I had a pretty good night of sleep interrupted occasionally by bathroom needs, vitals and then labs at 4 am. Then I was awaken by the sunrise since my room windows face the east. I showered, ate breakfast, had my central line dressing changed and donated my weekly cultures of stool, urine and mouth swab. They have been giving me fluids and measuring all my outputs. My hemoglobin is 8.4 which is low considering that it was 9 on Friday when I got a transfusion. By my history, it should be close to 10. Nothing to worry about since they monitor everything closely and I will get more blood whenever it is needed.
The nurse just started the first chemotherapy called Fludarabine which I will have for a hour a day for five days. The side effects are not too bad, though the nurse put on a special gown and wore rubber gloves to protect herself in case she spilled any while hanging the IV. In an hour, I start on the Cytoxan which is supposed to be the worst as far as nausea but that is a one time 2 hour dose. Then, I get Allopurinol for 6 days. I also get ATG (Anti-thymocyte globulin) and MP (Methylprednisolone) for 3 days.. The first three supposedly kill off most of my bone marrow while the last two suppress my immune system. All this is subject to review and change as the doctors monitor my reactions and condition. The regimen is called a mini-BMT, not a full BMT. They do not eliminate all of my bone marrow, but weaken it so that my brother's donor cells can take over.
BTW, I have better wireless access (5 - 7 mbps so far) to the internet here than I have through my wired access through ComCast at home. Time will tell how the speed holds up.
1 comment:
Glad the worst drug from the standpoint of nausea is only a one-time dose and that they will give you more blood as needed. Hope you don't have to suffer too much with the drugs. I heard a preacher say recently about God that "if he takes you to it, He'll take you through it."
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