Today, boys and girls, we are going to discuss chemo's side effects. Again, I don't share this post to seek sympathy, but in hopes of giving someone the real deal on my experience. I'm not going to sugar coat it, but I'm also not going to make it sound worse than it is. I have cancer, I'm not dying (oddly I feel confident saying that statement, at least for now).
Day 0: We'll say this is the day before my infusion. On this day, I'm prescribed a steroid to take twice a day. A good patient would know why they are taking what medicines, but I am taking so many, quite honestly I can't keep all their specifics straight (I do have the days and dose down, so I'm not a total idiot). I want to say the steroid is used to help my body not reject the chemo drugs I get during my infusion, a sort of primer perhaps. The side effects of the steroids are an increased appetite and perhaps a boost of energy. I definitely had an increased appetite, but I'm not sure if that was legit or more of a psychosomatic effect. I mean, when someone tells you you will be hungry, maybe we allow ourselves 'permission' to behave in that way.
Day 1: Infusion day. If you missed my post on infusion day, click here. Physically, infusion day is no biggie, just a few needle pokes for blood work, a Pulp Fiction sized needle poke to access my port and a lot of sitting around. Along with trips to the bathroom because of all the fluids you receive during treatment. The chemo drugs I am taking are called Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin. I don't know the doses of these drugs but I believe they are based off of my weight. I asked the nurse where on the chemo tier my drugs fell and she said I was receiving a moderate chemo, as far as side effects go.
Also, during the infusion you are given several other drugs through your port, all aimed at helping your body not reject the chemotherapy. Benadryl was one, but I believe I also got some additional steroids, some fluid, and a shot of something else. Interesting fact: one drug I took at the beginning of my infusion I could instantly taste in my mouth. Sort of reminded me of the time in high school I took a shot of Everclear (shout out to my high school buddy Sarah and my sister)! Gosh, you only do that once, although it appears I will be doing that 5 more times as I finish up my 6 cycles of chemo.
Day 2: You'd think I'd feel yucky on day 2, but you'd be wrong. Day 2 was a good day. I guess chemo is a slow poison, so it takes awhile to get to work. My nurse practitioner explained it to me like this: chemo is an avalanche. It wipes everything out that is in it's way. It wipes out the aggressive cancer cells that could be floating around, and it also wipes out any other fast growing cells in your body, hence the hair loss, digestive changes, and some of the other chemo side effects. Chemo affects all fast growing cells, but it isn't exactly able to target just the bad cells. It basically busts up the entire party, instead of just removing the few obnoxious drunks.
On day two, I have to go back to the hospital exactly 24 hours after my infusion to receive a shot called Neulasta. This shot basically goes in and revives any survivors of the avalanche. The nurse who gave me the shot mentioned something about it stirs up something in your bone marrow (which means extreme body aches starting Day 3) and helps you produce the white blood cells you lost from your infusion. I also continue to take steroids on day 2, along with anti nausea medicine, a Claritan (I forget why) and start taking an Aleve every 8 hours. Really, there are no side effects present on Day 2.
Day 3: Just when you think you may come out of the treatment unscathed, Day 3 in the afternoon is when I notice I'm starting to feel a little off. The aches start to set in. I really didn't have a lot of nausea at this point, at least nothing like they show in the movies, but I am encouraged to take the 2 different nausea medicines they give me prophylactically. I also continue to take Aleve every 8 hours (or more honestly every 6 hours because those whole warning labels on those packages are really just suggestions, right? Remember, this blog isn't about what you should do, I'm just telling you what I do). Another side effect I remembered on Day 3 is this is when the extreme night sweats started. We are talking I wake up and my pillow is wet, my pajamas are wet and the bed is wet. I had chills, but I'm not sure if those were legitimately the chills or if I was cold because I was sweating so much. I'm writing this post at 4:17am on Day 8 and I have gotten up at 3:30am every morning since Day 3. So I'm not sure how, but chemo definitely affects your sleep pattern as well.
Day 4: BOOM! This is the chemo day you see in the movies. I had just slight nausea but the body aches are in full force. And we are talking an body ache like I've never experienced before. Everything hurts. If I had hair, I know that would have even hurt. This day is when I truly felt like a Survivor, this chemo bitch is serious! I know they say Survivor referring to cancer, but I also think that term is very appropriate for Day 4 of chemo. On this day, I took a total of 4 naps all between the time I woke up and the time I went to bed at 7 pm. The level of exhaustion is indescribable. I was too tired to watch tv or check Facebook. I literally just laid in a dark room with my head under the covers all day. The night sweats/chills continue.
Day 5: For me, I started to see some progress the afternoon of Day 5. I didn't feel great by any means, but I didn't feel like I wasn't going to make it. I still had night sweats/chills but they seem to be getting less frequent and less intense. The body aches are still present, but easing up a bit. The exhaustion level is still extremely high, but not to the debilitating point it was on Day 4. On day 5 I experienced a bit more nausea than before, but perhaps I got a little over confident and eased up on the nausea meds thinking I was out of the woods. Won't make that mistake again.
Day 6: Day 6 is again a day of improving. In fact, I felt well enough to do a little shopping with mom and pick Mason up from preschool. I did have some stomach cramping and some slight diarrhea on this day, but perhaps it was due to the poop cocktail (Miralax and apple juice) I had the day before. I didn't feel constipated, but I went several days without dropping the kids off at the pool, so I wanted to make sure I didn't get constipated. I do know one of the side effects of one type of chemo is diarrhea and another chemo has a side effect of constipation. So, I'm not sure what caused this little hiccup.
I also developed a canker sore in my mouth and thrush. I know, I'm a hot mess! Thrush is basically a yeast infection in your mouth. Thrush and mouth sores are a very common side effect. Our mouths are dirty and eating can create a bit of trauma in your mouth. Most people can get a minor scrape in their mouth and your body automatically fights any minute infection that develops (aren't our bodies amazing?!). My body cannot battle infection right now, which is why there is an overgrowth of yeast and mouth sores. I've been trying to do a baking soda/salt mouth rinse a few times a day to help avoid these symptoms, but obviously I wasn't doing it enough. I've since started another medication to help with the thrush.
Day 7: Aside from the thrush, some very mild nausea and just a bit of tiredness, I certainly feel like I'm on the mend and experienced the worst part of the chemo cycle. I'd say I am running on 80% and considering where I came from, that is truly a gift! I did have a random nose bleed today, but luckily it was stopped within 3 minutes and didn't hurt at all. Chemo dries up your mucus membranes and dries your skin out terribly bad, so I think that was the reason for the nose bleed.
Okay, enough of class for today. Wishing that everyone who reads this blog lives today to the fullest. Be grateful for your health. Take advantage of being healthy enough to play with your kids or love on your spouse.
