I am officially halfway through chemo! Woohoo! Last Tuesday I had my sixth of twelve infusions. It felt so great to hit that milestone. It has been such a wild ride these last many months, but I know if I could make it through them, I can make it through the final six.
This last round was pretty rough. Almost immediately after my infusion I began having an allergic reaction to the Cytoxan. About 5 minutes into the drive home my lips began to burn and swell. As the day continued on the swelling and burning sensation only got worse as my lips turned a horrible shade of bright red. One of my eyes lids began to swell as well, but luckily, there was no systemic reaction. I am a bit worried my body is trying to tell me it wants nothing more to do with this drug -- which would be just my luck. lol Allergic reactions can become more sever over time so I am a bit nervous for my next round. I will be talking to my prescribing doctor about this reaction when I see him in two weeks; hopefully he will have some ideas in how we can curb this new allergy.
The rest of the four days following the infusion continued on pretty much the same as always, constant nausea and misery. However, thanks to Cannabis I only puked once! That's right -- once the whole week! It really controls the level of nausea well if you can find the "just right" dosing.
That's it for now! Hugs!
I regularly receive your blog in my email and I wanted to thank you for sharing your journey. I tested positive for SCL70 and ANA two different times but am told I don't have Scleroderma but don't explain why I'm testing positive for the antibodies. So, that's how I stumbled on your blogging site as I try to find answers. The biggest thing is that my 25 year old son has severe Crohn's disease and has had a very rough couple of years. He's very tall and has lost tons of weight, had and has tubes draining various abscesses and fistula's from his abdomen due to a barium/fecal spill from a botched surgery and is about to undergo another one next month. As a mom, it's torture to watch your child (age irrelevant ) be so sick and watch others his age lead normal lives with jobs, marrying and having children. Your blog is always so positive, often amusing as you describe negative ordeals with unique wit and charm. I know there are those moments your readers don't "see" and it's so cool to see some positives happening in your health care to give hope-and that's so important when faced with a severe illness. Now if I could just transfer your positivity to my son I'd be a happier mama! I do talk about you to him...so who knows �� But, thank you! I wish you the best and look forward to reading about more fantastic milestones in your health journey!
ReplyDeleteHello Kelly!
DeleteThank you so much for reading my blog and taking the time to comment! I am so sorry to hear that your son is battling such sever Crohns -- That illness is so devastating. I wish him luck during his next surgery, and through out his battle! You sound like such an incredible mother, and caretaker for him. My Mother is just the same :) I am so glad my blog is able to bring a smile, your kind words definitely brought a smile to me!
On a side note, scleroderma antibodies are a funny thing! They often have false negatives, and false positives. I actually don't have any antibodies for scleroderma! But I do have a positive ANA. Even if your doc says you aren't positive currently for the disease, keep a close eye on symptoms.
Good luck, and big hugs!