When laying on the table being prepped for the surgery I requested a sedative Ativan and am soooo thankful that I did. It does not make me a wuss or say anything about my tolerance to pain...after all I recovered from a colon resection surgery and all 29 staples. It relaxed me just enough to endure the numerous needles for local anesthetic, the suturing process, the intense pushing and prodding as they threaded the catheter into the superior vena cava (or a really large main vein)...and there was a couple of times where I could feel the suturing.
When all was done a chest xray confirmed that things were fine and I was released.
So now I am recovering at home...a little groggy from the Ativan and SORE from the incisions... Especially when i turn my heck. So i won't turn my head today. Straightforward looking only.
They left the PICC line until my next treatment this Thursday to ensure that the port is working properly for the chemo nurses. If so a visit back to DI to have it removed.
The port will stay in for about a year or so (hopefully not to be used again for future chemo) but the scars will remain...like a badge of honour.
Oh Dave, Dave, Dave - I apologize for not calling since my recent trip to Ontario, I got back the day before chemo and it has been a bit of a whirlwind since then. I am so glad you have started a blog - I find it incredibly therapeutic and I know you will too. And you do a MUCH better job of explaining the medical aspects of what you are going through than I ever did. I can't begin to tell you how similar our experiences with FOLFOX have been. Unlike you, the heart burn didn't start for me until this last round - and man has it been tough, I totally underestimated how bad it was for you when you were describing it. The hiccups are a funny kind of side effect that I never expected, but I definitely get them more than I ever did before my surgery. And I absolutely howled when I read about the constant pee-breaks during chemo, that is SO true.
ReplyDeleteDave, thanks so much for including me on your blog - it means a lot to me. Please know that I have gotten through 12 rounds of FOLFOX and it's weird how fast the time has passed, (it flies when you are having fun, you know)and it will for you too. Just keep sleeping as much as you can and don't be shy with the Ativan - it is a good friend to have right now.
Finally, it really struck me again when I read about your diagnosis happening so close to the wedding and Victoria's pregnancy. I really can't get over how much I could relate - it seems like JUST when life was changing for for the best, right when we should be happier than ever before in our lives - along comes canser to bring us back to reality. Well, all I have to say that is "Bring it On" - because WE have more reasons than ever before to WIN - and WIN WE WILL.
Thinking good thoughts for you and about you,
B~~
Barb, Barb, Barb...you NEVER need to apologize to me for not calling or for anything to be honest. It goes without saying that even if it may be some days or weeks or months that pass before we call, post on our blogs, send messages or communicate in any way we are collectively (and I will now include Nancy in the "collective") thinking of each other and sending positive energy through the cosmos.
ReplyDeleteI am so thrilled for you that you have made it through the 12 treatments the way you have...like I said before it was journalling of your journey that inspired me to do the same. And you are bang-on, Barb the side effects although unique for everyone in the way we respond to the treatments are also so shared an experience. I guess because it is early for me being only 4 treatments in but I still cannot entirely figure out or plan for all the different side effects and know which one is going to hit, when, and with what intensity. For example, this time around the sensory neuropathy is really bad and I an soo sensitive to cold from fingers to tongue to toes. Oh well...it is what it is.