I had the 2nd infusion a week ago yesterday. The side effects I had over the weekend were very minor: cotton-mouth and the beginnings of the chemo headache. Dr. Bekbaht said I should take the Zofran (anti-nausea) pre-emptively so I took one Saturday night although I did not even have a hint of greasiness or nausea. I took another one Sunday morning because we were going to a 50th Anniversary party and I didn't want any problem. Again I didn't even have the hint of queasiness so did not take another one - absolutely no problem. I did have the chemo headache with eyes aching for three and a half days - Sunday through Wednesday mid-day. Constipation seems to go with the weekend following the infusion and I have mastered it by stopping taking the iron pill and upping the Phillips Milk of Magnesia pills to two for the weekend. Then I am back on schedule and can resume the iron pill without having any difficulty. Nothing since and no other symptoms of side-effects. I know I am fortunate - Dave says I may be one of those people who breezes through this. I hope so but am not expecting to go through all six infusions without something else going on.
Because I could not stay on Norvasc for high blood pressure, my primary doctor switched me to Clonidine. I am on .2 mg morning and night. It is really doing a terrific job. When my labs were checked on Thursday, my blood pressure was 120/60 with a heartrate of 74 (after some walking) This is terrific in light of the fact that the Avastin (bevacizumab) will increase my BP over time. The rest of my labs were also good - WBC 2.7; RBC 13.4 and 40.5. The platelets were still in the acceptable range but lower than before this last infusion, at 101. It is normal during chemo for platelets to go down.
We went down to Fort Collins on Thursday, ran some errands and ate dinner with Judy and family. I had worn my wig the first time we saw the kids after my haircut. I decided to wear a tied scarf cap on Thursday and the kids simply were terrific! They liked the cap and were very matter-of-fact about it. Then I asked Vivian if she would like to see my buzz cut (it has grown to over 1/4" since I had it cut off). She did want to - liked the haircut and ran her fingers over my very short hair. Sid touched my head, too, but didn't seem interested in running his fingers through it. They both are terrific about what I am experiencing and I love their casualness about it.
I am feeling very well - not experiencing fatigue. I continue to go to PT (Medicare is paying for another two weeks) for leg strength, cardiovascular improvement and shoulder/upper arm strength. The first exercise I do is the recumbent stepper. I love that machine - no impact on my knees but it helps me strengthen my knees and legs. I can really feel the difference. Also, it does NOT hurt my back. I am up to resistance of 3/4 for 15 minutes. For the shoulder/upper arm strengthening, I do exercises with 1#, 2# and 3# weights. I no longer have the upper arm/shoulder pain I had for which I initially started this PT. One of our errands Thursday was to pick up 1#, 2# and 3# weights at the SNIAGRAB sale from Sports Authority. I bought two sets so I can balance the weight lifting. I hope to continue at least two days of PT throughout my chemo. After next week I will have have to pay for the use of the recumbent stepper - $5.00 for 1/2 hour. Not bad!!
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