Second Chemotherapy Session

 

Friday July 17 2020 Second Chemotherapy Session

So this was the first time I had had both drugs, paclitaxel and carboplatin. It was quite a procedure. First I had steroids and anti sickness;- then some saline solution;- then a drug to settle the stomach;- then some more saline solution;- then the first drug that would take 3 hours to drip through;-  then a flush of saline then finally the last drug that would take just over half an hour;-  then a flush of saline;-  then I could go home. It all took about 6 hours. Luckily I did not have any nasty side effects. I read mostly. I managed just about to negotiate going to the loo without bumping into too many things with my trolly of drips which had a clear bag for saline and a red bag for drugs. It is the sort of thing I have seen in movies and never in a million years thought I would be doing it. I bashed my needle on one of trips to the loo and they had to re-dress it Oooops It was sticking out at a jaunty angle! 

Lots of machines beeping and buzzing. My machine was continually pulsing and buzzing hypnotically next to me. It was quite relaxing I could have almost dropped off to sleep at one point. After getting home I felt I was weeing for Wales. There was so much liquid in me that needed to come out!

The next day still full of steroids I felt fine and we went for a lovely walk to visit a series of waterfalls. The only drawback being that when I walked up hill I was incredibly breathless. It felt a different kind of breathless to when I had fluid on my lungs. Strange.

I was so relieved that I did not have an averse reaction to the drugs. I know now that the steroids obviously helped a lot too. I was feeling a bit spaced out but that was it. I would take a steroid the next day and then back on the paracetamol. By Monday I had realised that the paracetamol was not really helping so I thought to ring the doctor for a stronger painkiller. She prescribed co-codomol and also a laxative loxido because the co-codomol would make me constipated. So I took them on Tuesday but felt really uncomfortable with constipation all day.

The next day I went back to paracetamol because I was so dehydrated and uncomfortable with the co-codomol. Codeine doesn't agree with me. There then followed three horrendous days of constipation where it felt like I was trying to give birth the pain was so bad before and after the moment. Halleluiah I hope this never happens again! ! ! By Friday things had eased up a bit and I was heading the other way. A couple of days of watery moments and then by Monday I was pretty close to normal. The constipation had eclipsed all other pains so when it went away I was so relieved.

The paracetamol was doing the trick once more. I was exhausted by a week of pain of one sort or another. By this time my stomach had almost gone back to its normal size. The fluid in my abdomen had gone. I was still sleeping half sitting up but it felt like the fluid in my lungs had also gone. I had lost another half stone and was just over 8 stone now. I promised myself I would go on a mission to eat as much as I could to stop myself from loosing anymore weight.