Round 5A - Ding!
Today I had my first round of the new drug herceptin. I will have the second drug on Monday (Taxol).
The reason they split up the drugs for the first time is to see whether or not you have a reaction to either drug. Turns out that is a good thing. Because boy did I have a reaction.
The infusion was 1.5 hours and all was going well, other than the fact that I was very cold (they keep the chemo suite rather cool). About 5 minutes after the infusion stopped the pain started. First it started in my lower abdomen and then circled around to my lower back. It was very hard to describe. It was a throbbing pain that moved around my body and would get worse (like a sharpening pain) and subside slightly. Sort of like contractions, but different.
Sean told the nurses right away so my nurse, Judy, came over and was asking me questions about the pain and the pain scale. I just kept thinking "and they want me to come back again for this"? It was very scary. The pain was also starting to move into my chest.
The first thing they did was give me a shot of Benadryl through my port. That seemed to make me feel worse! I was so woosy, the room was spinning and I couldn't even keep my eyes open. I felt like I was going to pass out. The pain did not get better.
Next was a shot of hydracortisone and some renitadine (zantac). The pain started to slowly subside. But wow, does that Benadryl throw you for a loop.
I think this procedure took about 30 minutes to calm everything down. After another 30 minutes I was free to go home. We got home about 1:45. I was alseep by 2:00 p.m. for 3 hours.
So apparently, now that they know I have this reaction they will make sure that I have all of the above mentioned drugs before they infuse the next herceptin (and Taxol for that matter).
Now that I am home I am to potentially expect flu symptoms in the next 24 hours (such as chills, fever, etc.). We'll see what happens.
On a brighter note, the Aerosmith concert in Michigan was awesome. I was very disappointed with the seats we had because we weren't nearly as close as we have been in the past. The seat location was such a letdown, but Steven was awesome. And no, I didn't get backstage.
But there will always be a next time.......
A big thank you to Mike for driving me to the concert. Also a huge thank you to Janine, Diane (Mike's Mom), Keaton and Terran. Mike left behind a very sick Keaton for them to deal with all day while he was with me. I know how tough it was for Mike to do that. I am very thankful to you all.
Love CJ
The reason they split up the drugs for the first time is to see whether or not you have a reaction to either drug. Turns out that is a good thing. Because boy did I have a reaction.
The infusion was 1.5 hours and all was going well, other than the fact that I was very cold (they keep the chemo suite rather cool). About 5 minutes after the infusion stopped the pain started. First it started in my lower abdomen and then circled around to my lower back. It was very hard to describe. It was a throbbing pain that moved around my body and would get worse (like a sharpening pain) and subside slightly. Sort of like contractions, but different.
Sean told the nurses right away so my nurse, Judy, came over and was asking me questions about the pain and the pain scale. I just kept thinking "and they want me to come back again for this"? It was very scary. The pain was also starting to move into my chest.
The first thing they did was give me a shot of Benadryl through my port. That seemed to make me feel worse! I was so woosy, the room was spinning and I couldn't even keep my eyes open. I felt like I was going to pass out. The pain did not get better.
Next was a shot of hydracortisone and some renitadine (zantac). The pain started to slowly subside. But wow, does that Benadryl throw you for a loop.
I think this procedure took about 30 minutes to calm everything down. After another 30 minutes I was free to go home. We got home about 1:45. I was alseep by 2:00 p.m. for 3 hours.
So apparently, now that they know I have this reaction they will make sure that I have all of the above mentioned drugs before they infuse the next herceptin (and Taxol for that matter).
Now that I am home I am to potentially expect flu symptoms in the next 24 hours (such as chills, fever, etc.). We'll see what happens.
On a brighter note, the Aerosmith concert in Michigan was awesome. I was very disappointed with the seats we had because we weren't nearly as close as we have been in the past. The seat location was such a letdown, but Steven was awesome. And no, I didn't get backstage.
But there will always be a next time.......
A big thank you to Mike for driving me to the concert. Also a huge thank you to Janine, Diane (Mike's Mom), Keaton and Terran. Mike left behind a very sick Keaton for them to deal with all day while he was with me. I know how tough it was for Mike to do that. I am very thankful to you all.
Love CJ
posted by Colleen @ 6:46 PM
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