I survived my first day of chemo! We got there at 8:30 and I was able to leave at 4:30. It took awhile to get things started, but I was basically in the chair with an IV from 10:15 to 4:30. I was doing fine at first, but then I had a reaction to one of the drugs. Within a matter of minutes, I got a rash all over my body, my ears plugged up, my nose started running and I could hardly swallow. A lot of people react to this drug the first time so they knew what to do! They had to stop it for awhile and then start back up again but go really slow....which is why we were there so long. Hopefully next time is faster! I really like it there though and I met a lot of great people. There were three different things that had to be pushed through the IV and on one of them the nurse said, "And this is what makes hair fall out." It also made me pee turn pink. Hahaha, just what you want to know, right?!
All in all, it was a piece of cake. They do want me to get the PICC line before my next treatment though. A PICC line is a peripherally inserted central catheter. I'll be all numbed up for that and it will make it so that I wont have to go through the misery of having IVs every time I go for treatment. The chemo is really hard on the veins, so they all recommended it. Oh-well, it sure is better than a port!
My energy level started to dive on the way home last night. I managed to make it through our Wednesday night cancer class, but all I could think about was bed. By the time that was over my body was literally aching. I don't think I've ever been so tired! I slept for about 3 hours then woke up with the hiccups. They lasted for about 2 hours! And then I got them again at about 4, so needless to say I haven't slept very well. It's driving me crazy! I read through all of my side effect papers, and that's not one of them, so hopefully it's just a fluke!
I have to go back down to Portland today to get a shot that will help keep my white blood cell count up. The nurse told us it's a $6,000 dollar shot! How do drug companies come up with these crazy numbers?! Although the shot will hopefully prevent me from getting an infection when my counts start to drop, she said I'll most likely experience severe bone and joint pain. Just what I need! It seems like a catch 22 to me!
In fun news, I got another picture from the embryologist! This one is a shot of some of the actual embryos. They have a couple more days of growing before they freeze them. She said they all look great though! Mom, Dad, Jayne and David....your first 9 of who knows how many embryo grand babies!
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