popping in for a quick update. it has been the day from hell physically. the bone pain today was a 15 out of 10 on the pain scale. unbearable. disabling. all i could do is lie down and writhe around, try to shift or get up and stretch and walk around the house, sit in a chair for 3 minutes and then have to lay down again
all of this for someone who spent my early days as an athlete. my life WAS movement and sports
even over the last few years, even though i didn’t play sports anymore, the norm for me was two 5K walks per day at least … and in summer, 2 swims in the ocean or lakes … sometimes 3 swims a day …
nordic pole walking for 90 minutes was a cinch
today i am a different person. i am trying to find a new brenda out of this rubble called my body .. i don’t know where she is, or who she is
she is confused and lost and the pain unthinkable
i had a nurse come by and give me my neupogen injection … side effect … more bone pain
those white blood cells working to build new cells in the bone marrow apparently, HURT like HELL … and i never say the “H” word
i called the cancer agency again, and they are SO fabulous in their rapid response and attempts to help. i feel blessed i chose the victoria centre (for now) …. INCREDIBLE human beings who are brilliant in solutions and who care
the nurse spoke with my oncologist … and they think that even though my chemotherapy dosage was normal for the average person, it may have been too high for someone like me who is so sensitive .. so next time they will reduce the dosage of one of the drugs in the IV …. cannot remember the name of it
and … they will give me some more meds for pain … to take home … no idea what
… today they have put me back on DEX….. another long drug name, which you take right before chemotherapy for a day, and then for two days afterwards
it has steroids in it and an anti-inflammatory
I have some relief tonight for the first time, as a result, and got in a tiny nap
I had not slept for 24 hours as i could not sleep the pain was so bad
this cancer does SUCK and it HURTS LIKE HELL
but … i still KNOW that i made the right decision. this still feels like the right thing to be doing, and i only have to do it THREE MORE TIMES
i am praying for relief from pain, please, OMG, no more pain
love, yeah, love, brenda. love brenda.
Apparently the nupogen causes really bad body pain. I think I heard that the Claritin helps with it, but there’s not much you can do for it. Be careful with the dex. It’s a life saver for the nausea, but has it’s own horrible side effects. It will make you jittery and cause insomnia, so I only ever took it the day of chemo and the next day, along with a sleeping pill. Also, if you’re on ondansetron, lactulose is your friend. And I’m serious. I can’t remember if the dex blocks you up too. I ended up with crazy amounts of stomach acid, which they think was caused by the dex, so I ended up on tecta to help control that. These meds work really well, but you often need other meds to cover their side effects, which is really frustrating. Hope you are feeling better soon.
Thank You Sarah, for taking the time to write, and my apologies for my delayed response. Everything is in slow motion on my “to do” lists, it seems and that included this blog. Although, today is my day to work on this blog, and to fix it all up, to hopefully encourage even more conversations, for me to spend more time here.
Thanks for your helpful tips! I am sorry you had to go through all of this too, but I am happy you can help others on their journey now as a result.
Yes, I was aware that Neupogen could cause some bone pain as a side effect. And it did cause pain. Unfortunately, mine was a 15/10 and unbearable, intolerable, excruciating … I don’t even have enough strong words to describe it.
BUT the good news is, I know I am in good hands with the BC Cancer Agency Vancouver Island (Victoria) Centre … and they did everything they could over the phone, to assist me in getting feeling better, and to reduce pain levels as quickly as possible. What an awesome team they have, and a superb level of professional medical service and compassionate care.
WE will also have a new plan in place for my next round of chemotherapy (next week) to hopefully minimize discomfort. Regarding all the other medications, you know your stuff well. LOL. I have tolerated them all exceedingly well, no problems at all. I am sorry you had some difficulties.
The key for all of this breast cancer treatment for me, is to continue to live the healthy lifestyle I did live, pre-cancer diagnosis. as much as possible .. and that has always included lots and lots of fresh fruits, greens and vegetables.
I hope you will come back and comment again! Take good care, and I hope you are well now, and thriving. Love, Brenda