Okay so of course there were lots of delays today so we were there FOREVER!! The doctor got held up in a meeting so she was late seeing me, then spent some time going over possible side effects with the Taxol, the biggest one I need to be careful of is the tingling/numbness in my hands and feet. But the good news was when she said the nausea would go away!!
Then we got into the chemo area and waited a little bit on the nurse to come in, I had a new one this time. I've been fortunate to have had the same nurse for 3/4 of my AC treatments, and the 4th one was with the same nurse that had done my first zolodex injection. Then after she went over side effects and what to expect with treatment she ordered my premeds...for the first 2 treatments I will be taking ironically one of my anti nausea meds (this time IV push instead of pill), 50mg of benadryl and pepsid, all to help with any possible allergic reaction to Taxol. After the first 2 treatments, if there is no reaction then they will do away with the pre meds. Of course we had to wait for them to be released by pharmacy and then we had to wait 30 minutes once they were on board to start the chemo. And of course we waited for the pharmacy to release the chemo to my nurse. It was after 1 when we were leaving there today so a very long day.
The funny part for everyone else in the room was that as soon as the benadryl was on board I was feeling VERY loopy and kinda buzzed. I wasn't allowed to get up and go to the bathroom by myself today because of it. I managed to fight off the sleep while the treatment was being started. The nurse stays with you for 15-20 minutes incase of reaction and has to take 2 sets of vitals. But after she left I definitely couldn't keep my eyes open, when the IV buzzed that it was finished I think I jumped!! I felt really groggy and totally out of it at that point, and had a little nausea but not the same feelings as with the AC. All I wanted to do was just go home and crawl into bed.
I immediately fell asleep, but Brian woke me up awhile later to get me to eat some lunch. As soon as that was over I fall back to sleep again. I think I slept for a good 3 hours total this afternoon. But as soon as I woke up I felt 100% better. I am curious to see what the next few days will be like, if there will be any new side effects or not. I know the tingling may not start for a couple treatments if at all. But they were right when they said this treatment is much easier to tolerate (except for the benadryl!!!).
Something else I learned today, as we get into cold and flu season I will be required to get a flu shot, and they've even suggested Brian get one too so he doesn't bring it into the house. But I have to be careful being around people who get the flu MIST, as it is a live virus and can float into the air from the nose after receiving it. So if any of you that I see on a regular basis do get the flu mist this season, please let me know and I'll probably have to avoid close contact with you for a couple days.
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