausea control to identifying dangerous symptoms to using reiki for well-being. She was very thorough! My hands were sweating like crazy in anticipation.
Accessing the port was a little less horrible than I thought it would be. There is definitely pressure, but no pain. Then, I got 3 separate bags of anti-nausea meds and steroids as my "pre-medication". Today's major drug was the Adrianmycin, which is the one that can cause heart failure and leukemia. It also will cause my hair to fall out in 10-14 days. So, I marked that on my calendar. I wouldn't want to accidentally miss that fun day! This wonderful, crappy drug is bright red and causes me to pee bright red. That was startling. She had to push that med in with a syringe. My port kept getting clogged or some weird suction thing was happening. She explained it to me in detail, but I completely didn't let any of her words into my brain because it was freaking me out. I hope Dave can re-explain it to me later. So, to unclog my port I had to keep turning and coughing really hard. Then I would feel a crazy rush into my heart. I did not like that feeling. The last bag of meds is one of the other chemo drugs. All in all, the whole cocktail took about 2 hours total. Not long at all.
Oh, and I don't want to forget this little gem: Apparently my bodily fluids are now so toxic, that I should flush the toilet twice and if I get any of my bodily fluids on my clothes, I should launder them separately! I will try not to pee my pants. Cleaning up vomit may take a haz-mat team.
They told me that the Adrianmycin has the tendency to make people very sick and vomit. They heavily medicated me with anti-nausea drugs. I was able to eat dinner and give the boys a bath, but I am going to be honest, I feel intense sickness creeping up. They told me to take all the extra nausea meds as soon as I have this feeling. I think I need to do it. They warned that if I wait until I'm puking, it will take too long for the meds to kick in.
And, the steroids are supposed to keep me awake and jittery all night. Cool. Maybe that's the real reason chemo patients are tired all the time.
Taking the anti-nausea meds now.....
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